On 26 January 2019, CAL’s partnership with Chinatown Heritage Centre was officially launched during ‘Bloom’, a full-day event for caregivers held at the museum.
Bloom commemorated the budding of the relationship between CAL and Chinatown Heritage Centre through collaborations such as Those Were The Days in October 2018. This time, the event was also a collaboration with Glacy Soh, a local artist, and with final year nursing students from Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP). In line with the theme, Glacy’s exhibition comprised a collection of orchid paintings. The students from NYP added to the festivities by role-playing characters from the past and conducting therapeutic and fun activities to engage caregivers through baking, childhood games and paper art.
CAL’s Executive Director Tim Lee shared on how the theme ‘Bloom’ is an appropriate one for the event as caregivers are like slow-blooming orchids, and face long journeys of caregiving ahead of them. Nevertheless, they will see their ‘flowers’ emerge as they persevere. He encouraged them to take a lesson from the brevity of flowers in bloom, and to enjoy every moment with their loved ones.
The event was well received by caregivers, many of whom had brought their loved ones with them. Jane Lai, a caregiver whose C2C graduation was just two days after the launch event, commented of the event that it was “really well done and I enjoyed myself very much.”
Bloom marked the start of a series of engagement programmes to be held at Chinatown Heritage Centre throughout the year. Such upcoming programmes include workshops for origami, finger painting, brush letting and lantern-making, among other things. The activities conducted will benefit participants through sensory engagement and therapy, and will also give them a space to engage with other caregivers and to find respite from the anxieties of daily caregiving. Through these activities, Chinatown Heritage Centre will serve as an ‘oasis’ for caregivers, allowing them to have a dedicated area in the heart of the city to receive equipping and support.