Cleaning-Up

Everyone harbours dreams and yearns to lead the life they desire. However, the harsh reality often diverges from our dreams. Stella Lee, aged 67, found herself trapped in a chaotic living environment that mirrored the turmoil within her own heart. In the process of decluttering her physical space, she discovered a newfound sense of ease and motivation to live her life well from now on.

Tzu Chi care recipient Png Wui Choong has a one-foot-long surgical scar on his left leg. When the volunteers first met him, he used hand gestures to show the number ‘6’, leaving them guessing whether he meant six pieces of nails, or it happened in June (the sixth month of the year), or he fell from the sixth floor.

“Ah...!” The shovels dropped to the ground. The screaming sound of female volunteers echoed in the room as they fled in all directions upon seeing more than 20 cockroaches emerging from their hives in the grass and making their final escape towards the wall. Such “surprises” made the seemingly simple clean-up task “challenging”, not knowing what was awaiting them at each corner of the houses.

In 2019, Tzu Chi Malacca implemented a “Caring for the Elderly” programme aimed at providing regular care to care recipients, seniors living alone and volunteers above the age of 65. The programme commenced with a spring-cleaning session at care recipient Hung Guek Lin’s home, in addition to attending to elderly volunteers,Low Song Kew and Sah Eng, who live alone.