Volunteers to help the vulnerable in Tampines

Volunteers will be taught first aid, and first aid posts with bicycles will also be set up, to ensure that vulnerable residents in Tampines West get timely help.

This is part of a new initiative by the Singapore Red Cross (SRC), which mobilises volunteers to provide first aid or befriend elderly or needy residents.

Volunteers under the Community Led Action for Resilience, or Clare, as the scheme is called, will be trained in areas such as first aid for the elderly. They will also be taught to help those with chronic diseases, and about the various assistance schemes available.

In the first year, SRC aims to recruit and train 200 volunteers, and extend training to 400 caregivers.

The first batch of 40 volunteers undergoing training were yesterday given certificates of participation by Mr Masagos Zulkifli, an MP for Tampines GRC.

"With the launch of Clare in Tampines West, the elderly in our constituency can look forward to better quality of care and making many more new friends," said Mr Masagos, who is also Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs.

SRC plans to establish three first aid posts in Tampines West, which will be equipped with things such as automated external defibrillators, stretchers and first response bicycles.

If effective, the programme will be replicated in other districts in Singapore.

SRC chairman Tee Tua Ba said: "As the population ages, it is essential that as a community, we come together and work collectively on initiatives to enhance resilience, especially for the senior citizens and the disabled among us."

mellinjm@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Feb 01, 2015.
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