ONE BIG COMMUNITY
Changing to Serve
The Improbable Volunteer
ONE BIG COMMUNITY
Lee Jiak Jee
Ever imagined yourself as an 80-year-old ? The thought fills Lee Jiak Jee with such fear and uncertainty that it took him 30 years to find the courage to volunteer with us . He just wasn ’ t sure about being in the company of seniors .
Nine months on , Jiak Jee cycles to the home three to four times a week to monitor the edible herb garden he started with fellow volunteers and our residents . They ’ re part of the Grow-a-Garden project to cater to those with green fingers and to build bonds among neighbours .
The 50-year-old shares how he went from ground zero to proud co-owner of a garden patch that has yielded enough produce for sale at a bazaar and much more .
Imagining the Worst
“ I CANNOT IMAGINE myself as an older person !
To me , life occurs in three stages - ages 0 to 24 , 25 to 49 , 50 and up . The final phase is filled with lots of unknown . I remember a time in my 40s when I asked myself : ‘ What is the meaning of life ?
Volunteering and interacting with the residents was an even more foreign concept . While I ’ ve been to St Joseph ’ s Home once in the past , it still felt like there was nothing for me to say to the residents . And what should I do ? Would I offend them ? What were they thinking ?
When I finally found the courage to step in here , Geraldine and I discussed what my interests were . Since I did some gardening of my own , she planted the idea of starting Grow-a-Garden and asked if I could get the project going . Yes , I like gardening but that was limited to a few potted plants . Leading a group of people to run a herb garden was a whole different ball game ! I ’ m not sure what made me say yes , but since I have already committed to serve here , I decided to push through .
Baby Steps
It helped that new volunteers had to attend a training workshop . One of the speakers for the module on ‘ Communicating with Seniors ’ said ‘ Communication starts when you ’ re 10 , 20 metres away from a person - with the way you walk , look and your body language . And you don ’ t need to speak the same language , you only need to communicate that you care .’ This has guided me in all my interactions with the residents since .
The home also organised for an NParks volunteer to share tips on how to start a herb garden . With that , we planted a few pots of green beans and placed them around the home to get the residents excited . Fellow volunteer Francis brought edible herbs for
68 | St Joseph ’ s Home
Jiak Jee with fellow volunteer Francis in the early days
Volunteer Jiak Jee ( left ) with resident Mr Kwang