Serving with Nothing
Laying the foundation for the first home
But with almost no resources, how were the sisters to start a home? Help came in the form of the late‘ Father of Charity’ Dr Ee Peng Liang. Sr Mary said,“ He simply told us‘ you look after the poor and I’ ll take care of the fundraising’. The result was one million dollars raised and St Joseph’ s Home was born.
BABY STEPS
The home officially opened on 9 December 1978 with priority going to the poorest of poor. Another key admission criteria?“ We said those who come in must be able to walk. We were afraid we could not manage the bedridden, so everyone had to be mobile,” Sr Mary explained. Without much resources, the Sisters did almost everything by themselves,“ Elizabeth cooked while Maria maintained the place and I nursed the residents. We had a handful more nursing aides and two sweepers. The rest were volunteers including Americans who taught the residents how to broadway
dance! Sr Maria organised the Christmas pageants and sewed all the costumes herself. We had nothing then but we felt good working together as a family.” The home quickly filled up to the full capacity of about 112 residents. The Sisters needed a doctor. So when they heard that a Dr Lee Chang Long had wanted to volunteer with the home but was unsuccessful, Sr Mary welcomed him with open arms. Dr Lee’ s clinic at Boon Lay Avenue was just down the road from the home and to this day, he remains a‘ resident doc on call’. Dr Lee saw to simple cases like flu, fever and the like.‘ Complicated’ cases meant chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension and
Welcoming the first residents in the early years
10 | St Joseph’ s Home