Mr Ho’s morning routine involves heading down to the coffeeshop for his breakfast and to read the newspapers. Being 85 years in age, his stamina and physique has naturally deteriorated over the years, and he has a helper to assist him with grocery shopping, cooking and housework matters.

Nevertheless, Mr Ho has been doing his part in keeping active by attending Filos Community Services’ active ageing programmes every week since October last year. Apart from socialising with fellow uncles during the HAPPY programme, he has picked up the muscle strengthening exercises, which were first demonstrated and taught by a group of passionate Filos volunteers from the Singapore Institute of Technology in July.

Nowadays, Mr Ho incorporates these warm-up and cool-down movements as preparation for his morning schedule. The exercises have improved his walking posture remarkably and he is now more confident in moving about too. “Just like how I enjoy Chinese Calligraphy, I also like how these exercises keep me active and calm my spirits,” He shared.

Besides keeping him physically and cognitively engaged, the health talks at Filos’ Active Ageing Centre also helps him stay mindful of the nutrient composition of his meals. Having personally experienced the impact the programmes have had on his health and mobility, he highly recommends his peers to attend the active ageing programmes too.

In fact, Mr Ho is looking forward to the lifting of endemic restrictions so he can head down to town to restock his calligraphy equipment and participate in more activities!

To find out about the services at Filos’ Active Ageing Centre or how you can volunteer, please contact volunteer@filos.sg.