Boisterous laughter has been heard emanating from the halls whenever the children from NTUC First Campus’ My First Skool (MFS) centres get together with seniors from NTUC Health’s Silver Circle senior centres.
Participating in shared activities such as craft-making, any generational differences were replaced by a natural affinity for each other. Through regular interaction, seniors, many of them coping with a degree of dementia, experience a stronger sense of purpose through mentoring the young children during the activities.
The children, aged between five and six, have also been able to pick up values of empathy, compassion and respect for the seniors.
The Social Impact
What started as a pilot for senior-junior interaction between the two NTUC social enterprises in 2014 has since developed into a structured
The Three Tiers of Collaboration
Each preschool- senior centre pairing will operate the Inter-Generational Programme on one of these levels.
• Basic
The engagements may be one-off and contingent on availability of resources or opportunity such as during festive celebrations.
• Intermediate
The engagements will take place at regular intervals within a termed period. Examples include regular birthday celebrations or scheduled activities.
• Advanced
The engagements will be structured over a long-term period and take place regularly as part of a sustained curriculum. Activities will be integrated into both the childcare curriculum and senior centre’s activity schedule.
See how the Inter-Generational Programme has brought smiles and brightened up the lives of some children and seniors
