Alijah Baji and Santha Koorunathan met as teenagers, working as production operators at a semiconductor plant. - ST
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): When she was in her teens, Alijah Baji, 64, had a close workplace buddy called Santha. But they lost contact about 45 years ago after Santha met with an accident at work and resigned after a series of events.
So it was to Alijah’s great surprise – and joy – that the pair recently reconnected in the most unexpected of ways.
Now volunteering as a befriender, Alijah was assigned to visit and check on Santha Koorunathan, a 68-year-old widow who was living alone.
Alijah said of their reunion: “I couldn’t believe it until Santha showed me her burn marks on her leg. We hugged each other and we cried.”
The pair met as teenagers, working as production operators at a plant making semiconductors. They became close friends, taking their meals and hanging out together.
Then an accident happened at work and an explosion left Santha with burns on her face and limbs. After she recovered, she got married, quit her job and the pair lost touch.
That was before mobile phones existed, and the duo said their families did not have telephones at home back then.
About three years ago, Alijah, a widow with two grown-up children, started volunteering as a befriender with NTUC Health, which runs nursing homes and daycare centres for seniors, among other services.
Alijah, who also helps out at her brother’s food stall, said: “I volunteer as a befriender to pass my time. I like to show concern to others and I like to keep myself active.”
She now visits 13 seniors regularly. Around June, she was asked to befriend Santha.
They did not recognise each other the first time they met. During her second visit, Alijah told Santha that she had a friend with the name Santha, a colleague whom she was close to.
Santhasaid: “I listened to her and said, ‘That Santha is me’. And we both started to cry as it has been so many years.”
At first, Alijah was sceptical about Santha’s identity as the woman in front of her looked so different from the Santha she knew. Santha had aged and put on weight.
Then she showed Alijah the burn marks on her leg.
Alijah said: “I believed her when she showed me the burn marks. And I realised she has the same smile (that the Santha she knew has).”
Santhan said: “I never imagined that we would find each other again.”
The past two years since Santha’s husband died have been a lonely period for her. She has a leg problem and her gait is unsteady. So she spends most of her time alone at home.
Her two children are married and Santha said she spends her time “talking to her plants” and listening to music.
With tears in her eyes, she said of her late husband: “I miss him a lot.”
A hospital staff member asked Santha if she would like a befriender to visit her, and she said yes. Touch Home Care delivers meals to her, while staff from Methodist Welfare Services visit her once a week to check on her health and that she is taking her medication.
Since the pair have not met for about 45 years, Santha and Alijah have a lot to catch up on and the conversation just flows, they said. Alijah visits her twice a month now, often taking along Santha’s favourite foods like peanuts and pandan cake.
Alijah also took along their mutual friend, Faridah Lawi, to visit her. Together with Faridah and another friend, Jaya Mani, the four used to be buddies at work. They even went to a photo studio to take a group portrait.
Alijah, who said they hope to find Jaya Mani, added that their friendship provided “our happy times when we were young”.
The trio, Alijah, Santha and Faridah, recently took a picture of them wearing saris, recreating the studio photograph they had taken over 40 years ago.
Since they found each other, Alijah has roped in her daughter to help Santha collect food rations, given her mobility issues.
Spencer Loke, NTUC Health’s senior programme associate, said: “Alijah and Santha’s story shows how the Community Befriending Programme can be mutually beneficial for both befrienders and befriendees.
“As loneliness in seniors is a growing concern in our society, we hope more befrienders can come on board to help build a stronger support system for Singapore’s seniors.”
Loke said NTUC Health now has about 150 active befrienders, who are linked to more than 1,000 seniors aged between 60 and 100. Most of these seniors have medical conditions, live alone and may lack social support.
Santha looks forward to Alijah’s visits, saying: “We care for each other.”
To be a befriender, sign up at https://ntuchealth.sg/volunteer or call NTUC Health on 65904414.
