Living Assistance

Home Cleaning Before HDB Home Upgrading Starts

Home decluttering service is not a fixed service provided by Tzu Chi. However, it is still rendered when it is necessary. In 2019, the home of an elderly Tzu Chi care recipient, Grandma Lee, was scheduled to undergo an upgrade under the HDB Upgrading Programme. However, cleaning and tidying work before and after the home upgrading programme was a major hassle for the elderly.

In 2014, Grandma Lee had a fall, rupturing her pelvic bones in the process. After having surgery, she experienced serious degeneration in her knees, which limited her mobility. Her husband has also been unable to exert power and lift heavy objects because he has been a stroke patient for many years. On the day of Deepavali, a group of seven volunteers gathered at Grandma Lee’s home in Hougang in the afternoon, to carry out the tidying-up and cleaning work to get her house ready for the upgrading work.

A Care Recipient who Volunteers took Eight Years to Meet for the First Time

2011 was a year of heavy responsibilities weighing down on Mr Wong. His business investment had failed while his wife, who worked as a government grassroots worker, suffered severe depression and eventually had to quit her job. Mrs Wong shut herself off from the world and refused to socialise for eight years, even when home visit volunteers came to help. However, the volunteers persisted and communicated with Mrs Wong via email, providing her with guidance and encouragement. Since becoming a care recipient household under Tzu Chi, the Foundation has provided the family with a monthly subsidy and educational support for their children. The volunteers had visited them 120 times over the past ten years. The visits helped Mr and Mrs Wong get out of their mental predicament.

In August 2021, Mr Wong returned to work at a fast-food restaurant, and both of his children graduated and entered the workforce. Mr and Mrs Wong requested that Tzu Chi discontinue their subsidies when their current income was sufficient to sustain their lifestyle. Mr Wong would pass his excess daily allowance to Mrs Wong, who would put it into a bamboo coin bank, and they would donate it when the volunteers visited each month. They are grateful for Tzu Chi's company over the years and hoped that volunteers would continue to visit them.