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SINGAPORE \u2013 For five years, Ramlah Rasul has been the primary caregiver to her 78-year-old husband, who has multiple health problems, including gout and arthritis.<\/p>\n
It has taken a toll on her own health and well-being. The 71-year-old retired administrative executive who underwent knee replacement surgery<\/span><\/a> in 2025 finds it increasingly difficult to push her husband\u2019s wheelchair as she manages her own diabetes, hypertension and thyroid problems.<\/p>\n Emotionally exhausted, she tried to seek support at an active ageing centre near her home, but found it difficult to connect with others there as she had no \u201ckaki\u201d (close friend).<\/p>\n On one of her weekly visits to Masjid Al-Muttaqin in April, she approached a social worker from Allkin Singapore.<\/p>\n Allkin\u2019s Suriani Umar referred Ramlah for counselling services at Club Heal, and also connected her with someone from the mosque to explore MUIS\u2019 financial assistance schemes<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n Said Ramlah: \u201cI pour out my problems, and I get a listening ear. I still face challenges, but I know I\u2019m not alone now.\u201d<\/p>\n The tie-up between Allkin and Masjid Al-Muttaqin in Ang Mo Kio is part of a broader effort involving the Lien Foundation, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) and Masjid Al-Islah in Punggol to build a model that can bridge Muslim seniors and the wider community care network.\u00a0<\/p>\n The initiative aims to tap places of worship as third spaces where spiritual care can be a gateway to the larger system of integrated social and health support.\u00a0<\/p>\n This programme is an extension of an existing Santunan Emas initiative which started at Masjid Al-Muttaqin in 2024. It supports Muslim seniors and their caregivers through spiritual guidance and community care.<\/p>\n Mosques and religious figures can be important and trusted sources of support for Malay\/Muslim seniors, who may not always approach formal services first, said Ong Pei Ni, director for care and integration at Allkin Singapore.<\/p>\n Malay\/Muslim seniors make up about 8 per cent of attendees across its 10 active ageing centres, said Ong.<\/p>\n Al-Muttaqin\u2019s senior mosque executive chairman\u00a0Mohd Fairus Abd Manaf said the mosque can play a broader role by working together with community and healthcare partners to provide more holistic support for seniors and caregivers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhile spiritual guidance remains an important aspect of their lives, many seniors and caregivers also need support in areas such as health, social connection, active ageing and navigating different stages of life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Under the programme, Allkin established a \u201csocial worker clinic\u201d at Masjid Al-Muttaqin where congregants can seek help from the social workers on a variety of social and healthcare issues.<\/p>\n The 12-month pilot from February 2026 to January 2027 is the foundation for a model to be replicated across the broader mosque ecosystem in Singapore.\u00a0It will be expanded to Masjid Al-Islah in Punggol in September.<\/p>\n As at Aug 19, the clinic in Ang Mo Kio has recorded 71 cases, with the top three concerns being future care planning, caregiver support and financial concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n Allkin also plans to develop a faith-sensitive guide for practitioners and community partners who deliver support within faith-based settings.<\/p>\n Lien Foundation chief executive officer Lee Poh Wah said seniors tend to gravitate towards places that have held meaning through their lives, rather than walk into an unfamiliar active ageing centre.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/b>Our care systems are built on the assumption that seniors will come to us,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are already gathered, in large numbers, in places of worship we have not thought to walk into. It\u2019s time our care systems acknowledge and integrate this reality.\u201d<\/p>\n Paulin Straughan, director of Singapore Management University\u2019s Centre for Research on Successful Ageing, said places of worship bring together individuals who share common beliefs and values.<\/p>\n This can help lower barriers to social interaction, foster trust and create opportunities for meaningful relationships to develop. In turn, they can strengthen networks of mutual support and caregiving within the community, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n She noted that other places of worship, such as churches and temples, also serve as gathering places where devotees come together for worship, personal reflection and social interaction, and some welcome non-members to community celebrations.<\/p>\n \u201cSustained participation by non-believers may depend on whether social and community-oriented activities can be offered in ways that are welcoming and meaningful without requiring religious commitment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Singapore University of Social Sciences associate professor Kelvin Tan said the model can be extended to other places of worship, as some are already running non-religious activities like kindergartens and enrichment classes.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a highly urbanised Singapore where space is limited, religious organisations could think about how to make better use of their premises,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen these spaces are not being used for religious purposes, they could be opened up for other community activities, creating \u2018third spaces\u2019 where people can meet, socialise and support one another.\u201d<\/p>\n Retiree Hamidah Wan, 57, who lost her husband to cancer six months ago, turned to the mosque and Allkin for help in July.<\/p>\n She was connected with an ustaz who provided spiritual guidance as she coped with her grief. Allkin also explored active ageing centre activities and volunteering opportunities with her to keep her occupied.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mosque is a safe place,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s OK to just walk in and seek help.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 For five years, Ramlah Rasul has been the primary caregiver to her 78-year-old husband, who has multiple health problems, including gout and arthritis….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":81063,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=81062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/81063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=81062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=81062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=81062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Religious places as third spaces<\/h2>\n
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