Volunteering with HCA has been a truly fulfilling and rewarding journey in NUS over the years. Initially, I had pictured visiting patients stricken with life-limiting illnesses to be a gloomy and awkward encounter, but my first visit turned out to be such a joy. The uncle we visited lived in a modest one-room flat, and to my surprise he was so jovial and full of life. Subsequently after that first visit, I was drawn and looked forward to Saturday mornings. Our weekly visits consist of basic housekeeping and befriending, whereby we maintain not only the condition of the patients’ physical environment but more importantly their emotional well-being. As time goes by, we forge a precious bond with these patients who are always so welcoming and appreciative of our presence. Indeed, seeing the patients smile or get excited during a conversation truly unravel from within a satisfaction so deep that it makes the other troubles we face seem so frivolous.

Death, a sensitive topic often shunned, is nevertheless inevitable in the hospice setting. A number of the patients whom we have grown so dear to over the years have passed on, but the memories of the wonderful times they have left behind are some things that simply cannot be easily replaced even by the work of time. After all, we have, in our visits, been dealing with life and not death.

Many precious friendships have been forged as the volunteers’ paths cross not just with the patients but also with each other. Friendship is like wine, the older it gets, the better it tastes. I love my fellow volunteers, whom I have grown so close to throughout the visits, for their kind heart and giving spirit. Having been through the pure joy as well as the moments of sadness together, the bond that we have built throughout the visits is one that is very memorable and to be treasured in the years to come.

“Since starting my journey of volunteering in secondary school, I have been served with many life lessons, none more so than when I joined HCA. With HCA, I have been given the opportunity to interact with the terminally ill. It is something that has been challenging, enlightening and fulfilling at the same time. With terminally ill patients, we have to be sensitive about our choice of words and yet still be open about the discussion of death and dealing with the disease. The patients, all too often bogged down with excruciating pain, still manage to live with reality and fight against the odds, no matter how insurmountable the disease may seem. With such resilience, it is hard not to salute them and adopt their spirit in my own blessed and smooth-sailing life. With the need for more pain management and palliative care, HCA has provided an excellent platform for volunteers like me to give back to society by distracting these patients from their pain, just by providing listening ears and letting them know that we care.” – Tan Hong Yu, Engineering Year 2

“After 2 semesters of volunteering work in HCA, I’ve been taught how to take care of the elderly and to cheer them up. I have learnt a lot of things from the senior volunteers and HCA outings always bring joy in my heart. Some of the patients that we visit do not have any family members, hence it is a joy to make them happy and help them with their house chores. I love the part when the elderly would share their life stories with us. I feel so fulfilled every time to see them smile when they are talking to us.” – Ng Xiang Ling, Science Year 2