This Chinese New Year, don’t forget the elderly who are alone
The Lunar New Year is a time for family and friends; a time for gathering together to spread joy and share good fortune. The Eve of the New Year will see many of us sitting around the reunion table sharing good food (and our hopes and dreams for the coming year) with our nearest and dearest. Those of us who are lucky get to surround ourselves with people we love and who love us in return. For others, times of celebration serve to highlight their loneliness and isolation. Sadly, this Chinese New Year will see many of Singapore’s elderly spend the holidays alone.
Singapore’s population is ageing. In 2007 8.5% of the population were aged over sixty five. By 2017 that percentage had grown to 13%. By 2030 it is predicted that one in every four Singaporeans will be over sixty five and it is projected that one in every three of the elderly will be unsupported by family and in need of some form of elder care service. The Ministry of Health term for older citizens living at home is “ageing in place”. Whilst there is still a strong traditional Asian approach of caring for elderly relatives within the family, not all old and frail seniors have someone who can care for them. For many “ageing in place” can therefore mean ‘ageing alone’.
A survey commissioned by NTUC and The Lien Foundation found that eight out of ten Singaporeans worry about growing old. The number one worry is being able to look after oneself, followed by worries about financial security and loneliness. We will all be old one day. We will all reach a point, should we live long enough, when we will need someone to care for us. We may all face the sadness of old age loneliness. So this Chinese New Year please take a moment, in the midst of the celebration, to share your happiness and good fortune with an elderly person who is alone right now.
If visiting China Town, drop by the China Town Wishing Tree. Each wishing card bought and hung on the tree costs $2 and all proceeds are donated to the Kreta Ayer Seniors Activity Centre. Pop in to your HDB Senior Activity Centre (usually located in the void deck) and see if there is a New Year activity you can volunteer to assist with or a Hong Bao collection taking place in order to share your blessings. Or why not give a virtual red envelope?
Below are three worthy GIVE.asia campaigns seeking to make a difference to the lives of the elderly:
RSVP is an organisation for senior volunteers which engages seniors in purpose-driven volunteerism. It is a win-win scenario; not only are the volunteer seniors given a purpose and a reason to continue as active and valued members of their community, in turn the work they do benefits the community as a whole. The good works undertaken by the senior volunteers help other socially isolated elderly persons, low income families and those suffering mental illness.
Project Awareness has a mission to deliver a packet meal every month to 1,200 seniors living alone in HDB rental flats. They aim to raise SGD 20,000 which will allow them to deliver a total of 7,200 meals over the course of teh first six months of 2018. Not only does the home-delivery provide much needed food, it also provides a point of human contact for those elderly who may otherwise not have spoken to another person that day. Further details can be found at www.facebook.com/ProjectAwarenessSG/
In 2021 St John’s Home for Elderly Persons must relocate due to the required return of their current land to the government for development works. St John’s is a small charity with limited resources and needs to raise SGD $12 million for a new building. This may seem an insurmountable sum but brick by brick, (https://give.asia/campaign/donate_a_brick_campaign) it is being raised. The new building will provide a home for homeless and needy elderly persons, a place where they can age in comfort, grace a dignity.
Lucy-Ann Dale
