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by Sim Kah Yong
The outing on 19 November is one of the activities organized for the elderly clients who come for the weekly Elderly Group Programme at the Association on Monday.
The Elderly Group Programme was started by the then Community-Based Rehabilitation Services Department of the Association about 10 years ago with only four elderly clients. The group has grown to nearly 20 clients. It is now jointly managed by the Social Work Department and the Rehabilitation Team of the Vocational Training Department.
Three staff and three volunteers accompanied 13 elderly clients to this outing. Most of the clients were dressed for the occasion and were very excited about the outing. We arrived there at about 11 am. After settling down, some of the elderly clients took a walk at the beach with the volunteers and staff.
Later on, one of the elderly clients told us that he enjoyed walking at the beach, listening to the waves and feeling the sea breeze. It seems that he does not often have such an opportunity. He is totally blind.
The staff members organized some games which are specially planned for people who have low vision or are totally blind. They were asked to bring different articles from one place to another without any sighted help except for audible guide. This posed a great challenge to visually handicapped people especially those who are totally blind. For many of them, this would be their first experience with such game. In spite of this, they participated actively and enjoyed the challenge.
After much fun playing the games, the elderly clients settled down for a sumptuous meal prepare by Grace's husband. The food was so good that nothing was left at the end of the day.
We ended the day with sing-along and dancing. Everyone was exhausted at the end of the day but agreed that this was an enjoyable outing.
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