In our seventies, we're probably retired and enjoying the fruits of our labour, but not for Jaya, who at 76, serves as a community volunteer for elderlies in Jalan Bukit Merah.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 [singing]
00:11 [music]
00:15 I'm the unofficial caretaker for this resident here,
00:19 elderly in this block.
00:20 [music]
00:24 See, I have Chinese, Indian and Malay.
00:27 I can speak their languages.
00:29 [music]
00:30 And I got a special name known as Ah Huat here.
00:33 Not my real name, it's Ah Huat.
00:35 My name is Jaya, but they only call me Ah Huat
00:38 because I'm one of the members of the Hokkien Kongwei in Bukit Banjang.
00:41 That is donkey ears.
00:42 [music]
00:44 So when I come to them, I have to talk to them in their language,
00:48 which I can understand, she can understand.
00:50 I can't talk to them in Chinese.
00:52 [music]
00:55 So I go around and ask for sponsorship.
00:58 They know why sponsor, to help the resident.
01:01 Chinese New Year, I also give them goodie bag.
01:04 Diba Bali, last year I gave $100 each for 35 of them.
01:08 For Hari Raya, now we are doing this.
01:10 We give the, what you call the Hari Raya makan rai.
01:13 [music]
01:27 [speaking in foreign language]
01:34 To get volunteer to help a senior citizen is very difficult.
01:37 Not everybody got the heart to help.
01:40 I got my own brother staying in 14th floor, he doesn't help.
01:44 One day that lady, my sister, I told you,
01:46 11 o'clock she called me, she can't breathe.
01:50 I went up, asked her to sit down.
01:52 I just rub her back, and asked her to drink some hot water.
01:56 And after 10, 15 minutes with her talking and all that, I left.
02:00 Next day early in the morning, I call her,
02:02 "Aunty, are you okay?"
02:04 "Yes, I'm fine, aunty."
02:05 You know, when you go older and older, you're very sad.
02:09 There's nobody to take care of you.
02:11 If people like me, if go down to all these elderly,
02:13 when I talk to them, they'll be happy.
02:15 Even their own children won't do that, no.
02:17 I can do it.
02:18 I can make them happy, holding their hand,
02:21 walking in the market, I can do that.
02:23 So they at least, they know there's somebody to help them in this age.
02:28 As myself, I'm a senior citizen, I'm also medically got leg problem.
02:32 But I manage myself, but if I can do it, definitely I will go.
02:37 You see, that is my service to them.
02:40 I'm coming.
02:42 Go inside the house.
02:44 Inside, I have to catch a movie with you.
02:47 I'll talk to you, come.
02:50 I'm talking on the mic now, talk nicely.
02:54 I'm wearing this, talk to me.
02:56 I'll do it simply.
02:58 Do it simply, don't stress yourself too much.
03:00 Simple, just do it simply.
03:02 But you're always here, what's there to worry about?
03:05 Come and see me, hello, if I say Jaya, he'll come, then what?
03:08 Recently, she was supposed to go to hospital.
03:12 She asked for the ambulance, we made some arrangement for her.
03:15 Okay, she was in hospital.
03:16 Sometimes, you see, hearing problem, she's wearing a machine.
03:20 So she has to use the hearing.
03:22 Other than that, every day below, they can collect the food.
03:26 Yes, she's staying alone.
03:28 She got one son, one grandson.
03:31 And the son is staying in Woodlands, not nearby.
03:35 If there is anything, she will come here,
03:37 because I'm staying the same block here.
03:39 Same level, third floor, I'm staying here, they can run to my house.
03:42 No need a son, she will run there.
03:45 I'm also considered like a son.
03:47 Because she's 88, I'm 76.
03:51 So if there's anything, emergency, I will go down and I will inform the important people, the government side.
03:57 So I will only take care of the residents here,
04:00 because most of them are all 86, 85, 90.
04:05 And the other side block, there's 101, I got two.
04:09 101 Chinese.
04:11 [Music]
04:19 Come, come.
04:20 [Music]
04:25 [Speaking in Chinese]
04:35 That's why you ask me what I do.
04:37 There is a big list for it, what I do.
04:41 I got NTUC classes with me.
04:43 One under the CCMC, and they got AIC, AAC,
04:47 and I got different other location, division also people can help me.
04:51 Hospitals, the social worker, I also got contact with them.
04:54 I'm one of the members of the diabetic centre.
04:57 When you talk about vaccination, they don't want.
05:00 The old people are scared, worried.
05:02 But when I go and talk to them, this is for your good health,
05:05 because pneumococcal, usually you go to a hospital and put $200 in a clinic.
05:10 Whereas I do free for them, free, free, no money.
05:14 And the flu jab.
05:15 Every year, they will have to go one time for the pneumococcal and the flu jab.
05:20 Okay, this I take one bus, they give me, I bring them for the jab and all that.
05:23 Next month, I'm doing it next month, next week.
05:26 Bring about 30 people for the vaccination.
05:28 Okay, this also I'll do.
05:30 What is the main reason to help all these people is because of this.
05:33 When I call them, immediately they will respond me.
05:36 Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, because I'm busy doing a lot of things.
05:38 You see just now, the lady from NTUC, I call her, immediately they know something is on.
05:43 So she will call me.
05:45 This is how I connect them.
05:47 So next week, she will come in to see me because we want to see the next door neighbour.
05:51 She's having problem now, dementia, becoming worse.
05:54 How to work with elderly, you must learn.
05:57 The first thing, you must be very patient.
06:00 That is number one.
06:01 Secondly, when dementia people, when you hold their hands to rub for them
06:07 they know somebody wants to talk to them.
06:09 When I come back, I open up the YouTube and I listen to Teng Lee Ching's songs.
06:30 She died in 1995, I cried for her.
06:33 She has already sang about 1,731 CDs.
06:36 I like her voice, she's a legend.
06:39 I cannot become a legend, you know.
06:41 I am Jaya, mean I am Jaya, you know.
06:42 Everything is in our hands.
06:46 Help the seniors.
06:48 Help the seniors.
06:51 Help the seniors.
06:55 Help the seniors.
06:58 Help the seniors.
07:01 (upbeat music)