Every Tuesday, 75-year-old Lim Thiam Teng hops on his bicycle and heads to the Montfort Care GoodLife! centre in Marine Parade for a round of Bingo with friends. He returns on Thursday to play a mind-stimulating game of Magic Blox; and on Friday for dominoes. 

This is a relatively new routine for the retired saw miller who has lived alone since his wife died of cancer in 2011. Six months before her death, he resigned from his job at the timber company to take care of her.  

“We used to go out for meals together but after she fell sick, I just tried my best to make her happy at home,” reminisces Mr Lim in a mix of Mandarin and Hokkien. 

“To be honest, after my wife died, I was in no mood to socialise or learn anything new," he says. 

In 2012, out of boredom, he volunteered with the food distribution programme Meals-on-Wheels, delivering meals to other seniors who were immobile and unable to leave their homes. 

He also started working part-time for his former company, until a fall in 2014 forced him to retire for good. With a lot more time on his hands, Mr Lim would spend his days alone watching television and doing housework. 

His three grown-up children, who are in their 40s and 50s, and six grandchildren visit him once a week or fortnightly. 

“They can’t stay for too long though as I understand that they have their own families and commitments,” says Mr Lim, who also believes seniors should lead their own lives and not rely solely on their children.

Through his volunteering efforts with Meals-on-Wheels, he got to know Montfort Care GoodLife! centre, a community outreach programme that is one of many Active Ageing Centres (AACs) around the island. These AACs provide buddying and befriending services, as well as organise activities for seniors aged 60 and above, regardless of their frailty, housing type and income levels. 

Learning to use social media and making new friends

Initially, Mr Lim would occasionally go only for consultations at the free traditional Chinese medicine clinic at the GoodLife! centre in Marine Parade, where he lives.

It wasn’t until the Covid-19 pandemic, when volunteers at GoodLife! would call weekly to check in on him, that he began going regularly. He learnt to use WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook to stay connected with family and friends, as well as communicate with the centre’s staff with ease. 

Encouraged by their efforts, Mr Lim began to participate in the centre’s activities more frequently as pandemic restrictions eased. 

Today, he is a regular figure at the centre and is always around to welcome new participants. Some days, he would drop in just to say hi to the staff and his newfound friends. 

Says Mr Lim joyfully: “I now have a lot of interest to learn new things and I can use Facebook a little, too!”

He also participates in various celebrations and programmes organised by the centre, such as a bus tour of the Christmas light-up in Orchard Road last December. In January, he went on an outing to shop for Chinese New Year goodies at places such as Woodlands Terrace and Jurong Fishery Port. 

He says: “I signed up just for fun and to go out for a ‘walk’, but it was a very enjoyable trip which brought back many happy memories of Chinese New Year.

“I didn’t intend to buy anything, but I went home with a lot of festive goodies like pork floss, love letters and kueh bahulu!” 

To Mr Lim, ageing actively is about being happy and healthy. In addition to cycling to GoodLife!, he stays fit by doing simple exercises at home. His children are pleased that he has found new friends, including a Mr Chua, Mr Alan Lim and other new friends whom he invites out for meals.

“They tell me to go out and have fun. There is no point in staying at home and being bored,” says Mr Lim.

He shares that while he used to have many friends from his workplace, most of them have died over the years. 

“Old friends may have left my life but at GoodLife!, I now have the chance to make and meet new friends.”

Visit https://go.gov.sg/ifeelyoungsg to read more about the 2023 Action Plan for Successful Ageing and learn how you can take care of your own physical and mental well-being through preventive health, active ageing programmes and care services.

Seniors or caregivers may call in to AIC Hotline at 1800-650-6060, or visit www.aic.sg for more information on senior outreach and engagement, community-based care, healthcare, community mental health, financial support and caregiving.

This series is an initiative under the 2023 Action Plan for Successful Ageing.