Getting by with a little help from a friend

Everybody needs a friend. It’s how we get by in the best and worst of times. This video from the Singapore Red Cross, tells the story of 81-year-old De Silva Petiyaga Arther Bernard, one of the 63,000-plus seniors in Singapore who live on their own.

Over the past two years, Singapore Red Cross volunteers have made regular visits to his home as part of the ElderAid programme. “I’m by myself. I’m not giving a sympathy story but it’s true, it’s my life,” says Mr De Silva, who says the visiting volunteers help him monitor his health and improve his nutrition and quality of life. And it’s clear, it means a lot to the volunteers too. “I am very happy to share my joy with him,” says 64-year-old volunteer Agnes Hlaing Hlaing Aye. “Because I can see that when I talk, he laughs…It brightens up his day.”

I am very happy to share my joy with him, because I can see that when I talk, he laughs…It brightens up his day.
Agnes Hlaing Hlaing Aye