When her daughter suffered a stroke more than 20 years ago, Madam Tan Ah Hiang, 78, became her main caregiver and helped raise her grandson. But two years ago, she fell into a rut when pain in her knees affected her mobility and her vision blurred because of cataracts. Struggling to cope as a caregiver, she distanced herself from friends, neighbours and relatives.
She kept to herself and her immediate family for almost six months until Madam Wong Yoke Hun and Madam Ng Geok Thuay paid her a visit in late October 2016. A concerned neighbour had alerted the programme coordinator to Madam Tan’s plight. The volunteers are scheduled to visit her twice a month, but she often urges them to pop by more often when they have time.
The two women, both 64, are volunteers with the Community Befriending Programme run by the Presbyterian Community Services in their Haig Road neighbourhood. They signed up in October 2016, and it was Madam Ng who encouraged Madam Wong to be a volunteer.
The two met through a karaoke singing group back in 2009, but only got to know each other better in 2013 when Madam Wong took up Madam Ng’s suggestion to participate in activities organised by Friends of the Third Age, an eldercare initiative which provides care and activities for elderly residents in the Haig Road area.
Through activities such as visiting old folks’ homes, Madam Wong developed an interest in volunteer work. Interacting with older seniors has trained her to be more attentive, patient and to speak gently. As for Madam Ng, volunteering eases her regrets over not spending more time with her late mother.
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Source: The Straits Times, 28 January 2018