Project CARE 

By Phyllis Lim and Daniel Teng

“Project CARE” is about reaching out to vulnerable seniors who are predominantly ‘isolated’ – either physically, emotionally, socially or financially.

On a daily basis, we come across seniors working in the public transport services as bus, taxi or heavy vehicle drivers. Our seniors work as security guards, cleaners and dish collectors at the food courts, shopping malls and schools. Some seniors take to the streets to collect old newspapers, cardboard boxes, drink cans and plastic bottles for meagre earnings. Other seniors simply busk in crowded places to play a tune or sell packs of tissue paper to get by. There are also some seniors, limited by mobility and physical well-being issues, who are forced to remain home-bound with little or no support and isolated from family, friends and the community.

With Singapore’s increasingly greying population, “Project CARE” aims to create awareness in the community that this ‘silver tsunami’ will indeed have an impact on the individual, family and community in the future. We hope to instil in the current and future generations that aging is a natural process and inevitable. With medical advances and healthy living, the onset of chronic diseases can be delayed but regardless, the biopsychosocial needs of the vulnerable seniors in areas of housing, accessibility and care have to be looked into.

We are inspired to conceptualise this initiative as it is a continuation of our efforts from our SG50 Celebration Fund project. From 2014 to 2015, “Project CARE” reached out to over 500 seniors to celebrate Singapore’s Golden Jubilee with our pioneer generation, volunteers and the community-at-large. We recognise that there are many vulnerable seniors who are socially isolated at home and need a helping hand on a regular basis. Over the years of organising ground-up initiatives, we continue to be energised through the possibility that we can do more when we come together to serve the same cause with like-minded volunteers and advocates.

Through “Project CARE”, we will befriend, show concern and care to the vulnerable seniors through home visits and mass activities to foster stronger bonding and support among seniors living in the same precinct. Our project will take the following format at four precincts, reaching out to at least 200 elders from now till 2018:
- Two home visits per month over three months;
- Through the home visits, we will empower and enable vulnerable seniors to have better self-care, independence and resilience, so that they can enjoy a better quality of life;
- One mass activity on the seventh visit, where seniors will come together to get to know one another and form a support group moving forward. The proposed mass activity can be a trip to an old haunt like Boat Quay, a craft session, or any activity that brings them together.

During our visits to the seniors’ homes, we are happiest and most grateful when they are able to share a morning with us. We can chat on the latest happenings in the neighbourhood/community, educate the seniors on self-care techniques, teach them how to eat healthily and exercise for general well-being, or simply help them run simple errands.

This experience with seniors and volunteers is priceless, and the warmth that ensues from the human to human connection is something that is beyond replication.

Event Details:

To sign up as a volunteer, visit: www.giving.sg/community/project_care or email your details to Phyllis Lim and Daniel Teng at: projectcare@outlook.com.