Superwoman Have-It-All: Social Work Mom Krystine Tan

A Superwoman is someone who goes beyond caring for her family and shares her love with the less fortunate society. Sales manager and mother of two, Krystine Tan, 41, takes community work two steps further and gets her two daughters Joia-Claire, 3, and Jolin-Beth, 1.5, to join her as she befriends the elderly. She shares with Nanzinc.Com about doing social work with her daughters and how it makes her a better mom.

By: Melanie Lee

How did you get interested in befriending the elderly?
I was first introduced to this form of community work 13 years ago through my church, and I immediately fell in love with the elderly; they are such fun to be with. Despite how they may look, many behave just like children.

Why do you think it’s still important for you to do community work even though you are so busy with your own work and family now?
There are really many people out there who need help. I also think that if my family were in need, assistance would mean so much to us. By just setting aside a bit of time and a smile, it is possible to make a difference in someone’s life. To me, it’s all worth it.

What made you decide to bring your children along as you make your rounds visiting the elderly?
It was a natural decision to bring them along because I want my children to respect the elderly and have passion to reach out to people who are less fortunate. This instills good values, especially having a love for the community.

What do your children do during these visits?
It’s sad that this generation of children does not speak much dialect but my girls will shake hands, hug and sometimes even kiss the elderly that we visit. Their affectionate gestures always bring smiles to the older folk. My elder daughter has recently picked up how to say “I love you” in Hokkien and Cantonese and has received an uncountable number of sweets as a result! In fact, Joia is attending dialect church services and prayer meetings to pick up more dialect phrases – you can say that she is serving the cause together with me!

What advice would you give to parents who are considering doing community work with their children?
GO FOR IT! Serving the needy is so much better than playing computer games at home and real-life interaction with people is a very important part of life. Also, these days, it’s so common to see children screaming and yelling at their parents and domestic helpers, and I’ve heard parents complain about how their children don’t seem to be able to do anything themselves.

But when children experience what it means to serve and give back to the community for themselves, they learn respect and how to live peacefully with others. I notice that with my daughters’ interactions with the elderly, they are confident being around the adults and have become more vocal in expressing their thoughts.

Love what Krystine and Joia are doing? Leave them a comment here and we’ll make sure they hear from you!