SINGAPORE - A Chinese self-help group has roped in 105 dialect-speaking volunteers to raise awareness of the Pioneer Generation Package to seniors.

Some of these volunteers spent their Sunday explaining details of the package to 300 old folks from Redhill, which has a high number of needy seniors including those who are illiterate. The briefings were conducted in Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Hainanese and Hakka.

The volunteers were joined by Radin Mas Member of Parliament, Sam Tan, chairman of Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC) volunteers engagement and development committee, Baey Yam Keng, Lianhe Wanbao editor, Lee Huay Leng and former Rediffusion DJ and veteran host, Lin Ruping.

Tailored for first-generation Singaporeans, the health-care package includes Medisave top-ups and subsidies for outpatient treatment and will pay for part of their MediShield Life premiums. Although some 450,000 people stand to benefit, a recent poll showed that few knew exactly how.

The dialogue at Redhill is the third such session organised by CDAC in the last few months.

Although the self-help group already has several thousand volunteers, this is the first time it has gone out to especially recruit dialect speakers for a project. It has also teamed up with the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations (SFCCA), the umbrella body of over 200 clan associations, to draw volunteers.

To reach out to as many senior citizens, over 1,000 frontline health-care workers have been trained to address questions about the Pioneer Generation Package. Grassroots leaders and their MPs are also working the ground to explain the package to the elderly.