Panti Sosial Tresna Werdha (PSTW) is an institution that aims to give service and care through physical, spiritual, and social care and protection for elderly to receive proper treatment. This service is offered by Dinas Sosial. Panti Werdha is different from regular Panti Jompo, not only focusing on giving care and accommodation but also giving various activities that fulfill their daily needs. They aim to provide them with care and services until they feel safe and peaceful without feeling worried.
There are multiple Panti Sosial Tresna Werdha all over the city and country. The one we visited was Panti Social Tresna Werdha Budi Mulia 3, located around Gandaria and established around 1965. From what’s recorded, there are about 365 elders: 133 men and 232 women. They are divided into rooms filled with independent elders (11) or less independent (4), named after flowers and birds.
Most of the elders there are put into nursing homes because many families don’t have the time to take care of them. As a result, they end up alone, with some being scouted on the streets. We aim to provide them with attention and care by engaging them through activities they are interested in and taking our time to listen to them. This allows them to connect with people outside of their nurses so they don’t feel lonely, improve their mental health, and build relationships and skills.
We plan to visit 2 of the women’s wards, Tulip and Melati. After conducting a survey, we concluded that they like arts and crafts and flowers. When deciding on the activities, we need to keep in mind that they need to be able to be done on beds and not too complex (due to motoric restrictions). In the end, we chose 6 different activities: Watercolor painting, acrylic painting, scrapbooking, paint by numbers, clay crafting, and pipe-cleaner crafts. They all have relations to flowers, moods, and emotions so they can express themselves freely. The activities chosen are aimed to help them practice their motoric skills, concentration, and creativity. The schedule is also important because the elders have a tight schedule by the institution, so we decided to squeeze in after/during kerja bakti and before stretching and yoga.
There are 2 groups dispatched to hold their community service in PSTWBM 3, consisting of 6 members in total. One room had 15-22 elders, and we planned to visit them once a week for 3 weeks. Therefore, we need funds. Together, 9A and 9B, with the help of teachers, held Al-Jabr Restaurant on the 5th and 7th of November, 2024. During the fundraising, we cooked and served parents as if it was a real restaurant. In the end we earned about 12 million rupiah. Before Al-Jabr Restaurant, we practiced by organizing the Independence Day event, so we had experience in collaborating.
Every week, we had to take off at 7 am each morning to arrive at 8 am and return by 10 am. On the first day, 23 January 2025, we took our time to greet, meet, and introduce ourselves to the elders we were going to accompany for the next 2 visits. Though we felt awkward, we were able to bond over clay crafting and acrylic painting. We laughed and listened to one another’s stories. After 2 and a half hours, we joined dynamics, which is morning stretches to boost concentration, then we said goodbye and went back to school.
By the second visit, on 30 January 2025, we were more familiar with them, and we decided to watercolor and paint by number. This visit was the most enjoyable; they all enjoyed painting, as well as the companion, nurses, and other volunteers. In the end, they painted a lot; all 25 canvases were painted, and we got paint all over, showing how much we enjoyed it. Of course, we joined dynamics before going back to school.
On the last and third day, 6 February 2025, we felt sad and quite emotional. We never thought that through only 3 visits, we would feel so attached. We made pipe cleaning flowers and scrapbooking, they created a lot of creative results. Not only flowers but also glasses, hearts, and matching rings made of pipe cleaners. We joined our last dynamics, bought souvenirs that the elders made, and said goodbye. Took many pictures and took our time to say goodbye. The fact that we won’t visit them next week made it feel empty and sad.
After 3 visits to Panti Social Tresna Werdha Budi Mulia 3, we realized how important family is, and no matter what, we shouldn’t leave or abandon them. At the end of our visit, we met the head of the institution, he explained how most of the elders were found and told us how mustajab their prayers were. We made so many memories, met so many people, felt so many emotions, and reflected a lot.
Though it went well and it seemed like everyone enjoyed it, there is room for improvements: Providing a better variety of activities than just arts and crafts, taking our time in listening to their stories and talking to them one-on-one, better and longer preparation so our visit is efficient and better communication with other volunteers to help us.
At the end of every visit, we gave them coffee and biscuits since they liked them based on our survey. We also learned to mind our words so they don’t feel hurt and we don’t say anything offensive. It was a meaningful experience, and we hope that our experience can inspire the next generation/grade to do the same and even better. Actions speak louder than words; just visiting and hearing their stories can make them happy!
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