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On 18 November 2006, RP’s International Students Club (ISC)
organized a visit to the Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home. 14 foreign students from
different countries, escorted by their advisor, Ms Ng Hui Teng, took part in
this meaningful activity. The purpose of this visit is not only to help our
foreign students understand the older generation better but also to build up
their communication skills. More importantly, the students hope to bring some
joy and laughter to the old folks in the Home.
Prior to the visiting day, students started preparations
throughout the week to prepare for the event. The students had to prepare
handicraft gifts, Christmas decorations, and some songs for entertainment.
At the mini concert, students sang Chinese oldies to
entertain their elderly friends. Some of the students even practiced different
kinds of Chinese dialects in order to interact better with the elderly folk.
Soon the elders got into the mood and sang joyfully with the students. After the
song performances, fun games followed. Everyone passed stress balls around in
pass-the-parcel style in sync to the music, and the person who holds the ball
when the music stops had the chance to request for a special performance from
the rest of the participants.
After all the excitement, handicraft gifts were given to
everyone present, while our students interacted with the elderly. The students
were also fascinated by the life stories shared by the elderly folk and through
these folk, they learnt to appreciate the contribution of the senior generation
in the establishment of modern Singapore.
The 14 RP international students then decorated the Home with
their handmade present boxes, fancy lights, bells, Santa’s hats and other
Christmas knick-knacks to create a wonderful Christmas spirit. After half an
hour of creativity juices flowing, the students managed to add some new colour
elements into the overall décor of the Home, and this brought about a cheery
festive feel in the whole place.
From the looks on the old folks’ faces, we know they
definitely felt the warmth from the students and enjoyed a memorable afternoon
with them. It was meaningful for the students too as they saw for themselves
that while people and the society became more affluent, there are still pockets
of people who are uncared for and abandoned by their families. We hope that what
the students had done would at least let our elderly friends know that there are
still people who care for them in the society.
* For RP Staff - Click here to view the rest of the photos from this event
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