Precious memories of old Singapore

It's one of those places which holds the precious memories of old Singapore and yet will be slated for demolition soon. Dakota Crescent has rental flats built during Lim Yew Hock's time and it has a quiet and serene surrounding with the Geylang river flowing through it. I met some really interesting residents there who kept me for some time. I had a very late lunch in Eunos together with my team of volunteers from Project Awareness.

Mdm Abi sells mee rebus at Blk 21 Old Airport Road. I was about to order her mee rebus but it was all sold out evev though it was only 10.30 am. She said it was her birthday and there had been a long queue at her stall and almost everything has been sold out. But she treated me to one last piece of what she calls her new "product" - a rice cake with shrimp and coconut gratings. 

She is 94 and lives on the 7th (highest) floor in her block, Old Granny Tan is from the Hing Hwa dialect group and was amongst the first people to move into the flats more than 50 years ago. She prefers to live independently by herself although she is the matriach of a 5-generational family. She insists on serving drinks and told us her legs are getting weaker and the lift breaks down often. She recalls an incident when her great grandchild was trapped in the life with his parents and cried. She loves where she lives and says she can't bear to move out.

She smiled and waved to me when she saw me behind the volunteers. She said she has been looking forward to seeing me and invites me into her flat which was located on the ground floor. However, she could not unlock her front door and so opened the back door to let me in. Just then, Annie, volunteer from the Lions Befriender came visiting and everyone gathered inside Grandma Tan's flat for a good chat like some old friends.

Grandma Tan is a sprightly 83 year-old who would laugh heartily at every joke until she coughs. She speaks Mandarin and lives alone. She spoke of how she loves the surroundings in Dakota Crescent. Many of her neighbours have moved out but Grandma Tan is happy to stay put. Although Annie has been visiting almost every Saturday, Grandma Tan enjoyed our company and wanted us to come visit her often. She likes food that is on the spicy and sour side and loves to drink coffee. And the volunteers from Project Awareness will soon be supplying her some of her favourite rations.

Old Master Wong is 83. He lives with his 75 year-old wife and has a son who runs a successful spare parts business. Old Master Wong's father ran a Chinese martial arts school and he himself is a trained pugilist. Although slightly hard of hearing because of his age, he was eager to talk about his experiences and to demonstrate his martial arts skills. And we soon found out that he has been a Chinese chiropractor since the age of 18. He used to have patients queueing up to see him in his heydays and now, he still sees about 10 patients a day. Noting that I had been busy visiting the neighbourhood, Master Wong kindly offered to give me a back and shoulder massage. 

It was another long day. Every home that I stepped into was like a new chapter in a book. And there are endless chapters to read and try to understand.

Sunday Breakfast for the Elderly at French Road

The grannies and grandpas arrived at the coffeeshop well before 9 am for the free breakfast session organised by Project Awareness. There were about 50 volunteers who turned up, including student groups and members of the People's Association's Teens' Network Club. 

The volunteers helped usher the arrivals, man the food stalls, serve the elderly who have difficulties queueing up or carrying their food, engaged them in small talk and even went up to the flats to assist some of the elderly residents to come down.

They ate, they talked and they laughed. The joy on the faces of the grannies and hrandpas was the only reward that the volunteers were looking forward to. The handshakes and expressions of thanks brought extra encouragement and the volunteers were deeply touched as much as the folks who were invited for this free breakfast.

We may not be able to feed 100 people but we can feed at least one. Not all of us can do great things but all of us can do small things with great love. These were the words of Mother Theresa. Today, not only did the volunteers feed more than 100 people, they also succeeded in doing a small service for the old folks with great love!

Jalan Tenteram Visit 25.04.15

I made a returned visit to Jalan Tenteram to follow up on some of the families that I had visited last week and to visit other residents as well. Apparently, many volunteers have visited Mrs. Jalil after reading about her plight and she was clearly more cheerful today. To improve her mobility, I presented to her an adjustable walking aid donated by a friend. Thanks too, Carol.

Eddy was sitting outside his groundfloor flat and he had visitors who came to drop them some goodies in the week. He was watching the world around him go by and Old Granny Jenny has gone to the market. When she got home later in the day and took out her new umbrella cum walking aid that had been presented to her by Project Awareness, she expressed her shyness to use it. After much coaxing to try it out, she finally saw how useful the umbrella was.

16 year old Aili and her sister lives with her grandma. Both of them were brought up by their grandma and study in a school nearby. Her parents are working and they live in another location. Aili has been particpating in volunteer work organised by her school under its CIP programme. She found me strangely familiar and was exhilarated to realise that she has seen me on some tv programmes. Without hesitation, we had a photo taken together just at her doorway.

Old Grandpa Kang is 85 and has just cycled home. Deaf in his right ear, he used to work in Indonesia. He enjoyed working and even in his 70s, he worked as a despatch rider. He once had an accident and lost a toe. He has 4 daughters and 1 son and is probably the oldest resident in this block of flats which was built during the time when Lim Yew Hock was the Chief Minister. As we were talking, his wife and 3rd daughter came home. Tomorrow, like every Sunday, Old Grandpa Kang's children, granchildren, great grandchildren and one great-great grandchild (5 generations) will be getting together in his flat.

This Grandpa's flat is full of things that he hoards and he refuses to clear them away. He lives all by himself and needs some rations. In another flat, another hoarder similarly refuses to remove any of his stuffs and his living room has little space for walking. The floor needs a good scrub but this 89 year-old resident, who is hard of hearing, would rather keep it that way.

These are just some of the people who live in our midst. Some are more fortunate while others are more unfortunate. When those more fortunate are willing to help those less fortunate, what a wonderful world this would be.

French Road Visit 22.04.15

The story behind every door 

She is a Singaporean and a mother of 5 children, the youngest of which is in primary 3. Her Malaysian husband has tried repeatedly to obtain permanent residency in Singapore but to no avail. Without her husband by her side and unable to cope with her stresses, she eventually plunged into major depression. When her close friend found out she was treated at IMH, their relationship ended. She cried over 3 days. The thought of losing her close friend still causes her pain. Her bills are pilling up and her children are losing interests in their studies. 

He is 76 years old and has been a tailor since the age of 20. His flat-mate had just passed away and he is looking at how to dispose of the deceased's belongings that are in the flat. He works from home and provides his tailoring services to a tailor shop that supplies him the fabric. He gets paid when he collects the fabric from the shop and has to personally deliver his completed handiwork. Working long hours each day, he is as healthy as he says he is and always wore a ready smile. 

He had a stroke and was lying in bed when I visited. His helper opened the gate and showed me in. He spoke softly in Mandarin and there was not a word of complaint from him. He was contented as he was as he could still move but needs a wheelchair to go downstairs. When asked if there was anything he needed, he gently replied that he was doing fine. 

This elderly couple have been living in the same flat for 15 years. They have 5 grown-up children who are living on their own. Their neighbourhood has become too noisy for them and they are troubled. She suffers from asthma and is in frail health and he is taking care of her. They need a quieter place for her recuperation are applying to move to a nearby flat but are worried that they may not get it. 

It is always good to volunteer our time and thank you Project Awareness for giving me this opportunity to lend my helping hand and listening ear. Different stories unfold behind every door that I knock. As I walked from one flat to the next, I could feel my emotions fluctuate. We live to learn and learn to live, don't we?

Whampoa Visit 18.04.15

I was at Whampoa this morning with the volunteers from Project Awareness. At Jalan Tenterem, we visited a few families, including the homes of a jobless Malay man struggling to take care of his sick wife and children and an old Chinese lady who is still taking physical care of her adult sons.

[A family in need is a family indeed]

Encik Jalil has 2 teenage sons and a 8 year-old daughter. His elder son is doing his national service and his younger son will be enlisted soon. There are no breadwinners in this family and the only income comes from the national service pay of his elder son. Making ends meet is obviously difficult and he has applied for financial aid to pay his utility bills which remain unpaid.

Encik Jalil's wife suffers from severe diabetes. She emerged from her room as we were talking, walking with much difficulty. She had to lean against the wall for support as she moved. Apparently, she had dislocated her left foot a few months back and the sight of the injured foot would be too much to bear for those who are faint-hearted. It has become so engorged and deformed that the grossly enlarged foot covered with dry hardened scabs, appears side-by-side on the outer left ankle. Just imagine the left foot removed and placed beside the left ankle at almost the same level. 

I asked her if her condition has improved and her reply was optimistic. However, her optimism quickly dissipated when we discussed her 2 sons. She teared when she affirmmed that they were good and obedient. I could sense a mother's pain - that she was deeply worried for them. But soon there was a smile on her face when her chubby young daughter suddenly appeared and hugged her from the side. She was wearing a long dress made of t-shirt material with the word "princess" emblazoned on it. This cheerful little girl has just turned 8 yesterday and she was clearly the family's bundle of joy.

All the time that we were talking with his wife, Encik Jalil wore a calm and gentle smile. He let his wife do most of the talking but quietly stood beside her. He was like her pillar of strength. In a world where many couples are unable to keep their promises to stand by each other in weal and woe, here was one couple that stood out. And because of their enduring commitment to each other, their family ought to get all the help they need.

[Mother of mothers]

When a woman has to take care of a child with congenital disabilities, it's tough. But Old Granny Jenny has to take care of not one, but two. And all by herself.

She is divorced and in her late 70s. Her 2 sons, Eddy and Andrew, are now in their 30s. Eddy moves around in a wheelchair but Andrew is bedridden. Old Granny Jenny is their only one caregiver. When we visited, she was not at home. 

Eddy, who has physical and speech disabilities, was sitting all by himself in the common space outside his ground floor flat. He was happy to see us and from his gesticulations and utterances, we figured out that his mother had gone to the market. We tried to engage him in small talk and he was responsive and grinned when we teased him. Although we could barely make out his utterances, we could see his feelings from his facial expressions. He was constantly tearing at the corner of his eyes and salivating at the corner of his mouth. Yet, when he flashed his smile, it was the most genuine smile one could ever get. 

Old Granny Jenny soon came back. She was pushing a metal trolley with a new potted plant that she has just bought. We saw her walking with a slight limp and found out later that she just had a fall. We helped her carry the new potted plant and placed it in the little garden behind her flat. One of her plants has withered and it's time to plant a new one. What has to go will go and it will be replaced by something new. Old Granny Jenny has few pleasures and this little gardening work was probably her only leisure. 

Despite the cruel fate that life has dealt her, Old Granny Jenny never halted in showering love and care on her 2 dependent sons whom she takes care round the clock. She lives her life with such zest and tenacity that would put all those who crumble under less excruciating circumstances to embarassment. If mothers were ranked on their capacity to take life's hard knocks, Old Granny Jenny would be high up on the list.