Cherry Thian finds a gap and launches a platform where existing resources are consolidated and made accessible.

 

Cherry Thian, 42, used to work at the Asian Civilisations Museum and the Peranakan Museum where she and her colleagues designed numerous programmes for underserved communities including seniors as well as those with dementia. She discovered that these programmes were not as accessible to more seniors as she had hoped, due to manpower as well as funding constraints.

She added: “Similarly, in community hospitals, many healthcare staff are keen to provide engaging activities for seniors. However, as funding is limited, they often rely on free activities or donor-sponsored programmes. The same applies to some nursing homes, where I have met dedicated staff who use their own time and resources to create activity materials for seniors.”

Also, during that time, she was further inspired by occupational therapist, Charlotte Choo, who adapted many activities from children’s printable resource websites. She also created culturally and historically relevant resources that resonated with local seniors. And, during a visit to a geriatric ward, Cherry noticed that some colouring sets available to seniors featured European landmarks like London buses – images that had little relevance to them.

“A geriatric consultant shared that her colleagues often searched museum websites for familiar images to facilitate conversations with elderly patients and their caregivers during medical appointments. Also, many of the toys and activity materials used for seniors were originally designed for children.”

An idea

So this all sparked an idea for her – why not create a shared platform where existing resources could be consolidated, more locally-relevant and made accessible to all? Cherry said: “Instead of constantly reinventing the wheel, we could pool together resources so that more seniors and caregivers could benefit. Given my background in museums, where I also developed many educational resources, it felt natural to integrate culturally-rich museum content into this initiative.”

What was born was a free online platform called Oldyssey Life in May 2024. Cherry further explained the premise behind the name of her platform – “I see ageing as an adventure – an ongoing journey filled with discoveries, wisdom and shared experiences. Through this journey, we learn more about ourselves and our communities.

“While I understand why some may perceive the term ‘old’ negatively, I believe we should embrace it. Ageing is a natural process, and with age comes experience, knowledge, and depth that only time can bring. As the Chinese saying goes, 吃盐多过吃饭 (one has eaten more salt than rice), symbolising wisdom gained through the years,” said Cherry, who runs the site as a hobby. She currently is running senior programmes at community centres and hospitals, as well as at the National Heritage Board.

Oldyssey Life offers a variety of printable activities, including puzzles, card games, colouring sheets and conversation prompts. “We design them with simple shapes where cutting is required, making them accessible and easy to use. While many activities are designed with seniors with dementia in mind, they can be enjoyed by other seniors as well.”

The resources can be filtered by difficulty level, genre, type of activity and language. Currently, they come in English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. These resources were created by occupational therapists including Charlotte as well as Cherry. “We encourage children to contribute by designing activities with guidance from their parents. Our hope is to foster a community-driven effort, as caring for seniors is a shared responsibility.”

Currently, many centres are using these resources including Lentor Health Residenes, Goodlife! Makan (Montfort Care), Lions Befrienders and SingHealth community hospitals.

Next steps

Cherry has her sights on further additions – “Beyond Singapore, I’ve noticed a growing number of downloads from Australia and the US. It’s possible that seniors of Asian descent living overseas are looking for ways to stay connected to their heritage and culture.

“Moving forward, I hope Oldyssey Life can develop sub-communities across Southeast Asia, where locally-created resources can be shared, ensuring seniors across different regions benefit from culturally-relevant content.”

 

** If you want to access the resources on the free site, you will need to sign up with an e-mail address.