Volunteers declutter Yishun flat so elderly resident can recuperate in clean home
A recently hospitalised elderly woman living in Yishun can now recuperate in a clean living environment after more than 50 volunteers cleared her cockroach-infested flat while she was warded.
On Sunday (11 Jan), they transformed a flat filled with safety risks into a liveable environment.
Source: AMKSS Social Move on Facebook
Clutter piled up to the ceiling of Yishun flat, volunteers needed
On 5 Jan, charity organisation AMKSS Social Move posted an appeal for volunteers on Facebook.
The group is run by a team of alumni from Ang Mo Kio Secondary School to assist the vulnerable members of the community.
It needed 20 to 30 volunteers to clean up a flat in Block 206 Yishun Street 21 while its occupant who was in hospital.
Photos it shared showed that the flat was filled with clutter that was piled up to the ceiling, posing the risk of fire and poor hygiene,
Source: AMKSS Social Move on Facebook
The bathroom was filthy, with its floor and toilet discoloured.
Source: AMKSS Social Move on Facebook
Worse still, the premises were infested with cockroaches.
Source: AMKSS Social Move on Facebook
Volunteers were told to make themselves free from 9am to 3pm on 11 Jan and wear covered shoes, with safety boots recommended.
50 volunteers turn up at Yishun flat
On Sunday, more than 50Â volunteers turned up to help, the organisation said in a Facebook post on the same day.
Source: AMKSS Social Move on Facebook
Photos showed them systematically picking through the items in the flat.
Source: AMKSS Social Move on Facebook
They then put them into garbage bags for disposal.
Source: AMKSS Social Move on Facebook
Outside the first-floor unit, more volunteers were seen helping to bring the discarded items out.
Source: AMKSS Social Move on Facebook
Volunteers clean & repaint flat
After the clutter was cleared, the flat was thoroughly cleaned, with even the window grilles wiped down.
Source: AMKSS Social Move on Facebook
Volunteers then gave the walls a fresh coat of paint.
Source: AMKSS Social Move on Facebook
The result was astonishing — a previously uninhabitable unit was now bright, clean and welcoming.
Source: AMKSS Social Move on Facebook
Emptied of clutter, its rooms were suitable for the elderly woman to recuperate after her stay in the hospital.
Source: AMKSS Social Move on Facebook
Volunteers also came from grassroots organisations & temple
Mr Michael Sim, the founder of AMKSS Social Move, told 8world News that the elderly woman who lives in the flat had been hospitalised after being hit by a bicycle.
The 75-year-old also reportedly suffers from mild dementia.
After she was warded, AMKSS received a call from her hospital about two or three weeks ago.
It asked the group for help to clear the flat before she was discharged, so she could have a good environment to recover in.
After agreeing to take on the case, Mr Sim contacted grassroots organisations and Chao Ying Kong Temple in Hougang for volunteers.
Source: AMKSS Social Move on Facebook
Besides decluttering, cleaning and painting, they also helped buy some furniture for the flat so the elderly woman could have a totally new living environment.
Nee Soon Town Council staff also arranged for 10 to 15 large garbage containers to hold the rubbish.
When the clutter was collected, swarms of cockroaches ran out, highlighting the woman’s poor living conditions.
Elderly woman grateful to volunteers
The elderly woman, Madam Huang Saiyin (transliterated from Mandarin), said she was grateful to the volunteers for their help.
Some of the clutter in her flat belonged to her but others were left behind by friends and relatives who had stayed there.
As they had bought too many things and could not fit them into their luggage, they left it in her place, saying they would collect them later.
However, the items had been left in her flat for at least five years, she added.
Also read: 60 volunteers clear cluttered Boon Lay flat after elderly woman’s daughters ‘buy’ items for S$1K
60 volunteers clear cluttered Boon Lay flat after elderly woman’s daughters ‘buy’ items for S$1K
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Featured image adapted from AMKSS Social Move on Facebook.
