It is normal for families to stock up on goodies in preparation for the Lunar New Year but for those facing financial difficulties and mobility issues, this could be a luxury.

To spread the festive joy in the Lunar New Year season, 23 NTU University Scholars Programme (NTU-USP) student volunteers collaborated with Filos Community Services in an event called “USendPresents” to engage with senior residents living in Kembangan-Chai Chee. The volunteers visited the homes of residents on 24 February 2018 to distribute goodie bags filled with various festive items such as chocolates, crackers and mandarin oranges.

These visits were met with delight, which could clearly be seen from the big smiles on the faces of residents. Through these home visits, volunteers hoped to bring a little more cheer by sharing their time and company. In return residents shared their stories, giving volunteers the opportunity for meaningful conversation as well as some insight into challenges faced by senior citizens.

“This was a simple, yet heartwarming event. Visiting the elderly living alone and engaging in conversations made my Saturday morning a lot more meaningful. Admittedly, I was slightly hesitant in joining this event as I was apprehensive about my ability to converse with them and was worried that I may run out of topics to talk about. However, I soon realised that my worries were unwarranted as residents opened up to us rather quickly and often just needed a listening ear. Having lived through more years, some even gave us useful advice based on their experiences. While we visited with the aim of bringing joy to them, we have gained so much more from interacting with them and our hearts warmed up seeing the smiles on their faces. As the saying goes, “Give and you shall receive, much more than you ever thought possible.” This event also served as a timely reminder of how fortunate we are. Talking to the other volunteers at Filos Community Services also made us more aware of the people who fall through the cracks in our society and served as a timely reminder of how fortunate we are.” Yau Wenyun, Programmer

 


About Social Service Project (SSP)

The Social Service Project (SSP) committee aims to encourage NTU-USP scholars to be more involved in serving the wider community. Through meaningful events planned by the committee for their beneficiaries, the committee strive to inspire scholars to realise that small collective actions can bring about a huge positive difference to the lives of those they serve.