SINGAPORE – Since 2024, an army of seniors has been going around their neighbourhoods performing simple tasks such as packing and delivering food to other seniors who live alone, distributing groceries to low-income families and restocking community fridges.
More than 1,400 seniors have signed up to join Neighbourhood Kakis since it was piloted in 10 constituencies. They have completed over 30,000 tasks across 20 categories for a token payment of $2 per completed task.
The People’s Association (PA) initiative, which aims to keep seniors active, socially connected and meaningfully engaged in their communities, will now be expanded to more constituencies, said Law Minister Edwin Tong at the official opening of the new Mountbatten Community Club (CC) on April 4.
“At a broader level, we are very keen to continue to engage our seniors, as well as our young seniors… to ensure that we encourage our seniors to stay healthy, socially connected and mentally active,” said Mr Tong, who is also Second Minister for Home Affairs and PA deputy chairman.
Seniors, aged 50 and above, can continue to serve the community in many ways, he added. “If you engage them, you give them a sense of purpose and give them a cause, they will do a great job for us.”
The 10 constituencies in the Neighbourhood Kakis pilot are Bedok, Boon Lay, Joo Chiat, Kembangan, Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng, Marine Parade, Sembawang Central, Tampines Changkat, Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru and Toa Payoh Central.
“And progressively, we will be rolling this out to 30 other constituencies, including those that we’ve done pilots with,” said Mr Tong. “By the end of 2026, all of Singapore’s (97) constituencies will be on board, and we will all be able to use Neighbourhood Kakis.”
In addition, the PA Community App will go “live” by April 15 for residents and seniors to use their mobile devices find out happenings in their communities and stay connected with their neighbours.
Users can check the app for senior-centric activities and Neighbourhood Kakis tasks that they can perform.
At the launch of the Mountbatten CC on April 4, some 1,500 guests were treated to performances and food and given a tour of the centre’s facilities, among them a gym for seniors. There were also games such as floorball for the guests to try.
Mountbatten MP Gho Sze Kee, who is an adviser to Mountbatten Grassroots Organisations, said in a speech that “seniors are at the very heart of this vision”.
