By Penny Shi, AWARE intern

On 25 April, AWARE held a public dialogue session, Let’s Talk: Who cares for the caregivers?. Over 40 participants from diverse backgrounds, including former and current caregivers, shared openly on their experiences with and solutions for the big issue of unpaid family caregiving in Singapore.  

The session kicked off with personal sharing by three participants who are informal caregivers to their loved ones; they touched on the ups and downs they have experienced along their own personal journeys and the myriad of challenges they face with giving care, coordinating care and planning for their own futures as would-be care recipients themselves.

A common thread across all the experiences shared is the long-term commitment demanded of caregivers. Many have had to give up their jobs and career ambitions in order to give care, or struggle to manage work responsibilities with care responsibilities. Caregivers also struggled to balance their personal, social lives with caregiving, and often deal with lack of understanding that their immediate family members, friends, and employers have about the huge strain caregiving has on their time, energy and day-to-day lives.

Caregivers shared about the difficulties that they face in accessing support from healthcare institutions and professionals. Many raised suggestions on how to bridge the gaps in the healthcare system in Singapore to ease the burden faced by older people and their caregivers.

By the end of the session, caregivers expressed keenness on building on the dialogue with more similar events, and raising public awareness on caregiving.

Said one young participant, “I would like to thank AWARE for organising this talk because I learnt a lot from it. It has also opened my eyes to the cracks within Singapore’s healthcare system and issues surrounding ageing. Hearing the experiences of others also makes me feel less lonely in this journey.”

To round off the session, Caregivers Alliance shared more about the various free services they provided for caregivers, such as training and education programmes on the basics of caregiving. Read more about Caregivers Alliance.

As part of the eldercare project, AWARE is documenting and sharing personal stories of caregivers, working with other NGOs and community groups who work closely with caregivers, and strongly advocating for increased financial support for caregivers and their families. Read the stories we have collected so far here!