Disclaimer: All activities depicted in this article were conducted in compliance with the COVID-19 rules and regulations at that given time.
Seniors gathering at the SEEN centre in Nanyang to celebrate Chinese New Year. (Photo by Chan May Ching)
Due to the pandemic, physical events in the past two years have been few and far between. This is why Ms Jenny Holmberg was especially ecstatic when she got the chance to take part in a physically held Chinese New Year party at the Nanyang Seniors Engagement and Enabling Node (SEEN) centre on 20 January 2022.
“I really enjoyed the party, and the atmosphere was good. It is even more special now due to the pandemic as we are finally able to come together to celebrate after a long time,” shared Ms Holmberg, who regularly visits SEEN for her Gym Tonic sessions.
“When the pandemic first started, it was all very restricted and I felt a little depressed. But coming here has helped lift my spirits due to the friendliness of the Tzu Chi staff. This is the first party organised by SEEN that I have joined and I hope that there will be more activities like this in the future.”
As part of the upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations, both SEEN centres at Nanyang and Bukit Batok organised parties for seniors from the surrounding blocks. More than 20 seniors were physically invited to each centre, where they engaged in various activities such as bracelet-making, watching of sign language performances and lucky draws.
Explaining the purpose behind organising the party, SEEN centre manager Ms Eve Zhong said: “This celebration is meant to bring the seniors together, especially during the pandemic. But this is not just the usual party as even the gifts for the lucky draw came from donations by entrepreneurs for the Tzu Chi Festive Charity Fair. We hope to provide them with a platform to learn about gratitude and reflect on the year.”
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Bracelet-making was one of the activities which got many seniors excited during the Chinese New Year party. (Photo by Chan May Ching) -
SEEN staff Ms Karen Loi (left) helping out a senior during the bracelet-making activity. (Photo by Chan May Ching) -
SEEN centre manager Ms Eve Zhong (left) presenting a gift to a senior during the lucky draw. (Photo by Wong Yen Hoon)
Other than the Chinese New Year party, another recent activity at the SEEN centres was the Christmas party organised last month on 23 December 2021 for 30 seniors per centre. That was one of the first few larger-scale activities held in a long time and it was similarly well-received. For that party, it was specifically targeted at those seniors who lived alone in the nearby studio apartment blocks and rarely took part in activities organised by SEEN.
“It’s nice to see that the seniors who joined were enjoying themselves as they are the ones who rarely come by. We took the opportunity to share more about the types of activities we have for a whole year and encouraged them to come down, rather than staying home all day,” said SEEN staff Ms Karen Loi on the Christmas party.
Ms Zhong concurred: “For them, it was an eye-opener as they could see what we have been doing and how we are trying to promote vegetarianism. The general sense was that they were appreciative of our efforts.”
Seniors celebrating Christmas together at the SEEN centre in Bukit Batok last December. (Photo by Eve Zhong)
Continuous Engagement Efforts
The past two years have not been easiest for everyone and for the ageing seniors, it would certainly have been much tougher given how the virus has had a more devastating health impact on them. However, the presence of the staff and volunteers from the SEEN centres has made things much better during this challenging period. For instance, they would regularly check in with the seniors through tele-consulting, with the frequency higher for the frail and at-risk ones.
Shared Ms Chong Wai Kin, who is another SEEN regular: “With the pandemic, it is harder to come down to the centre frequently but I’m grateful that the staff would still call and check in on my health regularly.”
On top of the regular check-in calls, another way in which SEEN has continued to engage the seniors as much as possible during the current pandemic would be through a WhatsApp chat group with the seniors. In this chat, there would be regular broadcasting of different kinds of content, ranging from morning workout to Master Cheng Yen’s teachings to Tzu Chi news-related videos. The chat group was first set-up in March 2020 at the start of the circuit breaker period in hope of helping the seniors maintain their health, and this mass sending of valuable content has been ongoing ever since.
“Some of the seniors were quite depressed and anxious during circuit breaker, with a few having grandchildren affected by the switch to home-based learning. Thus, we wanted to keep them healthy both physically and mentally,” commented Ms Zhong.
The pandemic has thrown up plenty of challenges over the past two years but that has not stopped the staff and volunteers from SEEN from doing their best to continue their engagement efforts with the seniors. With the situation gradually improving, community outreach activities have resumed since November 2021 and there have also been more physical larger-scale events organised such as the Christmas and Chinese New Year parties. Through all the tireless efforts, the spirits of many seniors have been lifted and hopefully, there will be plenty more to be optimistic about heading into the festive period.
SEEN regulars Ms Jenny Holmberg (left) and Ms Chong Wai Kin (right) posing with their mandarin oranges after the party. (Photo by Chan May Ching)
Seniors cheering along to the online performance of students from Tzu Chi Great Love Preschool. (Photo by Chan May Ching)
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