Connecting Communities with 3O

After many weeks of planning and testing, 3O managed to come up with 4 main activities which we felt would help to make the elderly at the care centre feel more at home as well as make their stay there much more meaningful. The 4 activities were:

[if !supportLists]- [endif]Rainbow Handprint

[if !supportLists]- [endif]Sit-down Soccer

[if !supportLists]- [endif]Bingo

[if !supportLists]- [endif]Craft Making

The students were split into 4 main groups and each group worked on planning and carrying out one activity. We had to make sure that the activities did not require the elderly to move around a lot and it was not dangerous. The 4 main CSI leaders were also each attached to one group.

On the day of our CSI, we arrived 2 hours before the start of our activities so that we had ample time to prepare the materials needed as well as introduce ourselves to the elderly and make them feel comfortable.

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We were all really excited to have the chance to interact with the elderly and carry out the planned activities for them after months long of preparation and planning. There was gaiety in the air even when we just preparing ourselves before the actual visit.

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Initially, the elderly did not seem very interested in the activities that we had planned for them. However, after getting to know them better through small talk, they were much more accepting and participative. The volunteers at the organisation were also very helpful as they helped us out by getting the elderly involved in our activities and snapping pictures of them.

It was really heartwarming to see the happy smiles on the elderly’s faces. It gave all of us a sense of accomplishment, knowing that our hard work had paid off to make them happy and create an enjoyable experience for them.

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The games, craft-making and even impromptu sing-alongs created an enriching experience for all of us, especially for some of who do not have that much of experience when it comes to interacting with the elderly. Some of us even manage to overcome the language barriers and had small chats with the elderly to keep them company while they were waiting for food to be served. For the CSI leaders and group leaders of each activities, we learnt that it is not easy to plan and coordinate activities, especially finding suitable ones that will actually help the elderly to bond with one another. It took us quite a while to plan everything and we had to think of all the details so that nothing is overlooked. As a whole, we all learnt how to deal with impromptu problems spontaneously and we also learnt to step out of our comfort zones. Webonded together as a class through planning and carrying out the various activities.

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When it was time for us to leave the centre, we were upset and didn’t want to leave. At the same time, we were also very happy for the time spent there with the elderly. Knowing that we managed to brighten their day, we felt immensely delighted and it really felt like all our hard work has paid off!

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CSI was really fun and it was a fruitful experience for all of us! It gave us a chance to help the community and also have fun as a class at the same time! This was a memorable experience for not just our class as a whole but also for each of us, individually.

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Here are some photos of 3O in action!!

#3O