Undergrads form meaningful connections, pick up language skills as they befriend seniors in graded volunteer work course

SINGAPORE — Mr Navaraj Rajendran, 23, has lived with his paternal grandmother since he was born, but he did not fully understand the struggles she may face as an elderly woman.

The undergraduate from the National University of Singapore (NUS) said that his grandmother was relatively healthy and independent, even at the age of 86. 

“I felt quite unaware of her needs because of this, so I didn’t talk to her as much as I should have,” he told TODAY, adding that he could have done more to build a meaningful relationship with the only grandparent he has in Singapore. His other living grandparent, his maternal grandfather, resides overseas. 

Through volunteer work that was part of his undergraduate studies, he soon learnt to converse more with his grandmother.  

Early this year, Mr Navaraj took up the university's Support Healthy AgeingSG course, which was piloted in August last year.

It is one of two year-long service-learning courses on student volunteerism open to undergraduates who are taking different majors.

They are offered by NUS in partnership with the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), a government agency that coordinates eldercare services. A memorandum of understanding on this venture was signed last Thursday (Nov 16) by the agency and NUS, witnessed by Education Minister Chan Chun Sing. 

FINDING THE RIGHT WORDS

For about eight months since February, Mr Navaraj and other students were tasked to go door-to-door to assigned homes to visit senior citizens.

For each outing, they would spend five hours covering about two to three households to check on the health and well-being of these seniors.

As part of this course, Mr Navaraj and his coursemates have to sign up with AIC to be its "silver generation ambassador". These are volunteers with AIC who engage seniors at home and at community places, encouraging the elders to stay active and healthy, and to connect them to government schemes that may benefit them.

Similarly, the students have to talk to the elders they visit about these topics when the occasion arises, or when they deem that it is suitable or relevant to these elders.

Mr Navaraj, who majors in life sciences, recalled that the language barrier was a problem for him at first, because some of the seniors he visited spoke only in Chinese dialects or Mandarin. 

With the help of seasoned AIC staff members who were paired with the students, he eventually learned to connect better with them. There was one male elder who used to be a commercial diver. “My pastime is diving, so we could connect on the topic,” Mr Navaraj said. 

For others, he gradually got to understand their problems such as those related to their health. "I think that just the act of hearing them out made them feel better,” he added. 

After interacting with at least 10 different senior citizens throughout the course, he eventually became confident in striking up more conversations with his grandmother.

“Last time, I only had fleeting moments of conversations. Now, I make it a point to sit down and talk to her. 

“She looks a lot happier now. She smiles more, too.” 

Mr Joel Khoo, another undergraduate volunteering under the same course, similarly struggled when it came to communicating with the non-English-speaking elders, because his ability to speak fluently in Mandarin and Chinese dialects was “almost non-existent”, he said.

The 23-year-old, who majors in communications and new media, had to rely on the AIC employees as well to help him with translations.

Over time, he picked up key words and learned to use them frequently in his interactions, which made communication with the elders more straightforward. 

One of the encounters that left a deep impression on him was when he and his course partner knocked on the door of a former cook, who gave them a warm welcome.  

“It just so happened that he prepared tau sar pau (red bean buns) before our visit, so he served them to us. It felt like he was looking after us as a host, even though we should be the ones looking after him,” he said. 

Speaking on the societal impact of the course work, Dr Anne Chong, the course lead, told TODAY that it is important to expose students to diverse groups of people facing different circumstances, to teach them how to be more empathetic. 

And more importantly, to eliminate any stereotypical perceptions they may have of seniors, such as the impressions that older adults often have chronic health issues and are stubborn. 

“The students can also learn a lot more from the senior citizens who still have an active role to play, such as imparting their wisdom and life lessons to the younger generation,” she added. 

A DEEPER CONNECTION

Miss Bridget Ho, 25, a business administration undergraduate and Miss Ashley Gue, 21, who majors in life sciences, signed up for a second course offered by NUS called Reconnect SeniorsSG, where they befriended seniors by visiting them almost every week. 

The students for this course are each assigned one household and get to develop a more personal connection with the elder. They may accompany the senior for medical appointments or for activities held at Active Ageing Centres.

Miss Ho told TODAY that she was motivated to take this up due to her strong relationship with her grandparents. 

“They’re my pillars of strength. They used to take care of me and my siblings when my parents were busy with work in the day.” 

Her connection with her grandparents made her realise that she cares deeply for elders. She wanted to bring comfort to more seniors by engaging them and taking part in activities with them, such as doing paper-folding or origami. 

Miss Ho visited a senior in the Farrer Road estate weekly and had one to two hours of interaction each time for over eight months. 

“More elders are living alone in Singapore, and experience loneliness and isolation.

"The woman I visited taught me to be more appreciative towards the little things in life, especially one's health,” she said, adding that it would be difficult to share one’s happiness with loved ones without good health.

As for Miss Gue, she said that her most significant takeaway from the course was how to listen actively to make the most out of her exchanges with the seniors. 

“I’ll never forget this 'foodie uncle' I met, who was, unfortunately, wheelchair-bound. He lived alone and couldn’t go out to his favourite hawker centres anymore. 

“He enjoys eating out so much. When I took him to Alexandra Village, he seemed to really, really like the food there,” she said, adding that his expression when he got to drink freshly blended avocado juice was priceless. 

Course lead Mr Kenneth Chong observed that it spurred the participating students' personal growth.

Comparing what they were like during the first and last tutorials, he found that they had become more attentive to what people say.

“After gaining new perspectives, they became more mature.

"Some also said that this experience motivated them to spend more time with their parents and grandparents and to treasure relationships in their lives,” he said. 

Around 1,000 NUS students signed up this year for the Support Healthy AgeingSG and Reconnect SeniorsSG courses, for which they need to earn credits as part of course work.

Next year onwards, the university hopes to increase the total enrolment to 2,100 students every year. 

The students will be graded on their service work according to learning outcomes, which are broadly based on areas such as their depth of learning on what the experience means for them, the seniors and society in general, as well as their awareness of personal growth such as developing empathy.