CSI Day for 3N!

How did your class conduct the activity?

We executed all our planned activities at Peace Connect Senior Activity Centre. We were well prepared for all the activities but we can never be sure of the kind of response we will receive from the 30 elderly that came for it. Eventually, our class were very adaptable to changes and we tweaked our activities as and when the need arises.

We began with the origami session and soon we observed that we are not able to cater to the elderly to a 1:1 ratio because of the lack of seating space. Hence, we spaced ourselves and helped one another to overcome the language barrier, which made our next activity, the sing along session, harder to conduct. The elderly though joined along as we got busy hyping them up singing songs of multi-language. We had more fun playing Bingo, as we found out this was their favourite game.

One observation we has was that if the elderly that didn’t win and did not receive a prize from us, they appeared unhappy. One lesson learned was that we could have prepared sufficient prizes and award more expensive prizes to the winners while the rest received cheaper prizes, so that everybody comes home satisfied. We ended the plan with simple calisthenics outdoors. After that was lunch that we ordered and all participants also received a goody bag.

What are the responses from the organization /community that your class is serving?

Feedback we receive was that our ideas were refreshing and brought smiles to every elderly participant on top of preventing isolation of elderly, which was Peace Connect main objectives. Furthermore we were found to be receptive to feedback during planning stages, while demonstrating good values and attitudes all along.

According to Peace Connect’s staff, most of us looked like first timers interacting with elderly who are not related to us, hence we felt unsure what to do when they behaved in a ‘difficult’ manner.

How does your class feel about the outcome of their project and what are some collective learning points?

We felt satisfied overall that we carry out our plans well and managed to adapt to changes in real time.

We were also humbled to see that the elderly appreciate our efforts as well enjoyed all the goodies and food that we brought along for them.

#3N