“Before this course, I had always wondered what it would be like to be an active volunteer. GEN2061 Support Healthy AgeingSG provided the answer. Through real-world experiences, such as on-the-job training and interacting with seniors, I gained valuable skills and insights beyond what is possible in a classroom setting.

As SGAs, we conduct door-to-door visits to check in on the health of seniors, understand their needs, explain community support schemes, and refer them to relevant health and social services whenever necessary, helping them navigate the crossroads of various support schemes to stay active and healthy.

Through these interactions, I developed patience, humility, empathy, and active listening skills. These are essential to engage people in meaningful conversations. I also received nuggets of wisdom from the seniors. In one engagement that I recall fondly, a senior in his nineties, Mr Lim shared with me about happiness. He said, “A day spent worried is a day you could have spent happy. We all have 24 hours a day, don’t lose time being unhappy.”

The seniors also provide a crossroads of wisdom, leaving me with much to think about at the end of each engagement.”