Members of the Clementi and Toa Payoh Ward jointly organized a Christmas Party for the seniors at the Jamiyah Nursing Home on 10 December 2016. In addition to the singing by Primary children and the youths, a game of Bingo, a treat of log cake, Santa Claus made an appearance and surprised many of the 42 seniors who had never seen a live Santa before. Surprise and big smiles indicated that they enjoyed the party. Santa presented a gift pack for each senior.
It was a community service project that the participating members of each ward would remember for a long time. While some members went early to set up the hall for the party and put up the Christmas tree, others were happy to volunteer to get the seniors (in their wheel chairs) from their wards on the 3rd and 4th floor down to the hall on the ground floor for the party. Before the start of the party, members were assigned as buddies to the seniors. They got to know the seniors and introduce them to the others by name and some personal preferences. At the end of the introduction round, it was quite clear that the favourite food among the seniors was fried chicken.
The singing by the Primary children kicked off the program. It certainly gladdened the hearts of the seniors and brought smiles to their faces. With their buddies beside them, the seniors tracked their Bingo cards earnestly, and several of them won prizes.
As some of the seniors were not be able to feed themselves, the Church members acting as buddies readily stepped forward to serve the Christmas log cake to the seniors and fed them gently and patiently. A few members admitted that they had never fed another adult before but they welcomed the experience saying it helped them understand the seniors and their needs.
The event ended with the distribution of gift packs by Santa Claus. Six sister missionaries and elders came to support the event. One of the missionary elders ended up being the strong macho Santa Claus.
