SINGAPORE: Scheme to help seniors meet emotional, social needs to be rolled out

. SINGAPORE / TODAYonline / March 16, 2009 So happy together By Loh Chee Kong cheekong@mediacorp.com.sg WHILE life may begin at 50 for some — as the popular slogan for active ageing goes — Mr Tang Kin Chai will have you know that even at 60, his days have been made brighter. This was since April last year when he began learning magic tricks at the community centre near his Jurong flat. The 60-year-old is one of some 20 senior citizens in a class that was started as part of the national Wellness Programme, one designed to provide one-stop information and services to meet the medical, social and emotional needs of older folk. The programme has been implemented in 12 constituencies to date. “It makes me very happy ... having fun with my classmates and learning together. When I get home, I perform for my grandchildren and they really like it,” said the grandfather of two, who also works as a part-time schoolbus driver. Yesterday, more than eight months before the two-year pilot programme was due for evaluation, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Lim Boon Heng was so heartened by the “very satisfying” results that he declared that starting later this year, the programme would be progressively rolled out to the rest of Singapore. And hopefully by the end of 2011, all constituencies would have “some form” of the Wellness Programme, Mr Lim told reporters on the sidelines of a wellness carnival in Jurong Central. In Jurong alone, with more than half of the $400,000 budget utilised so far, the programme has already reached out to more than 1,000 senior citizens. Mr Lim, who is also Minister in charge of ageing issues, stressed that the pace of implementation in the rest of the constituencies should not be held back by the downturn. Also giving a ringing endorsement to the programme, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, guest-of-honour at the carnival, said: “Whatever the uncertainties, whatever the worries about jobs, unemployment and this year’s economic growth ... We have to continue working on nation-building.” And that, he added, means “preparing for an ageing population, improving our living environment, bringing up the next generation and strengthening the bonds between young and old”. Mr Lee reiterated that efforts in creating elderly-friendly infrastructure must be buttressed by initiatives such as the Wellness Programme and accessible day-care and healthcare services for the elderly. On their part, senior citizens have to make the effort to join in the activities while their children “have to provide family support”. Concurring with the Prime Minister, Mr Lim said much work lies ahead — and this includes getting the grassroots organisation to “take ownership” of the Wellness Programme. Said Mr Lim: “It was a lot of hard work getting the grassroots organisation to learn what it is all about, and that it is a programme that belongs to everyone.” Copyright ©2005 MediaCorp Press Ltd