Project EDEN
Forget-me-not and remember me always
Project EDEN is a student-led nursing community service project, where nursing students learn more about dementia and come together to serve the dementia community in Singapore through different programmes. Project EDEN’s vision is to build a better community for people with dementia.
The project was first founded in 2018 by Lyn Tay and was previously known as Project ADA. However, in 2019, the project name was changed to EDEN, which is short for ‘Embracing DEmeNtia’.
The flower found on our logo is called Myosotis Sylvatica, also known as ‘Forget Me Not’.
Forget-me-not flower symbolises true love and respect. Hence, when someone receives these small blooms, the gesture represents a promise that you will always remember them and have them in your thoughts always. Thus, our logo represents love, respect and a long lasting connection between people.
In the AY 2022/23 we organised a face-to-face volunteering session with Yishun Community Hospital YCH). Project EDEN was grateful for the warm support from YCH’s doctors, nurses, physiotherapist and occupational therapist. Our volunteer nursing students were able to be with the dementia students, to learn how to relate with and better engage with them. The nursing students folded origami rabbits, fishes and lanterns with the dementia patients as Chinese New Year was just around the corner at the time of our visit at YCH. The nursing students also did other activities such as Scratch Art, simple flower arrangements and basic exercises with the patients.
Alli in all, the nursing students were thankful for the opportunity to give back to the community. Furthermore, the session at YCH allowed the students to establish multigenerational relationships with dementia patients. It was truly a meaningful time for the nursing students, the patients, and the people at YCH.
So, what would it be like to be part of Project EDEN?
You will be able to take part in volunteering and befriending sessions that will allow you to interact with our dementia clients in Singapore. There are also different committees for you to be a part of (Events & Volunteer Management, Publicity & Education, Finance and Fundraising) which will allow you to work with other like-minded peers who are keen to support these dementia clients.
As a member of the project, you will be able to take part in volunteering and befriending sessions that will allow you to interact with our dementia clients in Singapore. There are also different committees for you to be a part of (Events & Volunteer Management, Publicity & Education, Finance and Fundraising) which will allow you to work with other like-minded peers who are keen to support these dementia clients.
Hear from our beneficiaries and volunteers here.
To find out more about dementia and what we do, check out our Instagram account @nusprojecteden https://www.instagram.com/nusprojecteden/.
If you have any other queries, you can also contact us via email at projectteameden@gmail.com.
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It was a great experience to work with NUS Eden Project! All the volunteers are passionate and caring for the elderly. All the activities arranged by them are creative and interesting. Our patients with dementia/cognitive impairment were very well engaged and participated in the sessions happily. The volunteers brought tons of smiles and laughter to the elderly who stay in the hospital. Definitely I would like to work with them again and recommend the project to any other relevant organisations.
A minor suggestion is that perhaps you could think of more genderless activities hence more male patients could participate.
Thank you for your hard work!
–Dr. Guo Weixiao, Team Doctor of Ward 48, Yishun Community Hospital
My experience in Project Eden has been rewarding since we partnered with various community partners such as, Yishun Community Hospital [YCH]) to serve the Dementia community in Singapore through our weekly volunteering sessions! I had a pleasant time during our weekly volunteering as each session consists of different elder-friendly activities like, CNY Art Jamming, Simple Flower Arrangement and so on. Our sessions allow both Eden members and our beneficiaries to interact and have fun together! Through these experiences gained from Project Eden, I have learnt that it takes a whole village with the same vision to make a positive impact towards a particular community.
Relating back to Project Eden, where we held on to our vision: To create A Better Community for Dementia (ABCD), it was heartening to see how each Eden member was actively involved with our beneficiaries during each weekly volunteering session!
With that said, I have also learnt the importance of having effective communication skills as this helps to keep our beneficiaries actively engaged during each volunteering session! Moving forward, I aspire to explore the various possibilities with Project Eden in creating a better community for Dementia through partnerships with the different community stakeholders and implementation of new volunteering activities.
–Committee Member Full Name, [Ms] Lim Wan Ni
