"Pursuing one's dreams" is often a privilege that is given only to the young. But we forget that our seniors have dreams too. Some of the dreams include being able to walk again to the nearby coffeeshop for breakfast with friends; or to be strong again to take care of their grandchildren; or to have the energy to meaningfully volunteer back to society and impact the next generation. These dreams may seem “simple” compared to what we may imagine a younger person would say. But these dreams are nonetheless important.

Physical independence, especially, is a common dream that many seniors share. Many of us don't think much of this "simple dream" because we take our clean bill of health for granted and with this, are empowered to pursue our own dreams. But many of our seniors dream of a stronger self not for selfish reasons - they hope that with more energy and strength they can now role model to those around them what it means to live fully. This is why their dreams matter.

Almost 1 in 2 seniors living in the community will experience some degree of frailty, such as cognitive deterioration or muscle loss, which makes everyday activities difficult for them to perform. What most people are not aware of is that frailty could be reversed.

"Frailty is not an inevitable part of ageing, and with the right intervention, we can reduce the number of elderly who need to seek treatment for this syndrome."

Prof Ng Tze Pin,

Associate Professor, Department of Psychological Medicine

As a result of the growing frailty limiting the seniors’ mobility, they began to lose hope and purpose in life. One common refrain we hear is, “We are of no use, all we could do is to wait for death”. This physical and mental limitation lead to greater social isolation.

Empower Ageing has initiated a community-based frailty and social intervention programme to strengthen frail seniors. We equip centres staff and volunteers working with seniors to conduct the programme and results have been very promising.

For the past decade, we have been plowing the ground and partnering with social service organisations and government bodies to put in place community intervention programmes that would enable seniors to be stronger. Through our programmes, we've seen seniors in wheelchairs walk again or seniors putting away their walking sticks for good to walk hand in hand with family members. These dreams have a profound impact on the lives of both seniors and their caregiving families.  

Our programmes aim to strengthen frail seniors to be physically independent, decrease the risk of social isolation and enable them to achieve their dreams. Help us empower seniors with the chance to dream again by donating toward our programmes.

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GIVING WEEK SINGAPORE 2019