Serving with Nothing
Laying the foundation for the first home
But with almost no resources , how were the sisters to start a home ? Help came in the form of the late ‘ Father of Charity ’ Dr Ee Peng Liang . Sr Mary said , “ He simply told us ‘ you look after the poor and I ’ ll take care of the fundraising ’. The result was one million dollars raised and St Joseph ’ s Home was born .
BABY STEPS
The home officially opened on 9 December 1978 with priority going to the poorest of poor . Another key admission criteria ? “ We said those who come in must be able to walk . We were afraid we could not manage the bedridden , so everyone had to be mobile ,” Sr Mary explained . Without much resources , the Sisters did almost everything by themselves , “ Elizabeth cooked while Maria maintained the place and I nursed the residents . We had a handful more nursing aides and two sweepers . The rest were volunteers including Americans who taught the residents how to broadway
dance ! Sr Maria organised the Christmas pageants and sewed all the costumes herself . We had nothing then but we felt good working together as a family .” The home quickly filled up to the full capacity of about 112 residents . The Sisters needed a doctor . So when they heard that a Dr Lee Chang Long had wanted to volunteer with the home but was unsuccessful , Sr Mary welcomed him with open arms . Dr Lee ’ s clinic at Boon Lay Avenue was just down the road from the home and to this day , he remains a ‘ resident doc on call ’. Dr Lee saw to simple cases like flu , fever and the like . ‘ Complicated ’ cases meant chronic conditions like diabetes , hypertension and
Welcoming the first residents in the early years
10 | St Joseph ’ s Home