An Epilogue to 2009

Without barely any warning, the year 2009 is quickly coming to an end. As my final post for the year, this entry will take you through some of the major happenings and recount some of the memorable moments at All Saints Home (not arranged in ascending/descending order of importance):

Major Happening/Memorable Moment No.1 - All Saints Home Flag Day
Despite waking up on the wee hours of a Saturday morning, despite recklessly exposing ourselves to the insanely erratic weather of Singapore (yes, the sun baked us first before the rain soaked us in ‘clemency’ afterwards), despite the 6 agonizing hours of persistent pleading with shoppers to part with their loose change, All Saints Home volunteers went out en masse to seek public donations during the All Saints Home Flag Day earlier this year. Guilty of feigning tunnel vision whenever I see students selling flags, I was soon to receive a painful retribution. Nevertheless, the day ended with very heavy donation tins, and more half-crazed smiles from satisfaction than exhaustion.

Major Happening/Memorable Moment No.2 – ESN Carnival
In a poetic twist of fate, I was placed in charge of the All Saints Home game stall at the carnival and almost as always, the surprise from a harmless decision is more than what I could handle. A record turnout from all the participating homes transformed the carnival grounds into instant pandemonium within minutes. But as some redoubtable kungfu masters from a period drama would put it matter-of-factly to his dim witted disciple, the ancient pugilistic saying will always hold true: chaos may brew on the surface, but order will breed from within. Indeed, I saw lines form at the games and food stalls, I saw prizes distributed to the participants in a seemingly haphazard manner (but everyone was given the prizes they won), I saw performances unfolded one after another in a manner that would make Swiss watchmakers proud, and most importantly, I saw the old folks from All Saints Home enjoying themselves at the carnival.

Major Happening/Memorable Moment No.3 – BBQ at ECP
Controversial at first, but turned out marvelously at the very end. The annual BBQ was a brainchild of the welfare committee at All Saints Home, with the aim to forge closer ties amongst the volunteers. As expected of every BBQs, an epic amount of food was catered for this celebration, with a ridiculous number of people crowding around the smallest BBQ pit on earth. Had it not been for the voracious mosquitoes and ravenous sand flies, the BBQ would only have ended on the following morning.

Major Happening/Memorable Moment No.4 – Singapore Flyers
Charting unknown waters for the first time, All Saints Home volunteers brought the residents to the Singapore Flyers to celebrate the mid autumn festival. Sweeping aside all initial worries and doubts, the weather was gray but did not pour, the schedule was tight but everything ran smoothly, the day was exhausting but never become demanding. We spent the remainder of the mid autumn festival with nearly every resident at All Saints Home in the most meaningful manner to date by bringing moon cakes to their wards and singing oldies with them.

And the above depiction is my summary of the milestone events at All Saints Home for the year of 2009. For the new volunteers who had joined us in our weekly services at All Saints Home this year, I am absolutely certain that you already have your very own set of memorable moments at All Saints Home. Whenever friends or colleagues quizzed me on the reason behind my decision to volunteer, my idealistic (if albeit naïve) answer had always been to do my bit for society. But it dawned on me that volunteering has never been a one-way street. At the home, auntie Puay Lin constantly reminds us to take good care of our health in order for us to avoid all the elderly ailments that plague her now. When we tried to comfort her by taking turns to hold her hands, her genuine show of concern seemed to convey itself through her touch. Andrew never fails to smile brightly at us when we sang in his ward. Despite his serious head injuries, Andrew possesses a courageous and admirable optimism, which silently encourages us when we seek to overcome any obstacles encountered. Dennis is always tolerant and forgiving when we sang off tune occasionally. But instead of getting irritated with the hubbub we make, Dennis is always the most vocal and ready in showing his sincere appreciation for our efforts.

We have a fair number of new volunteers who joined us this year, which means a lot to our fledgling volunteering group. Although I have no idea how you find out about All Saints Home since public recruitment efforts had ceased a year ago, but I am glad that you have joined us in making possible this meaningful endeavor at All Saints Home. In a lot of ways, I believe that the time you have spent with the residents at All Saints Home had given you many memorable moments, just as you have provided them with theirs. Thus, let us continue to create many more memorable moments for the residents at All Saints Home in the coming year of 2010!

WZ