A Special Visit

During the long Chinese New Year Break, I went to the Marine Parade Foo Hai Elderly Lodge old folk’s daycare centre with some of my friends. It was situated at the ground floor of an HDB block. As it was the first time I visited an old folk’s daycare centre, I felt a little apprehensive. The place smelled faintly of antiseptic lotion, almost like in a childcare centre.

The daycare centre occupies an area of roughly two HDB five-room flats. There were about 30 old folks, mostly between the ages of 75 and 85. John and Mary, both about 50 years old, supervised the daycare centre. It provides a bus to ferry the old folks to and fro their homes. Mary told us that lunch and tea breaks are provided daily. Mary and John have to know their dietary concerns, and prepare different meals for them. For example, some old folks could not eat sugary egg tarts as they have diabetes.

Most of the old folks there were quite healthy. They could walk independently and talk coherently. However, they did not have much conversation with each other. They just sat around, or watched television solemnly. I find that surprising as I imagined that they had friends – people of the same age meeting each other every day. However, when I talked to them, they were not as unfriendly as I thought. Instead, they were quite happy to share with me their life stories. One man told me that he used to be a sailor on a cruise ship. When he spoke, I could see the sparkle of his youthful energy in his eyes.

Even though the programs in the old folks daycare centre are good, I feel that what is lacking is that attention they get from their families. If people can lend a hearing ear to them, they would not be so lonely.