[[ _=*~ ThE ProCess ... ~*=_ ]]

1. Meeting real needs
- These old folks are in need of listening ears and people to talk to.
- They are concerned about how and what the outside world is doing, since they are "cooped"
up in the Home most of the time, save for some outdoor activities.

2. Identifying learning outcomes
- To learn about the needs of these old folks
- To understand and appreciate them
- To learn how to communicate with them
- To learn how to work together as a group to meet the purposes of this trip together

3. Preparation for service
- Pertapis Home was found in 1970. It is an Islamic home registered under the Charities Act.
- Helped more than 800 poor and needy families, 800 children, 6000 troubled teenagers and
girls in moral danger, 200 senior citizens, and 2100 recovering drug addicts.
- The Pertapis Senior Citizen Fellowship Home, located at Toa Payoh, is only one of the 8
Homes and Centres of the Pertapis Org.
- Pertapis are now facing major challenges, such as having not enough fundings and lack of
trained and qualified staffs.
- We are going there to interact and communicate with the old folks and provide them with
community warmth and encouragement.

4. REFLECTION

Before Activity
- We will be serving the old folks of the Home.
- Their hopes and dreams are not much. They wanted their families to be well, as well as to stay
healthy and optimistic towards life.
- We are required to understand the old folks and interact with them, showing them that
there ARE people out there who sincerely CARES for them.
- By giving them a hug, a handshake, or simply a smile, they can get real happy and encouraged.
We ourselves will feel real satisfied too. =)

During Activity
- We learnt quite alot from our elderlys. They said stuffs from WWII to recent events. It was all
so fascinating and sometimes, sad.
- I must admit that there is a language barrier between myself and most of the old folks, since
most of them speak Malay and Tamil, and don't quite understand English. However, we have
Malay and Tamil friends around too, so it don't really prove much of a problem.
- We could have talked to the old folks more. They were enthusiastic and sooo fun to talk with.
However, time passes quickly. And we had to go. =[

After Activity
- We hoped we had successfully brought life to the Home during that period of time of us being
there. We really hoped that the old folks had enjoyed their time with us being there, and not
find us noisy or a nuisance. =X
- I discovered that the old folks there generally miss their family, no matter how they deny it. I
can sense the sadness in their tone when they talked about their past and family, although we
had tried our best not to mention the memories of their families to them. (But we can't help it
but to listen when these poor elderlys brought up the topic themselves. And the more we
listened, the more depressed we felt.)


P.S. All these CIP Assignment is done in "Blogging" form.

By: KeNNeTh H0 . (25)