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View PDF in New SENIORS’ JOURNEY: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE SENIORS’ JOURNEY: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE PRESENT AND PAST, SENIORS’ JOURNEY: Brought to you by Connect with us at www.ncss.gov.sg Copyright © 2016 NCSS Permission to reproduce any part of this publication is required. SENIORS’ JOURNEY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The National Council of Social Service (NCSS) would like to thank the volunteers and the voluntary welfare organisations that made this collection of seniors’ stories possible. VOLUNTEERS The following volunteers are from Beyond60, Face UP, Republic Polytechnic, ITE College East and Singapore Memory Project. Alex Deng, Asyraf B Mohammad J Muhammad, Cheong Jun Hong, Chew Kung Pheng Benedict, Christine Tan Yu Jia, Eleanor Yap, Hayley Tay, Helen Yeo, Ibrahim B Rosnan Muhammad, Janice Soo, Jillisa Kok, June Tay, Koo Pei Hiang Emily, Lee Lay Ying, Leong Yee Ting, Lim Bao Long, Lim Soo Lan, Lily Bok, Lily Wong, Max Ang, Melissa Chua, Muhammad, Haikal B Riduan, Natasha Ferdinands, Pek Yan Lin Audrey, Phua Shiyong, Shirley Tan, Terrence Goh, Toh Ying Qi, Yeo Hong Eng. PROGRAMMES BY VOLUNTARY WELFARE ORGANISATIONS (VWOs) Care Corner Social Day Care for the Elderly, CARElderly Seniors Activity Centre, GoodLife!, Life Point, Marine Parade Foo Hai Elderly Lodge, NTUC Health SilverACE SAC@Telok Blangah Rise, Pacific Activity Centres Pte Ltd, Sarah Seniors Activity Centre, NTUC Health SilverACE SAC@Redhill, Tembusu Seniors Activity Centre, Thye Hua Kwan Seniors Activity Centre@ MacPherson, YAH! SENIORS’ JOURNEY 1 INTRODUCTION “Seniors’ Journey: Past, Present and Future” is a collection of stories of Singaporean seniors from all walks of life. Just as each senior’s experience is unique, each individual tale adds a different perspective to the formative years of Singapore as a nation. More than that, these stories are snapshots of how our seniors have forged their identities on the backbone of their convictions, strength and resilience. In the process of connecting with the seniors, getting to know them and listening to them share a part of their lives, both our volunteers and seniors enjoyed a trip down memory lane together. Their journeys come together through common threads such as how the seniors have prioritised their family and friends in life, and are actively pursuing their favorite pastimes and hobbies. For some seniors, the learning will never stop, while for others, the spirit of giving through volunteering continues to spur them on in their endeavours. With the wealth of experience shared in this publication, NCSS sincerely wishes that readers will gain insight from the stories and cherish the precious moments in all of our past, present and future. This collection of stories was part of the International Day of Older Persons (IDOP) Celebrations in 2014, an NCSS initiative that recognises the contributions of older persons to the community. SENIORS’ JOURNEY 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 I. PUTTING FAMILY FIRST 4 • A Mother To Generations, Lee Hua Yong • Honouring A Promise, Ling Kum Pheng • Ties That Bind, Sukina Binte Kitto • Children Are A Blessing, Fong Quay Sim • The Cost Of Raising A Family, Tan Bak Lan • Going The Extra Mile For Family, Lim Lik Lik • Persevering Through, Hew Ah Chin • Resilient Against The Odds, Salmiah Binte Sidin • A Noble Sacrifice, Pang Sow Lui • In Harmony With The In-Laws, Koh Ban Choo • Prioritising Family, Chan Ngot You • Of Luck And Gratitude, Doola Sakina Esmail • Leaving Behind A Comfortable Life, Tan Chor Yee • Instilling Financial Foresight, Samaah Rawee • A Sacrifice Of Love, Khu Meow Keng II. ENJOYING LIFE’S LITTLE PLEASURES 36 • The Characters Of A Storyteller, Ng Ah Chye • Curiosity, Cultures And Chess, Low Fook Meng, John • For The Love Of Singing, Lee Cheng Tet • Enjoying Plants And Entertainment, Chong Ah Sai III. LEARNING FOR LIFE 46 • The Balloon Man, Teo Ek Thong • Passionate About Retail, Jenny Tan Soon Noy • A Baker’s Dreams, Dolly Cheong • A Life Of Industriousness, Wong Yoke Sim, Peggy • Unconventional Musical Endeavours, Chia Shih Thow • Never Too Late To Learn, Phua Kok How SENIORS’ JOURNEY 3 IV. GIVING IS RECEIVING 60 • The Value Of Appreciation, Thanaletchimi d/o Saminathan • More Than Words, Chia Poh Hua • Leading Others In Art And Activity, Ramlah Binte Atan • A Passion For People, Rajeswary d/o Velayutham • In Good Company, Beh Ah Moy • The Spirit Of Neighbourliness, Mugiah Binte Karjo • Two Is Better Than One, Tan Alek, Ivy & Foo Siang Kee, James V. REMEMBERING YESTERDAY, CHERISHING TODAY 76 • Of Parades And Jubilees, Morris Ng Kian Leong • A Hippie Friend To The Gangs, Yap Choo Hock • The Good Samaritan, Gregory Lee Mui Puang • Disciplining The Troublemakers, Gn Luck Joo • Work Gets You Thinking, Raymond Cheong • When Colleagues And Neighbours Were Family, Samah Binte Ali • Be Kind, Mok Miow Kian • Frugal Lifestyle, Soon Chain Sun • Health And Hard Labour, Toh Khai Tuan • Adaptability And The Ability To Learn, Rosniah Binte Abd Halim • Responsibilities Of The Oldest Daughter, Sum Yit Wah • Living Through The War, Ho Ah Toa • Popular With The Students, Goh Chang Kheng • Forgive And Forget, Hou Wah Cheng • The Pride Of A Coffee Master, Goh Ah Lek • When There’s A Will, There’s A Way, Thong Poh Sim AN EYE-OPENING EXPERIENCE 110 putting FAMILY FIRST Photo: Courtesy of the Low family. SENIORS’ JOURNEY PUTTING FAMILY FIRST 6 A Mother To Generations Lee Hua Yong (extreme right), with her daughter and grandchild. Lee Hua Yong and her husband lucrative opportunity that they started their own business could not ignore, especially after World War II, selling with the influx of foreigners to household goods like tablecloths, Singapore following the war. bedspreads and table runners Taking on the role of saleswoman, from China to department stores the 86-year-old mother of four and also to foreigners. It was a recounts how she would pile the SENIORS’ JOURNEY PUTTING FAMILY FIRST 7 “…when her third daughter’s husband passed away in an accident, Hua Yong and her husband supported their daughter and her two children. Hua Yong took on the duty of ferrying her grandchildren to school until they grew up.” goods into their car and drive to with these two grandchildren is the colonial homes in Sembawang not something they have forgotten owned by foreigners to sell the either. Both of them take turns items door to door. They did well coming back to Singapore to visit and the business thrived for over her as they miss her and love her. 50 years. She also receives calls frequently from them. The grandmother However, when her children went of five proudly adds that she is overseas and foreign clients fortunate enough to have four returned to their homelands, Hua great-grandchildren now. Yong and her husband closed their shop in Sembawang, and “I thank God that my grandchildren the business along with it. Very have always been very loving much a family person, the doting towards me. I am happy, as it is mother shared that when her difficult to find grandchildren like third daughter’s husband passed this,” concludes Hua Yong. away in an accident, she and her husband supported their daughter and her two children. Hua Yong took on the duty of ferrying her grandchildren to school until they grew up and went to England and Sweden. After so many years, the closeness that Hua Yong shared Lee Hua Yong, 86 SENIORS’ JOURNEY PUTTING FAMILY FIRST 8 Honouring A Promise Matchmaking was common here originally.” However, he practice in the old days. 89-year- obeyed his mother and came at old Ling Kum Pheng’s mother the age of 23 to begin work in a was working in Singapore as an cane factory. A charming young amah and asked him to come to man, Kum Pheng was well liked Singapore from Hong Kong to by his boss, and also those of the work. The youngest in a family of female persuasion. four said, “I didn’t want to come SENIORS’ JOURNEY PUTTING FAMILY FIRST 9 “I am old-fashioned in the sense that I couldn’t disobey my mother. I felt it was my responsibility to marry her.” “I didn’t want to get married so Kum Pheng was promoted to be early,” Kum Pheng reveals. But his a supervisor. mother had other plans, and had made an agreement with another Kum Pheng says that, even woman from Canton to marry off after years of marriage, he never her 20-year-old daughter to him. once thought of the “D-word”. “I am old-fashioned in the sense “Got children already so cannot that I couldn’t disobey my mother. divorce”, says the father of eight, I felt it was my responsibility to explaining that he simply made marry her.” Even after the passing his marriage work. Today, two of his future mother-in-law, he felt of his children have passed on, that he had to go through with the but his family has burgeoned to marriage. “I had no choice but to include seven grandchildren and accept it.” two great-grandchildren. Earning $60 per month at the time, Kum Pheng once asked his wife to find a better husband who earned more, but she insisted that she liked him and would follow him no matter what. Things took a turn for the better after his marriage, when his boss increased his pay to $160 a month. Five years later, Ling Kum Pheng, 89 SENIORS’ JOURNEY PUTTING FAMILY FIRST 10 Ties That Bind The old Woodbridge Hospital at Jalan Woodbridge in the 1960s. Photo: Ministry of Information and the Arts Collection, Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore A bubbly and chatty lady, Sukina her mother with chores and take Binte Kitto certainly looks younger care of her siblings.
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