People visit Taipei to enjoy the sights, food and shopping. Five young Singaporeans went with a cause in mind to clean the homes of the elderly, and keep old strangers company.

Wanting to do something different during the school holidays, two university students and three young working professionals got together to prepare for a work service project abroad. Of course, they could have contributed to the needy at home, but they decided instead to use their time to reach out to people further away and at the same time, learn from other cultures.

They contacted a Taiwanese student residence, WenShan, which was planning a service project for some of its university students, to a suburban elderly community in Taipei. Things began to fall in place as the Taiwanese were interested in a collaborative effort between Singaporean and Taiwanese youths, seeing the opportunity also of a cultural exchange.

Flour power
The volunteers from Singapore, Joyce Er, Evelyn Chew, Paoling, Sheena Kandoth, and Fanny are in their 20's, no older than 25. Joyce is a nurse, Evelyn, an editor, Paoling, a tax officer, Sheena, a social work honours student at NUS, and Fanny, a bio-engineering student at NTU. Even though they were paying for their own airfare and lodging, the project required some fund-raising.

The girls dedicated six consecutive Saturdays to baking breads, marble cakes, and chocolate cookies to sell to their friends, family members and colleagues. Hard work, but they managed to sell about $500 worth of baked goods to buy cleaning materials and daily essentials for the residents of the Ankang Elderly District.

However, the greatest reward came in the form of the affection and warmth of their new Taiwanese friends. Initially hostile and suspicious towards the girls, the Taiwanese elderly at Ankang were won over by their cheerful readiness to serve them. Language was not a barrier as they had spent time practicing Mandarin before leaving. In Taipei, each Singaporean was paired with a Taiwanese university student, who helped to bridge possible communication problems with the elderly residents.

"My children who live near by do not visit me but you have come from Singapore to show me some kindness. I am too old to travel to Singapore, but my heart will be with you." - Granny Yi, 98

Old friends
For five days, the girls scrubbed the old folks' little flats, chatted and listened to their stories, and on the last day, bid farewell with a cultural performance, not expecting the Taiwanese press to show up. The event was reported in the China Times of Taipei with an interview of the five Singaporeans.

When they left, 98 year-old Granny Yi, who had initially told Evelyn to "leave her alone", had this to say: "My children who live near me do not visit me but you have come from Singapore to show me a little kindness. I am too old to travel to Singapore with you, but my heart will be with you."

During their fortnight's stay, the volunteers also enjoyed night market trips where their Taiwanese friends treated them to delicious traditional delicacies. They even found time to visit the cultural monuments in Taipei and practised their improved Mandarin with locals.

"What gives life value is not money or social status, but the number of meaningful relationships forged." - Sheena Kandoth

Sheena recalls, "On top of the great food and wonderful shopping, the service trip to Taiwan offered me a glimpse of the diversity of people. In Taiwan I met elderly who had been soldiers in the Kuomintang army, former mamasans, brick layers, taxi-drivers, gamblers, university professors, and even a man who had abandoned his wife and daughter. However, while we may sometimes pass negative judgments on some of these people, I learnt from my trip that at the end of the day we are all equal."

"All the elderly lived in the same two-room flats, and cared for each other regardless of background. Furthermore, in their last years, they have accepted that the end is near, and that everyone will go to the same place. The greatest lesson I learnt is to not hold on to material possessions, because these may, and often does disappear within our lifetime, and definitely are left behind when we die. What gives life value is not how much money we have, or how elevated our status, but the number of meaningful relationships forged."