Over the years, local service has contributed to my life quite significantly, by giving me exposure to the local Singaporean community and helping me understand the needs of different people better.

I have had the chance to work with the elderly, children, and this year, I will be working with patients suffering from Alzheimer’s and Dementia. This will probably prove to be the most challenging of all my local service experiences, as I anticipate the short term impact of my visits with them. As they memory fades, our presence will fade from their minds as well. One of the most memorable parts of service last year, was having the children of YMCA call me by name and hand me a card specially made by them. I can not expect this, from the patients I will be working with this year. Every session will be a new one – and I will have to start a new. This might make communication more difficult, it might make the formation of a two-way bond more challenging.

What we hope to achieve through this service is the revival (even if it is temporary) of their memories via the power of music. Scientific studies have shown that hearing music that you relate to, can awaken the frontal lobe of the brain and create a connection with the past. Although this method has been proven successful, with some of the patients that it has been implemented on, it is subjective, and difficult to achieve. After all, I am 16 years old, they are in their 70s and 80s – the genre, language and style of music that they equate to, is quite alien to me, hence it has been difficult collecting appropriate songs. Yet, as preparation for our meetings, we have collected quite a range of music in Cantonese, English, Malay, Tamil and Hindi. This has given me more exposure to music as well. We have also read multiple newspaper articles published in the Straits Times, about the organisation we will be working with, and have watched documentaries on this process of reviving portions of the memory too.

With all this preparation in my pocket, I hope my first encounter with them is smooth, yet I must be prepared for shocks and challenging. However, this is the beauty of local service – finding the strength to help others and take initiatives is a skill that we all must acquire and hone.

watch this video to learn more about the dementia patients we will be working with.

Learn more about the organisation

LEARNING OUTCOMES HIGHLIGHTED:

1. Increased awareness of strengths and areas for growth.
2. Undertaken new challenges.
3. Planned and initiated activities.
4. Considered the ethical implications of their actions.
5. Developed new skills.