Elderly Couple’s Passion for Learning makes Silver Years more Meaningful

The Fei Yue Senior Activity Centre located at the void deck of their apartment can be considered as Mdm Lim Ping Tee (73 years old) and her husband Mr Teo Tiong Siew (88 years old)’s second home, as they visit the place so frequently. Over the past few years, the retired couple has been visiting the centre on weekdays to participate in various activities and courses.

 

Family Central (a service under Fei Yue Community Services) is one of National Silver Academy’s (NSA) partner organisations, and organises various courses for seniors at the Senior Activity Centre. Seniors aged 50 and above can enjoy subsidies when they sign up for NSA courses to engage in continuous learning and lead an exciting third age. 

 

Since 2017, the couple has taken up a wide range of NSA courses relating to DIY and arts, such as celebratory card making, decoupage, miniature food sculpture, acrylic painting, balloon modelling, paediatric tuina and more. These courses have added more fun to their silver years.

 

Mdm Lim and Mr Teo decorated their home with the handicrafts they had created, with some of them carefully packaged. Besides the handicrafts display, the walls in their living room are filled with pictures of them attending classes and activities together, capturing their happy memories. 

 

Before their retirement, Mdm Lim was a seamstress while Mr Teo was a construction worker. The couple, who do not have children, found it convenient to go downstairs to attend classes. If one of them is interested in a particular course, they will sign up for the course together.

 

“We attend the same courses so that my wife and I can discuss and provide suggestions to each other, building a closer relationship. In addition, we can help each other when we encounter any difficulties during the course,” Mr Teo shared. 

 

Mdm Lim stated that the duration of these courses is between three to four hours. Some of the more complex DIY projects they have worked on include creating an open terrarium, which requires them to decorate and place small elements like cacti and succulents. Although it may take up a few days to complete, they still found it interesting and fulfilling.

 

Strengthening hand-eye coordination with different DIY projects

 

Through the course of kneading clay to make various food sculptures such as mini fries, tomatoes and hamburgers, Mr Teo feels that the miniature food sculpting course had enabled him to exercise his eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills.

 

“Even when it comes to kneading mini-food sculptures, I do not need reading glasses. Our fingers remain agile as we cut out patterns or create miniatures,” Mr Teo said. 

 

Mdm Lim shared that the trainers are very patient: “They will teach us the steps on how to cut, paste, and colour. We had to put full concentration into it and felt a sense of satisfaction after looking at our finished products.” 

 

To the couple, they found such experiences novel and fun. “It was very satisfying to see what we created. So, we cherish them very much,” they explained. 

 

Widening their social circle while picking up new skills

 

Mdm Lim said that there are usually around ten to twenty people attending classes, and many of them live in the same neighbourhood just like the couple. Thus, attending classes allowed them to expand their social circle.

 

“When we do our handicrafts, we will chat and discuss with others, suggesting suitable colours and patterns. Naturally, we all got to know one another,” she noted. 

 

Other than handicraft courses, Mdm Lim and Mr Teo occasionally attend other classes such as TCM and paediatric tuina.

 

“The trainer taught us the acupoints of the human body and explained the benefits of pressing the acupoints on the body. We learned a lot,” Mdm Lim said as she pressed the back of her hand and elbow to demonstrate which acupoints would help relieve a headache or improve the condition of the spleen and stomach.

 

Both Mdm Lim and Mr Teo believe that attending classes made their lives more fulfilling and they intend to continue doing so.

 

**Special thanks to Mdm Lim and Mr Teo who accepted our interview, we wish them all the very best in their lifelong learning journey.

 

Source: Lianhe Zaobao © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.