A fond memory forged
Before the topic of this project was decided, we just focused on what we could teach instead of what Singapore’s communities really needed. Therefore, the topics we came up with, such as teaching Chinese to local children were finally rejected since the community actually did not have this need. However, after considering the situation nowadays: people cannot meet each other because of COVID-19, we find out what is the community really needed.
During the period when people could not talk to each other, young people were able to use social media to connect to each other. However, it was difficult for the elderly to do that. Thus, to teach the elderly to use smartphone and improve their quality of life became our goal. In addition, we also hope to learn how to communicate with elderlies throughout this session.
However, there were quite a lot of challenges for us such as the internet connection problem. It was also a big challenge for me to do the teaching on zoom since I was in China. The biggest challenge was that auntie K.E. cannot read any English or Chinese, therefore some sessions such as the “fake news part” and “send SMS” could not be conducted. To solve this problem, we changed these parts into “find the musics she liked” and “voice search on Taobao”.
I believed both auntie K.E. and I gained a lot. She now almost has a master of the knowledge we taught her and I learned how to communicate with elderlies. Since auntie K.E. cannot read English or Chinese, I learned how to express myself by graphs or body language as well. I also have a better understanding of the situation of elderly in Singapore as well, which will help me to integrate into the Singapore society better.
I also learned how to work well with both my teammates and the blossom world staffs. I also want to say thanks to all of my teammates and the staffs for their help and patience. These four sessions will be one of my best memories during my university life.
Submitted by Tongyao
Tongyao engaging the senior virtually with Mingzhou
Have a story of an act of kindness that touched you? Share with us! Let us work together to share the graciousness in our community and inspire more to give. Down the road, compassion will definitely be part of Singaporean’s 5 Cs.