Seventy-two-year-old retiree Ms Julie Goh lives alone, but she is not lonely because she is part of the community at MWS Senior Activity Centre – Golden Lily@Pasir Ris.
Officially opened on 24 Aug 2019, the Senior Activity Centre serves as a community space for seniors living in Pasir Ris to experience active ageing. Bishop Dr Chong Chin Chung dedicated the centre to God and its service to the community. Pastor-in-Charge the Rev Dr Jonathan Seet, and leaders of Pentecost Methodist Church, the centre’s partner church, were also at the opening.
Living just above the centre, Julie has found that being an active member and regular volunteer has helped her make friends with her neighbours. An avid cook, she often prepares a larger portion of dishes or buys extra groceries and fruit to share with residents in her block. She is passionate about healthy living and conducts cooking demonstrations at the centre regularly to share healthy, easy-to-prepare recipes.
Julie helps a wheelchair-bound neighbour by bringing her to the market or offering to buy food for her. She also accompanies seniors who are less mobile to their medical appointments. Sharing and caring for others has given her much joy and purpose.
Empowering seniors to take charge of their well-being
Julie exemplifies the community spirit that the MWS Senior Activity Centres are striving to develop among seniors. Our centres will be moving to an asset-based approach, in which seniors are encouraged to be “co-creators and contributors”, instead of mere recipients of services.
Our Senior Activity Centres will be tapping on our seniors to peer-lead and participate in the planning and running of activities. A group of seniors has been appointed to form the Council of Seniors. We have started profiling seniors in our centres to identify and harness their strengths and abilities. They are then encouraged to reach out to their own communities to establish befriending and mutual help networks.
“We believe that through the asset-based approach, our seniors will have a greater sense of ownership over their well-being, and also experience a better quality of life and social connection,” said MWS Group Executive Director Ms Junie Foo.
To find out more about how you or your church could be involved in volunteering activities at MWS centres, please visit www.mws.sg or email volunteer@mws.sg. To support our efforts to help the poor, lonely and in-need, please donate at give.mws.sg.
Photo courtesy of Methodist Welfare Services