Singapore's Community Development Councils (CDCs) want to get more elderly folk involved in taking care of their own health and safety, as part of a larger effort to cater to an ageing population.
Over the year, the five CDCs are aiming to reach out to 114,000 senior citizens, with the goal of getting them to take part in elderly activities, or even to volunteer to organise them for their friends.
They will also organise more programmes catering to the elderly, and provide more social help.
The new initiative, called Caring for the Silver Community, was launched by President Tony Tan Keng Yam at a community event in Chua Chu Kang on June 24.
He said it is timely as the population of citizens aged 65 and above is expected to triple to about 900,000 by 2030. An increasing number of seniors live alone and many face the risk of social isolation.
"Even as the Government sets aside more funds for the long-term care sector, our families must continue to care for the seniors living with us as long as we have the capability to do so," he said.
"Our society must also do its part to provide our seniors with the opportunities to live healthy, active and meaningful lives, and to bond and socialise with other members of the community."
Over the past few years, the CDCs have taken a holistic approach and launched a series of programmes to help seniors live independently in the community.
Programmes like the national brisk walking clubs have received overwhelming response. There are now nearly 105,000 active members in these clubs.
The push to reach more seniors comes amid national concern over an ageing population.
Singapore now has 1.1 million people aged 50 and above, while the number of those above 65 years old is projected to triple from 300,000 now to about 900,000 by 2030.
The number of old people living alone is expected to more than double to 83,000 by then, with many facing the risk of social isolation. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
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