Empowering Seniors Towards Healthier Living – One Exercise at a Time

Every Monday and Friday morning, one can always find Mdm Ang Bong Chee, a highly energetic and cheerful 73-year-old volunteer, leading exercise classes for seniors visiting MWS Active Ageing Centre – Teck Ghee Vista.

Mdm Ang’s volunteering journey began in 2017, shortly after her retirement and when Methodist Welfare Services (MWS) had set up a Senior Activity Centre. A staff member soon learned that Mdm Ang was an active senior and she had been diligently doing daily exercises for many years. The very passionate Mdm Ang, who was also keen to give back to the community, was invited by the staff to conduct exercises for fellow seniors. She subsequently led other seniors as a volunteer exercise instructor for two exercise programmes: Wu Xing Cao and Hui Chun Cao.

A senior who has been participating in Mdm Ang’s exercise programmes for six years now shared that these exercises have helped to ease her arthritis pain and muscle stiffness and improved her joint mobility. For Mdm Ang, her greatest happiness lies in seeing her peers share similar interests towards exercising and healthier living.

Mdm Ang always lends a helping hand to her peers, from sharing useful exercise tips and healthy recipes to assisting them with their digital needs. In 2021, she was a panel speaker at the annual Singapore Patient Conference, a learning platform that brings together the voices of caregivers, volunteers, residents, health and social care partners to co-create better health and social care. Hoping to reach out to more seniors to lead healthier lifestyles, she shared some of her vegetarian recipes and conducted an exercise demonstration for over 700 virtual participants.

As a strong believer that health begins with the individual, Mdm Ang encourages her peers to actively participate in various activities and programmes such as arts and crafts and exercise. She shares, “This way, the minds and bodies of seniors will be kept happy and healthy. Their lives will also remain vibrant even in their golden years.”

Connect with individuals similar to Mdm Ang by being a part of our Health Kampung – a National Healthcare Group initiative to build empowered, caring and healthy communities in Central-North Singapore. Health Kampung activates residents towards better health, builds a community of activated carers to form strong peer support networks, and creates opportunities for residents to build greater community ownership.