SENIOR, VOLUNTEER, CAREGIVER: SPREADING PURPOSE ALL AROUND

In a society filled with bustling lives and ever-evolving priorities, it is rare to encounter individuals who selflessly pour out their time, energy and love to others. However, at an age where many opt for a more relaxed pace of life, 66-year-old Mr Justin Foo is a senior from LB AAC @ Clementi 344 who has instead taken on the roles of an active volunteer serving fellow LB seniors, as well as a full-time caregiver to his 94-year-old mother.

Justin’s dedication towards seniors goes all the way back to his tertiary schooling days, when he and his friends would often visit the elderly to engage them in conversation, something that he enjoyed a lot as he always found that they had much to share. In 1997, Justin became more involved with seniors in his community when he was invited to volunteer at the Civil Defence Executive Committee (CDEC), a grassroots organisation that helped to educate the ground about preparedness to overcome emergencies.

Around that time, an incident left a deep impression on him. Then running his own servicing and repair business, he would come across a group of seniors sitting at a void deck near his apartment block every night when he returned from work. One evening, when he saw them and smiled at them as usual, they smiled back and remarked to him, “Mister, things are good for you; you are still working, not like us, just sitting here waiting to die!”

This statement from the seniors struck Justin. “How can?” he said to himself. “Though they are retired, they shouldn’t be just waiting to die.” Determined to do something about the situation, he decided to volunteer at the Residents’ Committee (RC) in his Clementi estate, and work with the RC members to help organise various meaningful events for the seniors, such as day tours and singing activities. In 2000, Justin became the chairman of the RC, and later that year, he was appointed as the vice-chairman of the Citizens’ Consultative Committee (CCC).

Fast forward to 2018, Justin, who had then been working for the past 10 years as a regional IT manager in a multinational corporation, retired from his full-time job. His mother had been diagnosed with dementia, and he needed to join his wife in looking after her. Despite this, his fervour for volunteering never wavered, splitting his time between being a caregiver to his frail mother and engaging seniors through grassroots activities. He also observed a growing number of wheelchair-bound seniors sitting aimlessly around the estate he had been living in for nearly five decades, and wanted to help them spend their time more purposefully.

About two years ago, Justin, together with his wife and mother, signed up as members of LB AAC @ Clementi 344, which under the new Active Ageing Centre model had opened its doors to all seniors aged 60 and above, regardless of socio-economic status or dwelling types. When he noticed how his mother was looking forward to the activities at the centre, Justin also wanted to bring other seniors in to have social bonding and do things that interested them. His unique understanding of the ground and existing connection with many seniors in the estate meant that he was able to reach out to them and invite them for different programmes at the AAC.