[Living Wishes] A gift, an act of love
As we focus on our personal growth in our youth, we may forget that our parents are also growing old at the same time. Many of us are busy with our own lives, but it’s important to not get too caught up in the daily hustle and bustle, and instead, take some time to pause and think about the relationships that matter.
From left to right: Ms Charlotte Chong, 22, Ms Raelynn Tan, 22, Ms Phyllis Lee, 24, and Ms Emily Gouw, 22
Billed as a straightforward call-to-action to provoke conversations about Advanced Care Planning (ACP) and end-of-life matters with our loved ones, four undergraduates from NTU’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication started the “Living Wishes: Show Your Love, Start the Conversation” initiative, as part of their final year project.
This was after they found that most ACP initiatives are only targeted at elderly, most of whom are in healthcare settings. It was also their understanding that many Singaporeans only considered or discussed ACP when faced with a serious illness.
With the belief that conversations surrounding ACP and end-of-life matters should done earlier rather than later while we are healthy and possess the mental capacity to consider and express our personal wishes and values, Ms Charlotte Chong, Ms Phyllis Lee, Ms Raelynn Tan and Ms Emily Gouw were determined to reshape perceptions around dying and death and lead conversations on what constitutes a good death.
What is your living wish?
When the four ladies realised that many of the elderly in Singapore avoid making their wishes known as they are afraid of being a burden to their adult children, they chose to target adults aged 35 to 59 as their main audience, in the hope that their project can encourage them to initiative conversations with their parents.
More importantly, through this campaign, Charlotte, Phyllis, Raelynn and Emily hope to overcome taboos and inertia around dying and death by highlighting the benefits of having ACP conversations, and how it outweighs the harm they think it would bring.
This was their gift to their parents, an act of love, and they hope that more Singaporeans can join them too!
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A child penning down wishes for her loved ones
Between 17 December and 28 December last year, a campaign booth was set up at Tampines Regional Library to help the public learn more about ACP, and visitors were given the opportunity to pen down their wishes for their parents and have it hang on a Christmas tree. This outreach earned them plaudits and many positive responses and in the months ahead, Charlotte, Phyllis, Raelynn and Emily plan to do more.
Their upcoming initiatives will include videos and blog posts, conversation starter kits and more physical booths.
Videos and Blog posts
The team has lined up a video series and articles - posted on their Facebook and website to educate Singaporeans about advanced care planning. The videos will include interviews with healthcare and social work professionals to debunk common misconceptions surrounding an ACP and share insightful advice on starting ACP conversations with our parents.
Conversation Starter Kits
A key initiative of their campaign is the Conversation Starter Kits, which will feature a Tumbling Tower game, conversation cards and other educational resources. The Tumbling Tower game and conversation cards aim to help create a setting that makes the topic less daunting.
The team plans to produce 100 kits, which will be given out for free. They may produce more kits if there is a higher demand for them.
Physical booths
In late February, the team hopes to organise an event where people can write postcards to their elderly parents and loved ones. They also plan to distribute the Conversation Starter Kits to the public at this event.
Photos from the outreach at Tampines Regional Library (17 to 28 December 2021)
