"I take the elderly out for a good meal"

NTU medical student Chua Tze Hean brings joy to isolated seniors through shared meals and conversation

by Tan Zi Jie / Photos by Don Tan / Video by Hillary Tan

Mdm Lai Ah Loy was just 27 when a gas explosion robbed her of her eyesight. In one tragic moment, everything went dark.

Now 68, she lives alone in a one-bedroom flat in Bukit Panjang.

She lost her husband eight years ago. Now, she rarely leaves her small flat. She knows every corner of her home by touch. But outside? She finds it unfamiliar and frightening without the guiding hands of her husband.

Every few months, though, her world brightens, all thanks to NTU medical student Chua Tze Hean.

Their paths first crossed when Tze Hean started A Good Meal, an initiative to bring joy to lonely seniors by taking them out for good food and fresh air.

These comforts may seem ordinary to us, but for Mdm Lai, they are powerful reminders that someone still cares about her.

“When they brought me out for lunch, I was very happy. Though I can’t see their faces, I can feel their warmth and affection. So I don’t feel so alone in this big world,” she shares in Mandarin.

“We can talk about anything under the sun. They treat me like a friend, not like a blind person.”

Getting to know seniors like “Mdm Ah Loy”, as she is affectionately called, in turn, inspires Tze Hean and his team of volunteers.

“She can cook, do laundry and dress herself. That's so incredible," he says.

I really admire her independent spirit and her perseverance despite all her struggles. We learn so much just by being around her.
– Tze Hean

He adds: “My own troubles or problems feel so small in comparison.”

A Good Meal that warms the heart

Simple as it sounds, a lot of heart and effort goes into making A Good Meal happen.

First, Tze Hean reaches out to active ageing centres and asks them to identify and invite socially isolated elderly who live alone in flats.

He specifically requests the centres to send their older and less mobile seniors, especially those who’ve been stuck at home or rarely join centre activities like exercise or craft sessions.

Next, the A Good Meal volunteers scout for a suitable lunch spot – one with a proper drop-off area, wheelchair access, and a short walking distance from where the seniors alight.

On the morning of the outing, the team coordinates with a centre volunteer to transport five seniors and the volunteer in a large six-seater car to lunch.

While more costly than regular private-hire rides, these spacious vehicles can fit wheelchairs if needed and come with low steps, making it easier for seniors with weak legs to get in and out safely.

Four volunteers meet the group at the drop-off point and guide them to the restaurant. Ten people in total – just nice for gathering around a cosy table to share hearty chats over chilli crab or herbal duck.

Tze Hean pays for most of the meals out of his own pocket. Over time, word has spread through social media and among his friends’ networks, so kind donors and volunteers sometimes chip in for meals and transport.

His small but committed core team includes NTU students, alumni, working adults and even a National Serviceman. Today, around 40 volunteers actively support A Good Meal.

Restaurants like Jumbo Seafood and Dian Xiao Er have also come on board to sponsor meals for the seniors.

Since starting in early 2024, the team has organised 24 outings and served more than 120 seniors.

Source: @agoodmeal.sg on Instagram

Lessons from love and loss

The idea for A Good Meal came during Tze Hean’s second year at NTU. He was an elderly befriender with a schoolmate’s outreach programme supported by NTU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine).

On one outing, he saw how a senior’s face lit up over lunch and realised just how powerful a shared meal could be. “I realised I can make a senior really happy,” he says.

Tze Hean’s heart for the elderly was shaped by his late grandma. She cared for her husband through dementia and later battled pancreatic cancer. His other grandfather also suffered from dementia.

“I observed people dismissing other seniors’ personal feelings and decisions, saying things like: ‘Oh, you’re old, you don’t know what you’re talking about’,” he shares.

This planted a deep desire in him to help the elderly and that set him on a new life path.

He changed his mind about studying law and decided to pursue medicine, hoping to make a real impact on seniors’ lives as a doctor.

Now an LKCMedicine scholar, he plans to specialise in geriatrics or palliative care.

“While visiting patients as part of my hospital and polyclinic attachments, I meet people in hard situations,” he shares.

“It’s made me even more grateful for the experiences and opportunities I’ve had.”

“And I feel that if I’m in a position to give and contribute, then I should, because seeing the difference it makes has always been worth far more than the effort.”

Source: @agoodmeal.sg on Instagram

Dreams of a bigger table

Now that he’s graduating in July and has just started his medical housemanship – working 12 to 30-hour shifts six days a week in a hospital – he intends to pass the torch to his core volunteer team to keep A Good Meal going.

But the mission isn’t ending any time soon. To reach more seniors, Tze Hean plans to partner nursing homes. He has many more ideas brewing, from A Good Day Out to A Good Teatime and beyond.

He reflects: “Everyone will grow old. But I believe that no matter your age, your voice and your feelings still matter.”

Get involved, be inspired

NTU students have always had a heart for the community. In the new academic year, service learning will be introduced as a course for all undergraduates.

“We’ve heard many inspiring stories of NTU students and alumni going out of their way to lend a hand to others in less privileged situations. And they have all said how these interactions have changed their perspectives and helped them grow,” says Prof Gan Chee Lip, Associate Provost (Undergraduate Education).

To deepen this spirit of service, NTU is launching a new credit-bearing undergraduate course series titled Care, Serve and Learn. Students can select from several courses within the series, depending on their interests.

One of these courses is Uplift@NTU, where students will support children and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds through tutoring and mentoring.

“We want students to contribute meaningfully to society, starting with families in need,” Prof Gan explains.

This story was published in the Mar-Apr 2025 issue of HEY!. To read it and other stories from this issue in print, click here.

"I take the elderly out for a good meal"