Rekindle the Volunteer in U
Can you still remember the first time you joined the SN Home as a new volunteer?I would just like to share my personal experience with regards to the above mentioned questions.
When I first came to the Home as a new volunteer, I was quite interested in how the elderly spent their time there. For most of them, it is a place where they will spend their last remaining days.
My grandparents passed away when I was a junior in Secondary school. As a young teen, I had never really spent a lot of time with them as a grandchild and regret only comes when it's too late.
The sight of seeing so many grandparent faces speaking Hokkien at the SN Home reminds me of my own grandparents, whom I loved very much but didn't get the chance to cherish them enough.
One reason I look forward to going to the Home is to spend time with the 'grandparents' whom I miss dearly.
As a newbie at the Home (one with a poor command of Mandarin and other dialects), I began asking myself what I could really do as a volunteer there since communication looks like a problem.
It basically boiled down to two options:
1) I could give up on communicating with the elderly, say goodbye and never go back again (you lose)
or
2) I could start by learning simple sentences to enable communication. (pass GO and roll the dice)
It was an achievement for me when I could actually start to understand bits and pieces of what the elderly were talking about. As more time passed, I understood more of the bits and pieces and before long, it was my turn to start the talking instead of just listening. I'm still learning to remember more sentences as I continue to engage in more conversations with the elderly.
Does it not seem like a jigsaw puzzle that we all love piecing together as a child? Someday, these bits and pieces will form a complete image.
One reason I look forward to going to the Home is the discovery of the little pieces that will eventually form a completed puzzle.
Today, as a committee member of the volunteers and helping with the recruitment of new volunteers, is another activity that I look forward to each Saturday. Every newcomer who bothers taking the time down to learn about the Home is a new friend and I orientate them around the Home equally.
Even if they may be coming just once and not likely to come back again, I'm glad that I was able to expose them to the world of the elderly beneficiaries.
Walking round and talking to the newcomers about the various sections of the Home reminds me of the activities I had joined in during my time there, just like a trip down memory lane.
One reason I joined the Home is that I can let more people know more about the needy and elderly beneficiaries and showing newcomers that all of us has enough love in us to spread around.
After joining the SN Volunteers for slightly over a year, I did a little revision of what I had learnt:
1) I was able to bring joy and laughter to the elderly with my little actions.
2) I made new volunteer friends, new elderly friends and new family friends.
3) I still continue to enjoy the new experiences each week I'm there and develop my personal character.
4) Each time I orientate a newcomer, I'm glad that one more person is aware of such volunteer acts going on.
Seems to me that I actually gained a lot more than what I am doing for the elderly and I'm still looking forward to it.
posted by Ben @ 12:20 AM
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