Written by: Chua Zong Xuan
Edited by: Celine Koh
Photos by: Rachael Tham
For the first time this Lunar New Year, NTU-USP collaborated with Central Singapore Community Development Council (CDC) to organise USPringclean. The event, held on 26th January, Saturday, saw 42 enthusiastic NTU-USPians clean the homes for eight elderly residents living in Lengkok Bahru, before ending the day with a lohei session with them.
USPringclean is a direct service event, organised as part of the annual Social Service Project Lunar New Year initiative that seeks to spread the joy of the festive season to less privileged members of society. In an inaugural partnership with CDC’s SilverHomes programme, the project aims to provide a clean and conducive living environment for elderly seniors, often living alone in rental units. This aligns to the spirit of the Lunar New Year, a festive occasion which represents renewal and fresh beginnings.
NTU-USPians started gathering as early as 8:00 a.m. at SilverACE Senior Activity Centre of Lengkok Bahru. The volunteers were then split into their respective groups with a good mix of NTU-USPians from different batches to promote inter-level bonding. The boisterous volunteers, high on spirits and equipped with the necessary cleaning tools, then headed off to their assigned units across four blocks in the neighbourhood. Each of the eight homes had its own list of tasks to complete. Some of them included painting the living rooms and cleaning toilets, while others required throwing away old bed-frames and mattresses. However, it was not without challenges for the volunteers. For many NTU-USPians, it was their first time painting or cleaning someone else’s house. In addition, some units also reek of a pungent smell because of leaks in pipes, which the volunteers had to endure while scrubbing the bathroom tiles. Having an elderly tenant who was only Bahasa Melayu-speaking and visually-impaired also made communication particularly challenging for Year 1 Psychology student, Ashleigh Yin. “It was especially daunting, and our efforts felt a little futile since the cleaning and painting wouldn’t be seen by her.”
Initially taken aback, the volunteers soon became unfazed, eager to make a difference to the living conditions of these elderly. They worked together and toiled hard, rotating between more physically-demanding tasks like painting walls and simpler chores like wiping window grilles. During breaks between their work, they also shared conversations with their elderly tenants and learnt about their past job experiences and hobbies.
By 6.15p.m., cleaning and painting in all eight houses were completed. To conclude the service, the individual groups conducted a mini lohei session with their respective elderly beneficiaries. The elderly beamed delightedly as they tossed yusheng while the volunteers chanted auspicious Chinese phrases to usher in the Lunar New Year. NTU-USPians then gifted the elderly with a trolley cart full of daily necessities and food items before bidding goodbye.
As they gathered again for a last debrief, the volunteers took time to share their reflections about the event. On what she had learnt from cleaning the unit with the visually-impaired Malay elderly, Ashleigh reflected, “When she thanked us profusely at the end of it, I realized that cleaning was an act of love. We don’t clean only because we want to see a difference in the state of the house, but because in doing so, the elderly will be reminded that people love and care for them, which is a real glimmer of hope for them as they live alone.”
Year 1 Public Policy & Global Affairs student Alethea Tan also had some revelations on what community service means to her now, and how her perspectives had changed from the event. “I realised that we were doing community service with such a privilege mentality. We think that others should be grateful to us, because we took time out of our schedule to lend them a helping hand. Service was self-centered. This event changed the way I looked at service, and the way I looked at myself. It acted as a reminder that I am only where I am today because of the circumstances I have been blessed with. And I, as someone who was lucky enough, have a duty to give back to the community not as a superior, but as an equal.”
