Meet our Volunteers
Jimmy Yeong
The Spirit of Volunteerism in Jimmy Yeong
Jimmy Yeong’s volunteering spirit wasn’t dampened despite having suffered a stroke and diabetes. One of SPD’s keenest volunteers, Jimmy leverages on his experiences and uses it to help others. Volunteer Coordinator Ho Siew Sam finds out more in this featured article from the April 2004 issue of ExtraPage.
When you first look at Jimmy Yeong Wai Kun, an active volunteer of SPD, you would never expect him to be suffering from diabetes or have had a stroke. At the age of 56, Jimmy looks tanned and physically fit. He neither smokes nor drinks but exercises almost every day with a regime that includes swimming, jogging, golfing and working out at the gym.
In reality, Jimmy first suffered from diabetes when he was in his early fifties. To control this, he had to begin injecting insulin on his own at regular intervals in order to control his blood sugar level. The diabetes was not the end of his nightmare. He suffered a sudden stroke in March 2000. At that point, he could not believe that stroke and diabetes could happen to someone like him since he had been living an active and healthy lifestyle.
Jimmy never gave up hope on recovering from his stroke. His determination and strong will power gave him the inner force to strive to overcome his difficulties as he continued to exercise regularly. His efforts certainly paid off as he achieved 98% recovery from his stroke only six months later.
After his recovery, Jimmy was able to lead a normal life once again. However, his illnesses helped to change his perception towards life. "You don’t just inspire by how big a car you are driving or how much time you can spend playing golf," he said. "There are many unfortunate people out there who are worse than you and they need your help!"
Jimmy began to volunteer his services actively in a few non-profit organisations, SPD being one of them. Currently, he provides rehabilitation support services every Wednesday morning to our patients at the SPD-Singapore Power Rehabilitation Centre and assists in the swimming programme for the beneficiaries at the Day Activity Centre every Friday mornings. His dedication towards the beneficiaries at SPD has been a great help.
"It is a blessing that I’m able to serve those who need help," he said humbly when thanked. "I never regret volunteering because the experience of sharing and helping others is fulfilling and meaningful." In his time here, Jimmy has made a lot of friends and has also learnt a fair bit from the patients as to how they cope with their difficulties. He was also touched by the lengths some of the family members went to to help them. Likewise, many of our patients who know Jimmy look up to him as their role model too!
His message to all volunteers in SPD "Believe in yourself, you can make a world of difference in the lives of our disabled beneficiaries in SPD!"