Salih（front left）was very moved by the sincerity of Tzu Chi volunteers in sprucing up his house and repeatedly expressed his thanks in English and Malay. (Photo by Pua Poo Toong)
Salih, a 76-year-old elephantiasis sufferer, is unwilling to receive medical treatment for his condition for fear that he may undergo amputation. However, he cannot take care of the household chores due to mobility difficulties. The stench coming from his house resulted in his case being referred to Tzu Chi’s medical home care team by a social service agency. A 32-man team of medical professionals and volunteers thus decided to clean up his house, spending 10 hours in the process before returning a spick and span home to a beaming Salih.
Before cleaning, the living room where Salih lived was heavily cluttered. (Photo by Pua Poo Toong)
Salih sat by the staircase after being persuaded to leave his home temporarily so that volunteers could clean up his unit. (Photo by Pua Poo Toong)
Undaunted by Dirt and Grime
In the early morning on 17 May 2015, a 32-man team of medical professionals and Tzu Chi volunteers attended a briefing at the Tzu Chi Free Clinic, where tasks were allocated and the equipment distributed before they headed to Salih’s home in Commonwealth Crescent.
When the team arrived at Salih’s flat, he kicked up a fuss and refused to allow them to clean his home. However, the volunteers were mentally prepared for this, and waited patiently below his block till Dr. Edwin Lim (Tzu Chi Singapore’s medical consultation) and a few others had successfully persuaded him to leave his home temporarily for the cleaning. He sat near the staircase to wait as the volunteers proceeded to start cleaning the one-room flat.
As they entered the flat, the volunteers were greeted by the sight of a dark hall with a double decker bed piled high with various odds and ends. The floor was stained with patches of dried up pus and blood which had oozed from Salih’s sores. The kitchen, too, had seen better days. The tap at the dishwashing area was no longer working, and the refrigerator, washing machine, and stove were all covered with a layer of dust and grime. All the volunteers donned face masks, gloves, and anti-dust gear before systematically starting to clean every corner of the flat.
From Salih’s flat on the eighth floor, volunteers formed a human conveyor belt past the lift lobby and all the way towards the ground floor, and 10 large boxes of his belongings including old plates and bowls, umbrellas, a mattress, etc. were transported downstairs. Salih’s god-daughter Titi helped to ascertain the items which were to be retained and those that could be discarded. From time to time, shrieks could be heard coming from his house as cockroaches scurried past, or when volunteers spotted some long-forgotten items such as coins, lying on the floor.
Whiling loading the discarded items onto a lorry, Jamal, a cleaner from the social service centre, told the volunteers that he knew of Sail’s situation a few years ago, but there was no one who could help him clear the rubbish in his home. Seeing the presence of the Tzu Chi team, he was very touched. That day, a total of two lorries were needed to transport Salih’s discarded items away.
Tzu Chi’s medical team and volunteers donned face masks, gloves and anti-dust gear before methodically cleaning every corner. (Photo by Pua Poo Toong)
Volunteers hard at work dismantling the old bed frame. (Photo by Pua Poo Toong)
A Gift of a Comfortable Living Environment
The second phase of the cleanup was washing off the grime from the walls and flooring. After applying different detergents on the stains, volunteers worked together to scrub the surfaces till they were clean. If the stains could not be removed, they would be scraped off instead. Dr. Lin Li Fang, a TCM physician from Tzu Chi’s medical association (TIMA), who was in charge of the kitchen area, briskly got to work scrubbing the wash basin after allocating the different tasks to the other volunteers.
“For an elderly person living alone for so long, and with bodily ailments (too), it is difficult to maintain the cleanliness of the house. It is our wish to help improve his living environment,” said Dr. Lin.
To brighten up the surroundings, volunteers decided to re-paint the house white. Everyone put on a cap and took turns to remove the old paint before brushing on a new layer of paint. Dr. Zhou Qi Shi got onto a chair and scrapped at the old paint on the ceiling.
“Today when we arrived at his house, the stench was really strong and this is not good for his health in the long run. This clean up will allow him to live more comfortably. Once the house is repainted, it will be spanking new!” said Dr. Zhou.
Volunteers brought the discarded items down to the ground floor and waited for the rubbish disposal workers to arrive. (Photo by Pua Poo Toong)
Cleaner Jamal, who had known of Salih and his cluttered home a few years ago, expressed how touched he was that Tzu Chi volunteers had succeeded in cleaning up the elderly man’s home when no one else could. (Photo by Pua Poo Toong)
A Spanking New Home
Titi is Salih’s god-daughter whose family used to live next to Salih. His wife doted on her but after her secondary studies, Titi’s family moved away and she saw the couple less frequently. As time passed, Salih’s health worsened and his wife passed away. As his son and grandchild rarely visit him, Salih has no one to depend on. Upon being notified of Salih’s circumstances by the community service centre, Titi moved in to take care of him. However, in the face of so much junk in the house, she was rendered helpless.
She told Tzu Chi volunteers that before their visit, Salih would sleep on the sofa as there was no space left on the bed. She expressed her gratitude for the 10 hours which the Tzu Chi team had put in, saying that she could see how happy Salih was.
Lim Kim Yan, a nurse in the Tzu Chi home care team, has responsibility over Salih’s case and revealed that initially she was very apprehensive. He had refused her help in cleaning his leg which was oozing pus, and which he had wrapped up in newspaper. He had also changed his mind often over whether to allow volunteers to spruce up his house.
Salih used to be very wary of the volunteers’ visits—he was usually garbed in a sarong and was unwilling to let his legs be seen or touched. In order to build rapport with him, the medical home care team would bring him milk powder every three to four days and chat with him. They would also keep in contact with Titi.
It had been Lim’s wish to see Salih’s home cleaned up. Before the clean up, the neighbours were all affected by the stench. Liu Yi Min from a neighbouring unit on the same floor even came forward to thank the team, saying that the smell was now gone.
After giving Salih a bright and pleasant environment to live in, volunteers brought in a new automated bed for him and also gave him new shirts and a sarong, hoping that he would be able to sleep comfortably at night. A smile finally lit up Salih’s face after he had surveyed his newly improved living quarters. He was touched by the warmth shown by everyone, and his gratitude was evident as he repeatedly thanked them in English and Malay.
TCM doctor Zhou Qi Shi (left) feels that it is a doctor’s duty to alleviate sickness and pain from patients; he does not mind the hard work at all as it can help Salih live more comfortably. (Photo by Pua Poo Toong)
The Tzu Chi medical team and volunteers used different kinds of detergent to remove oil stains on the walls and grime from the floors, even resorting to scraping stubborn dirt off the surfaces. (Photo by Pua Poo Toong)
After the house was thoroughly cleaned, Lim Kim Yan, the person-in-charge of Salih’s case, together with other volunteers, set up the new electric-powered bed in Salih’s house. (Photo by Pua Poo Toong)
After being busy for 10 hours, the volunteers sat down and took a group photo with Salih. (Photo by Pua Poo Toong)
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