To give students in the programme a chance to see for themselves the challenges faced by the elderly, the school first organised visits to Metta Day Rehabilitation Centre, a nearby day-care facility for the elderly. It was an eye-opening experience for many. "I got to know an 80-year old lady and found out that she had difficulty swallowing her pills," says Daryl Chua, now in Sec 4.

This walking frame is more than meets the eye ...

Daryl came up with the idea of a portable pill holder that doubles as a grinder. Resembling an owl, the device has two "eyes" to hold tablets for different doses and a hollow where pills can be ground into powder for easier consumption. "I now know more about their needs," said Daryl, who does not live with his grandparents. "In future, when my parents grow old, I will know how to help them."

A frame that walks and works

Another project was undertaken by Daryl's classmate Pauline Querido. She observed that some of the elderly at the centre liked to go for walks, but struggled to move around on their own and used walking frames that were not very stable. Together with fellow student Ilman Hariz, Pauline came up with the idea of a frame that also functions as a multi-purpose table.

"At the side, there are lights," she points out. "So if they are crossing the road and it's dark, the lights warn vehicles that someone's crossing." A button on the handle sounds an alarm "if the user needs help and can't shout." There is also a hook to hang plastic bags.

... It transforms into a table for reading and dining.

The frame comes with a removable table top, which has openings to hold plates and glasses, and a reclining portion to place books or magazines. The top fits easily into a groove by the legs and the addition of two wheels makes the frame easy to handle, yet stable when it is set down.

The experience didn't stop at the drawing board for Pauline. "I may be able to design something to help them and add convenience to their life," she noted. "But I also learnt about their emotional needs. They are very happy when they have someone to interact with, and it's not always the same people - they enjoy talking to us, telling us about their children, and I was glad that I was able to make them happy."

Feeding the needs of the elderly

Another Sec 4 student, Mohd Hafiz, was so touched by an old man at the centre that he got down to creating a tool that would be, literally, handy. "I noticed that all his fingers were joined together, so he can't really move his fingers," said Hafiz. "Someone had to help him every time he wanted to eat, so immediately the idea of designing something to help him came to my mind."

Both fork and spoon, on a single utensil designed for easy gripping.

After some research on ergonomics for the elderly, Hafiz made a utensil easily held by inserting one's fingers through a central opening. Having observed that the old man was only able to use one hand due to a stroke, he designed the product to have utensils on both ends, with a spoon that acts like a shovel "so that he can scoop food in easily and place it in his mouth."

Other students, who study Food and Nutrition, turned their hands to drawing up menus suitable for the elderly. Working together, Sec 4 classmates Nur Azilla bte Nazli and Nur Aishah bite Isham visited the centre to interview the residents about their diet and food intake. From their surveys, the girls found that the elderly are likely to suffer from nutrient deficiencies such as osteoporosis.

"Some don't eat much because they don't have much appetite," said Nur Aishah. "Some overeat because they are bored." It was thus a challenge to come up with a meal that is both balanced nutritionally as well as tasty. After careful analysis, the pair's final selection was a triple delight of porridge and honey chicken, plus low sugar apple crumble for dessert. "I'd be happy to get to eat apple crumble when I grow older," stated Nur Azilla, adding that eating porridge daily would be boring. "It's good to have a variety of food!"

Tabling their ideas to improve the elderly's quality of life.

East Spring Secondary School introduced the geriatric care programme in 2009 as a way of boosting collaboration between different subjects. Mdm Chin Hock Yew, the head of department for Craft and Technology, explains that the focus fell on the elderly because students from the school were already active in community service at the Metta centre. "So we thought it would be good for the students to go there, interact with the folks and also help meet their emotional needs," she adds.

This year, Mdm Chin plans to expand the programme to include Social Studies. "Students will learn more about understanding the aged population in Singapore," she says. And whereas the students' inventions were assessed only by the teachers last year, she hopes to ask residents at the centre to try out the students' inventions, and even sample dishes designed and prepared by the Food and Nutrition students.