Today at 11.15am I went with my father to the Lions Befrienders club at Ang Mo Kio to take care of the elderly people who were there to enjoy themselves.At first i was reluctant to go but after hearing my father's words i agreed to go.These elderly are really pitiful as they had been abandoned by their children and now live in cramped,unhygenic one roon flats on their own without anybody to care for them.These outings,along with sightseeing trips volunteers bring them to,lets them feel that there are still people that care for them and that their not alone.
When i arrived,the event was already in full swing.The elderly were split into tables of six and were now tasked with completing a jigsaw puzzle.So, i went to a random table to help,thus starting my volunteer work.The elderly were extremely determined to complete this puzzle and my table solved it pretty fast,albeit a few moments of confusion.
Then it was time to serve the food.The variety of food were provided by volunteers who cooked it themselves and then brought it here for the elderly to enjoy.Some volunteers were in charge of ladling food onto plates then they would pass it to the other volunteers who would act like waiters and bring the plate overflowing with food to tables of six ravenous elderly.Unfortunately i was one of the unlucky waiters.Each time i brought a plate to a table,hot,sticky and oily sauce would drop on my poor,unsuspecting fingers.I had to visit the sink more than once.The old folks were mostly thankful and appreciative and thanked me as i brought them their richly filled plates but i still met a few 'elderly statues' who didn't even smile or nod their head.
Then,when the elderly were finally sated,they moved on to enjoy themselves with a karoke session.I have to say,some of them sing pretty well for a seventy year old person with a throat ravaged by time or my ears were inexperienced judges.Some could even sing english songs in a wavering voice filled with uncernity which disappeared in time.The other elderly eagerly sang along to ancient songs while the volunteers clapped along to the rhythm.
After serving the elderly for so long,surely the volunteers deserved a break,right?So the hardworking volunteers myself included took a breather while the elderly rocked out to their ancient songs.Most of the volunteers took what was left of the food and sat down to eat while some took a swig of water.Some also took the desert that was lefterover and happily slurped away.I however did'nt take a thing as i had my lunch waiting for me at home.Sadly,i had to leave when they were getting ready to give the elderly oranges and red packets along with blessings of good health as the Chinese New Year was coming.
After this incident i have now realised how priviledged i am to be living in such nice environments compared to these old folks.They were once patr of society too and now they deserve to take a nice long break full of relaxation before they pass on.We now should do stuff like this to help society and at the same time help the old folks enjoy their last stages of life.After doing this I now feel more compationate towards those elderly who were abandoned by their children and to those ungrateful children,shame on you for abandoning those who took care of you,fed you and provided you with everything they could for you to grow up and now,in their time of need,there is no one around to give them the love and care they should recieve .I would like to do this some other time again in the near future.
Today at 11.15am I went with my father to the Lions Befrienders club at Ang Mo Kio to take care of the elderly people who were there to enjoy themselves.At first i was reluctant to go but after hearing my father's words i agreed to go.These elderly are really pitiful as they had been abandoned by their children and now live in cramped,unhygenic one roon flats on their own without anybody to care for them.These outings,along with sightseeing trips volunteers bring them to,lets them feel that there are still people that care for them and that their not alone.
When i arrived,the event was already in full swing.The elderly were split into tables of six and were now tasked with completing a jigsaw puzzle.So, i went to a random table to help,thus starting my volunteer work.The elderly were extremely determined to complete this puzzle and my table solved it pretty fast,albeit a few moments of confusion.
Then it was time to serve the food.The variety of food were provided by volunteers who cooked it themselves and then brought it here for the elderly to enjoy.Some volunteers were in charge of ladling food onto plates then they would pass it to the other volunteers who would act like waiters and bring the plate overflowing with food to tables of six ravenous elderly.Unfortunately i was one of the unlucky waiters.Each time i brought a plate to a table,hot,sticky and oily sauce would drop on my poor,unsuspecting fingers.I had to visit the sink more than once.The old folks were mostly thankful and appreciative and thanked me as i brought them their richly filled plates but i still met a few 'elderly statues' who didn't even smile or nod their head.
Then,when the elderly were finally sated,they moved on to enjoy themselves with a karoke session.I have to say,some of them sing pretty well for a seventy year old person with a throat ravaged by time or my ears were inexperienced judges.Some could even sing english songs in a wavering voice filled with uncernity which disappeared in time.The other elderly eagerly sang along to ancient songs while the volunteers clapped along to the rhythm.
After serving the elderly for so long,surely the volunteers deserved a break,right?So the hardworking volunteers myself included took a breather while the elderly rocked out to their ancient songs.Most of the volunteers took what was left of the food and sat down to eat while some took a swig of water.Some also took the desert that was lefterover and happily slurped away.I however did'nt take a thing as i had my lunch waiting for me at home.Sadly,i had to leave when they were getting ready to give the elderly oranges and red packets along with blessings of good health as the Chinese New Year was coming.
After this incident i have now realised how priviledged i am to be living in such nice environments compared to these old folks.They were once patr of society too and now they deserve to take a nice long break full of relaxation before they pass on.We now should do stuff like this to help society and at the same time help the old folks enjoy their last stages of life.After doing this I now feel more compationate towards those elderly who were abandoned by their children and to those ungrateful children,shame on you for abandoning those who took care of you,fed you and provided you with everything they could for you to grow up and now,in their time of need,there is no one around to give them the love and care they should recieve .I would like to do this some other time again in the near future.
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