SINGAPORE – In the evening, after families have finished their dinner and are winding down for the day, 90-year-old Ratnam Periowsamy picks up her walking stick and heads out of her home.
The widow and mother of five walks around blocks of flats in her Toa Payoh neighbourhood looking for the elderly who are home alone and need companionship.
Some are receptive and engage her in conversation. Others do not welcome her. But she never takes things to heart.
“They have moods. You want to work with elders? You have to lower yourself to them and listen,” she said, adding that she always returns even when turned away.
She once stood outside an elderly man’s flat for an hour as he vented his frustrations about life to her. The next day, he was in a better mood and eventually agreed to join the community activities she had recommended.
Ratnam is the oldest volunteer with Care Corner Singapore’s Project Neighbour Network, which trains seniors to befriend and support their vulnerable elderly neighbours.
As a “ranger” in the initiative, she pairs up with another volunteer to knock on doors, inviting neighbours to join activities run by Care Corner’s Active Ageing Centre in Toa Payoh East.
At 90, Ratnam Periowsamy is the oldest volunteer with Care Corner Singapore’s Project Neighbour Network.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
The grandmother of six said she is well-known in the neighbourhood because she interacts with anyone, especially those who are alone.
“If they are sitting alone, I go and sit next to them and ask what is happening. They don’t want to talk, the next time, I go back again. The third time, sure to talk already,” she said.
Growing up in a kampung
Ratnam’s zest for helping others did not emerge recently, or after her husband died more than 20 years ago.
Its roots go back to her childhood, when she grew up in a close-knit kampung around Tessensohn Road.
Born in Tamil Nadu, India, in 1936, she was brought to Singapore by her parents when she was three months old.
The eldest of four children, she spent most of her childhood and early adulthood mingling with neighbours of different races and backgrounds.
“We never closed or locked our doors. I go into your house, you go into my house. We grew up in that kind of atmosphere,” she said.
Ratnam believes many in the older generation today feel lonely because they “live in concrete cages” and miss the kampung lifestyle, when friends and lively conversations were just a short walk away.
She added that many elderly people also feel disconnected from their families, especially when loved ones are preoccupied with their phones or other commitments.
“So, many will tell me that no one even asks whether they have eaten or how they are feeling,” she said.
Her concern for others grew out of the voluntary activities in which she was involved as a child.
While studying at St Margaret’s Primary School, she accompanied the principal on numerous missionary stints to help and teach children abandoned or neglected by their parents.
After moving on to St Hilda’s School, she began volunteering independently. This included giving tuition to children residing in The Salvation Army, and taking care of animals at what was then known as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
“In my younger days, I didn’t take volunteering as a serious thing. I did it for fun because I enjoyed spending time with the children and animals,” said Ratnam.
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