Twice a month, for up to four hours, Ms P. Santhia takes care of terminally ill children.
The 28-year-old has been volunteering with HCA Hospice, Singapore’s largest home hospice care provider which was set up in 1989, for the last three years.
She provides parents and other caregivers respite, allowing them to look after the other children in the family, run errands or simply take a breather.
“I love children a lot. They really make my day, and so I find this volunteer opportunity rewarding,” said Ms Santhia, who works full-time at her family’s childcare business.
During the Covid-19 circuit breaker in 2020, Ms Santhia could not meet her friends and relatives. That set her thinking about how lonely seniors in nursing homes would feel every day. She then began looking for volunteer opportunities.
“I studied various volunteer programmes and settled on Medi Minders, HCA Hospice’s respite care service,” she said. “It helps children and young adults who have life-threatening or life-limiting conditions.”
Ms Santhia was attached to a mentor for a few months before taking on assignments on her own. The children she cares for are mostly bedridden.
When she visits a house, she talks to the parents first and assures them that their child is in safe hands.
“Some children will not be able to respond to my gestures,” she said. “They will just stare at me when I am reading books or playing music for them.
“They melt my heart. I always try to control my emotions when I’m with them.”
Often, Ms Santhia also has to tube-feed the children under her care.
“The kids are attached to their feeding tubes and are non-communicative. It’s a sight that saddens me,” she said. “Imagine having to go through pain when other children are freely moving around.”
Until recently, she was a caregiver to a bedridden boy with spinal cord problems for over a year.
“We spent a lot of time together watching his favourite anime shows. I miss him so much,” she said.
Ms Santhia also volunteers at other organisations and charities, such as SPD (Serving People With Disabilities) as a befriender – people who provide support and companionship to lonely or emotionally distressed individuals.
During the circuit breaker in 2020, Ms Santhia was one of the first tele-befrienders that SPD engaged and trained.
With home visits suspended at the time, she made regular phone calls to check on her assigned senior, Mdm Angie, 74.
According to SPD, it was challenging initially for Ms Santhia to engage the senior (over the phone) as they had yet to form a bond, making interaction difficult.
“With her perseverance and the support from SPD’s social work and volunteer management team, Ms Santhia managed to get the senior to open up to her gradually,” said the charity.
“As time passed, the pair developed a beautiful friendship where they could even talk on the phone for hours now.”
But looking after children as a Medi Minder is her first love.
“Taking care of terminally ill children really takes a toll on the parents amid their busy schedules; they deserve some rest and respite,” she said.
“They express their gratitude by giving me food, well-wishing cards and health books. It’s these small gestures that move and motivate me.”
