Those who helped build Singapore in the past came together to show their appreciation for those building the country today, as senior volunteers hosted a Deepavali celebration for migrant workers on Oct 10.
Called Project Silver Impact, the event brought together 120 senior volunteers from nine Care Corner Active Ageing Centres across Toa Payoh and Woodlands to welcome 840 migrant workers for an evening of festivities at Kaki Bukit Recreation Centre.
Jointly organised by Care Corner Active Ageing Centres and Hope Initiative Alliance, the initiative gave seniors an opportunity to serve the migrant worker community.
Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP Cai Yinzhou, the guest of honour, recalled his earlier days serving migrant workers by giving free haircuts in Geylang’s back alleys, dormitories and recreation centres. He thanked the workers for their contributions to Singapore, noting that they had come far from their families to help build the country.
Mr Cai also highlighted the significance of seniors volunteering to appreciate the workers, describing it as a full-circle moment in which those who helped build Singapore in the past showed their appreciation for those doing so today.
Care Corner Seniors Services Board chairman Koh Him Leong said the event marked the first time the organisation’s senior volunteers had gone beyond the senior community to even serve migrant workers.
The seniors contributed not only their time and effort but also their own money to purchase items for the flea market, while spending weeks preparing games, food and other activities, he said.
Held from 5pm to 8pm, the event included dinner served by the senior volunteers, followed by Indian cultural dance performances by the seniors.
Workers also took part in activities such as floorball trick shots, ring toss and memory challenges, as well as fitness challenges. Stamps collected on event passport cards were converted into Care Corner tokens, which workers used to obtain daily necessities, food items and household essentials at the flea market featuring more than 3,200 items contributed or funded by the seniors.
Among the volunteers was 90-year-old Ratnam Periowsamy, the oldest senior participant at the event, who has been volunteering since she was young. Seeing others happy was what kept her going, she said, adding that volunteering had also helped her stay active and healthy.
She hoped the event would encourage migrant workers to care for their own elders when they returned to their hometowns, drawing from the way seniors are cared for in Singapore. “I hope they will see how we care for our seniors here. I hope they will see me as a mother, and I will see them as my children,” she said.
For Pandiyan Prabakaran, 56, a welder who has worked in Singapore for more than 22 years, the seniors’ performances were a reminder that migrant workers were not forgotten despite being far from their families. Their efforts made him feel welcomed and supported, as though the seniors were looking out for them as their own, he said.
The festivities brought back memories of celebrating Deepavali with his family, said Selvaganapathi Chellakkannu, 34, a food processing worker who came to Singapore in 2014. Though he was away from home, he said that the event offered him a taste of that familiar festive warmth.
