The Enabling Festival 2022 (賦智生活节) opens for the fifth year, aims to support a dementia-friendly Singapore through The Power of Touch

1. Ms Irene Chan, 48 years old, was a former caregiver for her 77-year-old mother, Mdm Esther Liw Hong Chan, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2016. Mdm Liw had recently passed on. Ms Chan was in Singapore while her mother was based in Australia, during Covid-19, Ms Chan was back in Singapore to settle the administrative processes of employing a foreign domestic helper and transferring the help to provide care for her mother and father in Australia. She is a successful business consultant.
2. Mr William Koh (许威良), who turned 18 in 2022, is a caregiver for his mother, Mdm Margaret Rankin Laird, 60 years old. His caregiving journey started in 2018 before his 'O' levels examinations, which was challenging for a 14-year-old teenager. Today, he is not only juggling caregiving duties at home and preparation of his 'A' levels examinations, but also real life issues with single parenthood and financial woes. Despite facing struggles beyond what a teenager typically faces, he strives to do the best he can.
3. Mr Alvin Tan, 59 years old, founder and Artistic Director for The Necessary Stage, is a caregiver for his 87-year-old mother, Mdm Loo Geok Hoon, for 10 years. Mr Tan's mother has always been supportive of him in life and career, telling him that, "You have only one life. So be happy." A testament of 'A mother's love is as strong as she's ageing.'
4. Mr Richard Ashworth, a 68-year-old retiree, was a caregiver for his father, Mr John Malcolm Ashworth, 89 years old, who lived with dementia for 10 years. Mr John has passed on in 2022. Mr Richard was adopted by Mr John, a British cargo ship captain, when he was 21 years old in 1975. His father taught him English and later encouraged him to take up sculpturing and enter his works for competition, later winning a prize in 1986. It was the help of the community that has supported him tremendously during this period.
5. Ms Nora Samosir is a caregiver for her late father, and her 95-year-old mother, who has been living with dementia for the past seven years. One of the emotional battles she had to face, aside from being the sole caregiver for both parents who are highly dependent on her, was to constantly remind her mother that her husband is dying when her mother was looking for him. Ms Samosir is a Singaporean actress of Indonesian descent who won a 2002 Life Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has been active in the Singapore theatre scene since 1979 and has worked in television and film.
6. Mr Baba Richard Tan, 66 years old, Chairman of GenerAsia & Director of the Main Wayang Company, is a caregiver for his 86-year-old mother, Mdm Lucy Ng, who is living with dementia for eight years.
7. Mr Rosli Anjang Al Faqir, 58 years old was taken care of by wife, Mdm Sarima Mohd Tajudin, 57 years old since 2014. Mr Rosli was diagnosed with mixed dementia at the age of 50 – young-onset dementia and Lewy body dementia, a lesser known type of dementia (this dementia was what comedian and actor Robin Williams had). Back then, he decided to take matters into his own hands and get the answers to what was really wrong with him. He went to the hospital and they told him to do a dementia test. "I thought I was intelligent but I failed the test." Since 2019, Mr Rosli has been a self-advocate for dementia care and continues to speak up about the condition in his community, at his mosque and with his friends, in the hopes to reduce the negative stigma in society.
8. Ms Emily Soh, 60 years old, works in an International School and is a caregiver for her 92-year-old mother, Mdm Lee Ng Kum. Mdm Lee was an avid swimmer when she started to learn swimming at the age of 79. Mdm Lee was diagnosed with mild dementia in 2018. She likes traveling and fortunately, she travelled to South Korea (2017) and Japan (2018) before Covid-19 happened and the borders closed. Ms Soh's mother enjoys sewing and gardening and making compost for her plants. This is a positive testament that despite suffering from dementia, one can continue to live a fulfilled life.
9. Ms Dorcas Yeo (杨奕欣), 26 years old, was a secondary caregiver to her 93-year-old grandmother who lived with dementia for 12 years. Ms Yeo saw how her parents took care of her grandmother - they are the perfect role models of family caregiving. Her grandmother passed away in 2022. Ms Yeo is also the designer for "Colour Our Memories" - an Art activity colouring book for elderly and people living with dementia produced by Enable Asia.
10. Ms Grace Lee-Khoo, 36 years old, an art practitioner and founder of Access Path Production, is a caregiver for her 72-year-old father, Mr Tan Tok, a retiree who has been living with Alzhemier's Disease since 2017. Grace is married with a one year old baby boy. She is now a caregiver for both a child and an elderly, tackling the daily challenges of being a three-generation family caregiver while juggling a highly successful career.

ABOUT ENABLE ASIA

Enable Asia is a Singaporean Social Enterprise founded by two caregivers to persons living with dementia, who are passionate in educating and raising awareness about the caregiving journey and also to enable those living with dementia. They envision working with an inclusive community to identify problems and co-create solutions through various key initiatives such as The Enabling Festival to achieve their objectives. For more information, visit www.enableasia.org.

ABOUT THE MAJURITY TRUST

The Majurity Trust is a philanthropic organisation that seeks to work with donors and charities to build a thriving and sustainable community for all in Singapore. For more information, visit www.majurity.sg.

ABOUT AGENCY FOR INTEGRATED CARE

The Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) aims to create a vibrant care community for people to live well and age gracefully. AIC coordinates and supports efforts in integrating care to achieve the best care outcomes for their clients. They reach out to caregivers and seniors with information on staying active and ageing well, and connect people to services they need. AIC supports stakeholders in their efforts to raise the quality of care, and also work with health and social care partners to provide services for the ageing population. Their work in the community brings care services and information closer to those in need. For more information, please visit www.aic.sg.

ABOUT DEMENTIA-FRIENDLY SINGAPORE

The Dementia-Friendly Singapore (DFSG) is an initiative, led by AIC and in collaboration with community partners, announced by the Ministry of Health in 2016 to address the dementia prevalence in Singapore. DFSG initiative aims to build an inclusive society whereby people know about dementia and mental wellness as well as persons living with dementia and their families feel respected, valued and confident to live well in the community.

ABOUT NATIONAL GALLERY SINGAPORE

National Gallery Singapore is a leading visual arts institution which oversees the world's largest public collection of Singapore and Southeast Asian modern art. Situated at the birthplace of modern Singapore, in the heart of the Civic District, the Gallery is housed in two national monuments—City Hall and former Supreme Court—that have been beautifully restored and transformed into this exciting 64,000 square metre venue. Reflecting Singapore's unique heritage and geographical location, the Gallery aims to be a progressive museum that creates dialogues between the art of Singapore, Southeast Asia and the world to foster and inspire a creative and inclusive society. This is reflected in their collaborative research, education, long-term and special exhibitions, and innovative programming.

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