The 'golden girls' of the old folks' home
The Selangor King George V Silver Jubilee Home looks after 27 elderly women whom we call 'Poh Poh' in Chinese. It is run by a vibrant supervisor called Mdm Linda.
On 24 June 2009, the old folks at the home were showered with the gift of love. About 60 young men and women descended on the home, bearing gifts and carrying buckets of paint and an assortment of paint brushes. They were the participants from FSTEP who selected the home as their CSR project.
The home needed a new coat of paint but it was costly to hire a painter. When the FSTEP participants knew about this, they decided to paint the building for free.
Well, you need manpower to move furniture around before you can even start painting. 60 people are a formidable force. They pushed all the beds and other furniture to the middle of the building. Then, they picked up the paint brushes and painted every wall, every beam and every plank. When the job was done, the participants had also painted their faces, hands and clothes. Then, huffing and puffing, they moved all the furniture back to their original positions.
The army of participants did more than just painting the building. They also cleaned and scrubbed the building, the bathrooms, the kitchen and the drains around the home.
One of the elderly ladies said to me, “These young people sang to us, entertained us, fed us and painted our home. Where else can you get this kind of treatment?”
When it was time to leave, many of the elderly ladies reached out to grasp the participants’ hands and said, “Thanks! Please come and see us again.”
Mdm Linda walked the participants to the gate. Tears welled up in her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. She never thought that these white-collar graduates would dirty their hands, drag heavy furniture around and speak kindly to the old folks. She said the old folks would treasure this unforgettable day.
Well done, FSTEP participants! Every drop of paint has etched happiness on the faces and in the hearts of the ‘Poh Poh’ of the Selangor King Geoge V Silver Jubilee Home.
Kim Chow presenting a gift on behalf of FSTEP.
The home supervisor Mdm Linda receives the gift.
Well, you need manpower to move furniture around before you can even start painting. 60 people are a formidable force. They pushed all the beds and other furniture to the middle of the building. Then, they picked up the paint brushes and painted every wall, every beam and every plank. When the job was done, the participants had also painted their faces, hands and clothes. Then, huffing and puffing, they moved all the furniture back to their original positions.
The army of participants did more than just painting the building. They also cleaned and scrubbed the building, the bathrooms, the kitchen and the drains around the home.
One of the elderly ladies said to me, “These young people sang to us, entertained us, fed us and painted our home. Where else can you get this kind of treatment?”
When it was time to leave, many of the elderly ladies reached out to grasp the participants’ hands and said, “Thanks! Please come and see us again.”
Mdm Linda walked the participants to the gate. Tears welled up in her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. She never thought that these white-collar graduates would dirty their hands, drag heavy furniture around and speak kindly to the old folks. She said the old folks would treasure this unforgettable day.
Well done, FSTEP participants! Every drop of paint has etched happiness on the faces and in the hearts of the ‘Poh Poh’ of the Selangor King Geoge V Silver Jubilee Home.
Kim Chow presenting a gift on behalf of FSTEP. The home supervisor Mdm Linda receives the gift.
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