Macarena, Music and Games Galore

All abuzz with activity...the party in full swing.

They jived to the beat of the Macarena dance, played team games enthusiastically, chit-chatted with students and sang their hearts out. Some 450 senior citizens from the various Lions Befrienders’ centres spent a fun and interesting Saturday morning on 21 November at Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP).

The senior citizens were invited to a “Party for Senior Citizens”, with the support of the Lions Befrienders. This party was an initiative under the “NYP in Action for the Community” (NYPAC), which looks into a series of community service activities for NYP’s staff and students. Such activities aim to raise awareness of community involvement among NYP’s staff and students, as well as inculcate in them a spirit of care and giving to the community at large.

Let's groove to the beat of the Macarena!

Let's work out the prices and win a prize! Senior citizens taking part in "Guess the Items' Prices" game.

During the event, the senior citizens were treated to food, games, karaoke sessions, lucky draws and performances by the Lion Befrienders, who thrilled the audience with renditions of nostalgic Chinese songs.


The Lion Befrienders entertain our guests.	Our guests enjoying karaoke singing.

Second-year Diploma in Business Management student, Stacie Tan, one of the student organisers, felt that the event’s success was due to the detailed planning by NYP’s staff and students. She explained, “For example, for our Macarena dance, we even did a video and sent it to all the student helpers, so that they can learn the dance well in advance, and demonstrate it correctly to our guests.”

For Stacie, the party also struck a chord in her. She said, “Since the time when my grandfather passed away, I had always felt this sense of loss in my heart. Somehow, talking to our elderly guests reminded me of him, and how we must cherish our loved ones and the senior citizens among us. For this reason, I felt a great sense of satisfaction in being able to participate in this voluntary and meaningful activity. Although the event only lasted a few hours, I was so glad I’ve played my part in making our special guests feel at home.” Stacie is also grateful to NYP for giving her the opportunity to be involved in this special event, and will “definitely sign up” for other community-related events under the NYPAC umbrella.

Added Rai Atikah Bte Johan Nasri, a first-year Diploma in Nursing student, “This was the first time I’ve taken part in a community service event involving senior citizens, and it certainly won’t be my last. During the event, I found simple joy in doing small but meaningful tasks, like serving food to our guests, and just chit-chatting with them. They had many stories to share with us.” Like Stacie, Atikah looks forward to taking part in more community service activities.


Nothing beats that listening ear and personal touch. Our student helpers learnt many valuable lessons by interacting with our guests.

Some 245 NYP staff and students, as well as staff and volunteers from the Lions Befrienders, took time off on the Saturday morning to participate in the event. To date, a total of 3,700 senior citizens have benefited from such activities organised by NYP.

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