‘She wanted to go home with me’: The S’pore seniors who keep their peers company

Across Singapore, seniors are caring for one another. Some volunteer their time or skills, others check in on neighbours or support peers with the challenges of ageing. By Seniors, For Seniors is a monthly series profiling older adults who are helping their generation age with dignity, purpose and connection.

The Kindred Hearts are among a growing group of older Singaporeans who are spending their retirement supporting peers in need.

Published Sep 05, 2026, 05:00 AM

Updated Sep 05, 2026, 06:15 AM

Seniors volunteer at nursing homes monthly, offering companionship through games and crafts, helping peers feel less lonely.

The volunteers share personal stories of emotional connections and challenges during visits.

Volunteering boosts the helpers' sense of purpose and fitness, highlighting the importance of seniors supporting each other in ageing Singapore.

SINGAPORE - It is the highlight of their month: taking a short walk from their active ageing centre to a nearby nursing home, where they spend about an hour playing games and chatting with residents, and sometimes, just keeping them company.

The volunteers, in their 60s to 80s, call themselves “Kindred Hearts”. They had met and became friends at Allkin Active Ageing Centre @ Ang Mo Kio 420, and decided to reach out to other seniors to care for them.

So on the last Friday of every month, the group of about 15 visit Ren Ci @ Ang Mo Kio not as seniors receiving care, but to befriend the nursing home residents, many of whom are their peers.

They arrive with Bingo cards and small prizes like tissue packs bought with their own money. Since 2023, they have kept up the visits, rain or shine.

During festive seasons, they make handicrafts such as bears fashioned from towels for the residents.

Retiree Sharifah Habibah, 77, remembers one encounter with a resident in her 80s during a visit. The resident had burst into tears as Sharifah was preparing to leave.

“She wanted to go home with me, and told me that her family had not been visiting her,” Sharifah recalled, her voice quivering. “I felt very sad and assured her that I would be back, but I never did see her again.”

The volunteers are assigned to different wards during each visit and often do not meet the same residents again.

Seniors from Allkin Active Ageing Centre @ Ang Mo Kio 420 dancing and singing with residents in the wards at Ren Ci @ Ang Mo Kio on June 26. ST PHOTO: JASEL POH

Seniors from Allkin Active Ageing Centre @ Ang Mo Kio 420 dancing and singing with residents in the wards at Ren Ci @ Ang Mo Kio on June 26.

Every session ends with mixed emotions for Sharifah.

“I realised how lonely some of them are, and I always feel sad when we leave them behind,” she said. “Our time spent with them is very short, but I understand that they have to rest.”

Some residents have even tried to pass the volunteers their phone numbers, hoping to stay in touch, although they are not allowed to do so, she said.

The first male member among the volunteers is retired truck driver Pang Kiat Hoon.

The 78-year-old quipped: “They all bully me, so I’m happy to hear that another man is joining us.”

This drew a chorus of mock protests from the women around him, insisting that he is, in fact, the group’s most valued member.

His wife, retired hawker Cheong Yoke Keng, 75, had persuaded him to join.

“He was just sleeping and eating every day, so I told him to get out of the house to do something meaningful,” she said with a chuckle.

Cheong Yoke Keng, 75, (left) helping a resident at Ren Ci @ Ang Mo Kio with her bingo card on June 26. ST PHOTO: JASEL POH

Cheong Yoke Keng, 75, (left) helping a resident at Ren Ci @ Ang Mo Kio with her bingo card on June 26.

Volunteerism has long been a part of Cheong’s life.

Years ago, she would give drinks and bread daily to foreign construction workers working in her neighbourhood.

For 72-year-old homemaker Ann Lim, no two visits are quite alike.

Occasionally, disagreements break out among residents, and the volunteers have to calm tempers before steering everyone back to the games.

There were also sweet gestures that made her day.

“One elderly uncle kept saying ‘thank you’ to us, and even sang us a song,” she said. “Some residents have also tried to give us the tissue packs they won as gifts of appreciation, but we cannot accept gifts, of course.”

Conversations with some residents also give her a glimpse of what they miss most.

“One resident asked if we could bring children to perform for them. I think she missed her grandchildren,” she said.

The visits have changed Lim too.

“I have always wanted to volunteer,” she said. “Now I keep fit with daily exercises so that I can help care for other seniors.”

Sharifah, who regularly cooks as part of her active ageing centre’s communal dining programme for seniors, hopes more older Singaporeans will support their peers.

“As Singapore is ageing, we need to take care of each other,” she said. “We can spend some time caring for others even if we are unrelated.”

Chin Soo Fang is senior correspondent at The Straits Times, covering a wide range of topics including community, politics, social issues, consumer, culture and heritage.

在新加坡，老年人之间互相关爱。有的老年人贡献时间或技能做义工，有的关心邻居，有的则为同龄人提供支持，帮助他们应对衰老带来的挑战。“老年人互助”是一个月度系列报道，旨在介绍那些帮助同龄人有尊严、有目标、有联系地安享晚年的老年人。

“同心互助会”是新加坡日益壮大的老年群体中的一员，他们利用退休时间帮助有需要的同龄人。

发布于 2026 年 9 月 5 日上午 5:00

更新于2026年9月5日上午6:15

老年人每月都会到养老院做义工，通过游戏和手工活动陪伴老人们，帮助他们减少孤独感。

志愿者们分享了他们在探访过程中建立的情感联系和遇到的挑战等个人故事。

志愿服务可以增强志愿者的使命感和健康意识，凸显了老年人在老龄化新加坡互相支持的重要性。

新加坡——这是他们每月最期待的事情：从他们的老年活动中心步行一小段路程到附近的一家疗养院，在那里他们会花大约一个小时与居民们一起玩游戏、聊天，有时只是陪伴他们。

这些年龄在 60 岁到 80 岁之间的志愿者自称为“心连心”。他们在宏茂桥 420 号的 Allkin 活力老龄化中心相识并成为朋友，之后决定去帮助其他老年人。

因此，每个月的最后一个星期五，这群大约 15 人会去宏茂桥仁慈养老院探望老人，他们不是作为接受照护的老人，而是去和养老院的居民交朋友，其中许多人都是他们的同龄人。

他们带着宾果游戏卡和一些小奖品，比如用自己攒的钱买的纸巾，前来参加活动。自2023年以来，他们风雨无阻，坚持不懈地进行探访。

在节日期间，他们会制作毛巾熊等手工艺品送给居民。

77岁的退休人士莎丽法·哈比芭回忆起一次探访时遇到的一位80多岁的老太太。当时莎丽法正准备离开，那位老太太突然哭了起来。

“她想跟我回家，告诉我她的家人都没来看她，”莎丽法回忆道，声音颤抖。“我感到非常难过，向她保证我会回来的，但我再也没见过她。”

志愿者每次探访都会被分配到不同的病房，通常不会再次见到同一位居民。

6月26日，来自宏茂桥420活力乐龄中心的长者们与宏茂桥仁慈养老院病房的居民们一起载歌载舞。（海峡时报摄影：Jasel Poh）

6月26日，来自宏茂桥420 Allkin Active Ageing Centre的长者们与宏茂桥仁慈院的病房居民一起唱歌跳舞。

每次疗程结束后，莎丽法都会百感交集。

“我意识到它们中的一些有多么孤独，每次离开它们我都感到很难过，”她说。“我们和它们相处的时间很短暂，但我理解它们也需要休息。”

她说，一些居民甚至试图把自己的电话号码给志愿者，希望能保持联系，尽管他们不允许这样做。

志愿者中第一位男性成员是退休卡车司机庞杰勋。

这位78岁的老人打趣道：“他们都欺负我，所以我很高兴听到又有一位男士加入我们。”

这引起了周围女人们的一阵嘲讽抗议，她们坚持认为他实际上是这个团体中最有价值的成员。

他的妻子，75岁的退休小贩张玉卿，劝说他加入。

“他每天除了睡觉就是吃饭，所以我告诉他应该出门做些有意义的事情，”她笑着说。

6月26日，75岁的张玉庆（左）在宏茂桥仁慈养老院帮助一位居民玩宾果游戏。海峡时报摄影：贾塞尔·波

6月26日，75岁的张玉庆（左）在宏茂桥仁慈养老院帮助一位居民玩宾果游戏。

志愿服务一直是张先生生活的一部分。

多年前，她每天都会给在她家附近工作的外国建筑工人提供饮料和面包。

对于72岁的家庭主妇安·林来说，每一次探访都截然不同。

偶尔，居民之间会发生分歧，志愿者们必须平息大家的情绪，然后引导大家回到游戏中。

还有一些暖心的举动让她非常开心。

“一位老叔叔不停地对我们说‘谢谢’，甚至还给我们唱了首歌，”她说。“有些居民还想把他们赢得的纸巾作为礼物送给我们，以表达谢意，但我们当然不能接受礼物。”

与一些居民的交谈也让她了解到他们最怀念的是什么。

“一位居民问我们是否可以带孩子们来为他们表演。我想她很想念她的孙子孙女们，”她说。

这些探访也改变了林。

“我一直都想做志愿者，”她说。“现在我每天坚持锻炼，保持健康，这样才能更好地照顾其他老年人。”

莎丽法经常在她所在的老年活动中心为老年人举办的集体用餐活动中亲自下厨，她希望更多的新加坡老年人能够支持他们的同龄人。

“随着新加坡人口老龄化，我们需要互相照顾，”她说。“即使我们之间没有血缘关系，我们也可以抽出时间来关心他人。”

Chin Soo Fang 是《海峡时报》的资深记者，报道范围广泛，包括社区、政治、社会问题、消费者、文化和遗产等话题。