Senior Connect Program - 23rd August 2009

Senior Connect Program - 23rd August 2009

"click to enlarge image"

Senior Connect Program @ The Serangoon on 28th June, 2009

Welcome back to the 5th Senior Connect Program Workshop!

Just as before, we had 2 very exciting talks today. We were very privileged to have Ms. Linda Foong to kick off the first talk for the day. The topic she shared with us was on Changes in Ageing. Ms. Linda Foong’s experience is very impressive! She is a Consultant Health Trainer with TSAO Foundation and has been an Occupational Therapist for 11 years - working at different acute hospitals such as Changi General Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and other Nursing Homes.

We were not disappointed. Her sharing was like a wake-up call to many of us. I learned not to raise my voice at the elders if they cannot hear. On the contrary, you should lower your voice and pitch. Did you also know that the elderly have the same capacity to learn, just like any teenager? I also learned about the different physical changes to ageing. The degeneration of muscles and loosening of skin will be strong motivations to never stop exercising. Making the trip down to the Senior Connect Programme can also be considered a mild form of exercising! Ms. Linda Foong was not spared during the tea-session break. A handful of the audience engaged her with many good questions during the break. Her talk has definitely drawn much interest and a better perception towards healthy ageing!


After the tea-break, Mr. William Teo, Chairman of SCP @ The Serangoon, gave us a talk on Techniques in Photography. Mr. Teo is the current Chairman of Passion Photographers. He started the Passion Photographers Interest Group in The Serangoon in January 2007. He is also a part-time instructor at the Photographic Society of Singapore and served as the organizing chairman of the 54th Singapore International Photography Award 2007. We were very honoured to have him share with us some tricks of the trade.


Two weeks ago, Mr. Teo gave us a Talk on the Basic Fundamentals in Photography (refer to previous blog post). Today he would excite us the finer points of photography. We were in for a treat! If a picture could tell a thousand words, Mr. Teo’s pictures told not just simple words, but stories.

At the end of the session, attendees were asked to give their feedback. We have been getting very positive and encouraging feedback for the past 5 sessions and will be incorporating some of the feedback for future sessions. Thank you for all your feedback and we hope to serve your needs better!

Everyone takes home some good reflections at the end of each session of the Senior Connect Programme workshop. However, during the next session on July 12 (the second Sunday in July), we will also be taking home portrait photographs! Passion Photographers will be here to take portraits of those who attend and you will get a 4R size photo free of charge! Please come early to register and please do not wear blue as the backdrop for the portrait shots is blue.

We have another piece of good news! Our well-loved Dr James Tan, Consultant Urologist, will be coming back to give us a Talk on October 25. Please do keep the date free and make it a point to invite your friends to come as well. Just as Mr. William Teo, Chairman of Senior Connect Programme, always say, people with friends live longer!

Senior Connect Program @ The Serangoon on 14th June, 2009

Welcome to the 4th session of the Senior Connect Program! I'm Amanda Tay, your host for the afternoon. Today, we will have 2 interesting Talks on estate planning and basic fundamentals in photography.

We are happy to welcome back LIROS Capital to share with us on estate planning. Mr. Kelvin Teo specializes in helping families plan for inter-generational wealth transfer. His talk highlighted the importance of doing estate and wealth planning. He posed an interesting question: What would you do if you knew you had only 1 month to live? Would you be taking time, busy trying to determine who should get what of your assets, or would you be spending every precious moment with your loved one? In addition, Mr. Kelvin Teo broke down the seemingly complicated steps in estate planning to 6 simple and manageable steps.

Mr. Kelvin Teo's talk drew a lot of questions from the audience.

After the thought-provoking talk by Mr. Kelvin Teo, the rest of LIROS Capital team took up the questions by the audience. The audience was forthcoming with questions and asked simple but relevant questions.

We have been privileged to have LIROS Capital with us since the start of SCP on 26th April, 2009. They were well received. Mr. Quek Siew Teck, Vice Chairman of SCP, presented a token of appreciation to Mr. Paul Liu, Managing Partner from LIROS Capital

We had a meaningful break after the talk by LIROS Capital. Everyone was hungry for knowledge and hungry for food as well. Residents took the opportunity to mingle and to get to know a friend of two.......people with friends live longer !

After the break, Mr. William Teo, Chairman of SCP @ The Serangoon, gave us a talk on basic fundamentals of photography. He is also the Chairman of Passion Photographers, an Interest Group in The Serangoon since 2007. Many in the audience were stunned and in awe of the different effects from different settings of the aperture and shutter speed. For amateur photographers, this was surely an eye-opener!

Dear Residents of Serangoon Constituency:

We had yet another exciting and enlightening SCP session on 24 May09.
(Pls visit the Passion Photographers' website at http://www.passionphotographers.com for photographs taken at the sessionand our Blog at http://www.seniorconnectprogram-serangoon.blogspot.com/This Blog is the One-Safe-Source for information/updates on Senior Connect Program)-

Dr James Tan, a Consultant Urologist, captivated the participants'attention on....including simple human functional issues such as thefrequency of urination, increased urination at night, blood in urine,etc.....the simplicity, sophistication and the intricacies of modern-daysurgeries and surgical processes. Dr Tan's talk was so interesting andinsightful that the participants have requested that we invite Dr Tan tocome back to talk to us again. [The SCP Committee is in the process ofmaking this arrangement with Dr Tan.]

During the teabreak, there were much networking and interactions...and many new friends were made amongst the participants themselves.

After the break, the participants were treated to yet anotherinvaluable and informative session by LIROS on "Affordable HealthcareDuring Golden Years"..... including the differences in terms of the usage,coverage, etc of the many different "Shields" - MediShield, ElderShield,etc.

For those of you who had joined us for the past sessions, we wouldlike to thank you for your participation, and we look forward to seeing allof you again for all the subsequent sessions. For those of you, who werenot able to join us previously, we would again like to extend an invitationto you to come and join us for the next session at 3.00 pm on 14 June 09 at The Serangoon. The programme for the session is as follows:
• Talk on Legacy Planning and You: How to Distribute Your Wealth - Wills & estate planning demystified
- Ensuring equitable distribution of wealth to your beneficiaries
- Leaving an enduring legacy worth remembering
• Break (networking)
• Talk on Basic Fundamentals in Photography

Note: We had earlier indicated in the Flyer that a small fee ($2) would be charged for the session! We have since managed to seek concurrence to waive the fee for the time being. In view of this, the attendance at thenext session and subsequent sessions would be free-of-charge.

We should all : Live to Learn; Learn to Live.
Looking forward to seeing all of you at the next session on 14 June 2009!!!

For inquiries, pls call The Serangoon at 6284-4137 or email us at theserangoonscp@gmail.com

Senior Connect Program Session #3 May 24, 2009

Dr. James Tan, Consultant Urologist, gave a Talk on Urological Problems in the Elderly. The complex subject was so well presented and made so interesting through slides show. The audience gave Dr. Tan "two thumbs up" and requested that he be invited back. This time, the ladies want Dr. Tan to talk more on urological probelm in females. Based on feedback, this Talk was the best since we started SCP on 26th April, 2009.

Dr. Tan explained how robotic surgery is administered. The surgeon would be at the workstation and not by the patient !!

LIROS Capital continued with the series on Financial Education. This time it was on "Affordable Health Care" The chart below shows what is claimable through Medishield for a hospital bill and what is out-of-pocket expenses. Can we afford it ? Are we prepared ?

For your viewing pleasure, click on the link below to view other photos taken by Passion Photographers at the Event: http://theserangoon.multiply.com/photos/album/34/Senior_Connect_Program_Meet_on_th_24_May_2009

Senior Connect Program Official Launch Program

The Senior Connect Program was officially launched on May 10, 2009, by Mrs. Lim Hwee Hua, Minister (PMO) & Second Minister for Finance & Transport. Above is the group photo taken with the GOH at the launch. Attendees will be given a souvenir copy when he/she attends the next meeting on May 24, 2009.

Our Emcee, Ms. Sashikala Indhiran (one of Mrs. Lim Hwee Hua's Mentees) hosted the Official Launch. Congratulations Sashi, for doing another fine job !

William Teo, Chairman of SCP, presenting to all mothers present, a "bouquet of roses" for Mothers' Day before his Presentation on "Senior Connect Program & The Road Ahead".

A section of the audience at the launch.

William Teo highlighted a key point in a recent STimes report as follows:

"There are more people in Singapore over the age of 60 than children below the age of 5, since 1986"

Our jubilant Minister (PMO) sharing a joke when she addressed the audience

Richard Koh gave a demo on digital photography editing.

Another view of the audience

Chua, author of http://www.myonlinetour.com/ brought the audience on a virtual tour of Singapore.

A close-up view of the audience.

LIROS Capital, IPPFA continues with the series of Financial Talks. The topics presented at this meeting was "Road map on wealth management" and "Retirement -- Money no Enough"

Senior Connect Program Official Launch Program

Senior Connect Soft Launch Apr 26

The soft launch of the Senior Connect Programme kicked off last Sunday, 26 April 2009, by Chairman of CCMC, Mr. Tay Swee Yee. As a series of talks and workshops aimed at promoting lifelong learning and active aging, the first session introduced to participants what information technology is about and provided a glimpse of the benefits of the using the internet. The forty-eight participants who joined us, mingled with each other as well as committee members during the tea break cum networking session. Thereafter, they were kept engaged in the presentation by Liros Capital introducing CPF Life. The event was all in all met with great interest and participation, and we look forward to more residents joining us in the SCP activities ahead."

William Teo, Chairman of SCP, presented the Senior Connect Program .

Richard Koh, Committee Member, impressed the audience with "....what benefits Technology can bring to YOU"

Chua TL, author of http://www.myonlinetour.com/ guided the audience to places of interest in Singapore through his website.

A section of the audience

Sashikala Indhiran, one of our Minister's (PMO) Mentees, was our host for the Soft Launch

Stewart Teng from LIROS Capital IPPFA, started the series of Financial Talks with "CPF Life"

Senior Connect Program @ Serangoon

The above photos were taken during the last 2 Committee Meetings on Apr 8 and 22, 2009. Yes, the Committee has been enlarged. 2 more members from SCEC and WEC have since joined the Committee. With these additions, all RC/NC/EC are represented in the SCP Committee.

We look forward to your attendance/participation in all our Programs on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month (starting at 3:00 pm) at The Serangoon. The Program kicks off on Apr 26, 2009. See you then.