Volunteers recognised at NKF awards ceremony 'encouraged' by patients' positive outlook
(L to R) Recipients of NKF's Outstanding Volunteer Award Mr San Thu, 72, Mr Tan Jui Meng, 57, and Mr Wong Siew Cheong, 70. Photo: Kelly Ng/TODAY
SINGAPORE — The casual conversations he had with kidney patients while ferrying them to and from dialysis sessions has taught 72-year-old Wong Siew Cheong the virtues of resilience and patience.
"It's a humbling experience. For people with a lifelong medical condition (like kidney disease), these patients are very resilient," said Mr Wong, who has been volunteering at the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) since 2012.
"I have been very encouraged by their positive outlook in life."
Mr Wong, who is one of the charity's 14 patient escorts, were among the volunteers recognised for outstanding service at a ceremony on Sunday (Dec 3).
Fifty-seven awards were given out to individuals and groups for their outstanding or long service.
Mr Wong, who started volunteering at the NKF with his daughter, has spent about 224 hours escorting patients and made a total of 142 trips over the past year.
On days when he is away or not up to the task, he would arrange for family members to cover his duties.
His most memorable encounter, he told TODAY, was with Ms Charmaine Tan, a patient diagnosed with kidney failure when she was still in junior college. Mr Wong had escorted the teen for more than a year.
"She had very poor eyesight because of her condition, but still kept a positive outlook in life. She had never let her medical condition affect her plans and ambitions for the future," said Mr Wong.
He still keeps in touch with Ms Tan, who is now an undergraduate at the National University of Singapore. "She recently managed to get a kidney transplant. I was very happy for her," said the volunteer.
Fellow Outstanding Volunteer Award winner San Thu, who has helped with NKF administrative duties and event preparations since 2009, said volunteering keeps him active in his old age.
"It gives me something to do. With my age... I cannot donate money so I donate the work," said the 72-year-old from Myanmar, known by patients and staff as Uncle San Thu.
The significance of volunteers to NKF is two-fold, said its chief executive officer Tim Oei.
First, they widen patients' social circles and are a source of encouragement to caregivers, he said.
"It is good that our patients meet people other than just the care staff... (Renal care) is a long journey, and (patients) sometimes feel that all they are going to see are people in the hospitals," Mr Oei noted.
"Having different people interacting with them is a good psychosocial approach. Our mission is to give life and hope."
Expanding NKF's pool of volunteers also helps to raise awareness of its cause, he added.
"The more people we can touch, the more we can share about the issues of kidney disease, kidney failure... Our interactions with the volunteers help us build awareness," he said.
In the coming year, the charity hopes to ramp up its pool of volunteers from the corporate sector. It currently has 1,500 volunteers, including students, working professionals, retirees, other non-profit organisations, and corporate groups.
Sisters Jessie and Mavis Ng, whose late mother was a patient with NKF for five years, said the staff played a significant role in helping her settle into the dialysis routine.
"They were very supportive and always found ways to cheer her up... You could tell their care was coming from their hearts," said Ms Jessie Ng, 52.
With more time on her hands now after her mother passed on last year, she hopes to start volunteering with the organisation.
"We always wanted to but never had the time when we were busy caring for my mother," she said.
"We hope to volunteer and contribute in future, especially because we can truly understand what the patients go through."
