Serene (second from left) was given the Singapore Health Inspirational Patient & Caregiver Volunteer Award on 28 May 2025.

For more than 25 years, Serene Ong has been a volunteer at SGH.  What keeps her coming back?

Most of us have never volunteered a day in our lives. But Serene Ong, 66, has been volunteering at SGH for 26 years and counting. When her mother developed dementia 12 years ago, Serene, her sole caregiver, could have hung up her volunteer boots, but she continued because, “Life is never a bed of roses.”

She should know. Serene’s father passed away when she was seven, and left her in the care of her mother - a hardcore gambler. “She sold off her children to finance her gambling habit,” reveals Serene. “My grandfather took me away when I was 10. He was afraid my mother would sell me off. I lived with grandfather until my ‘O’ Levels.”

Her mother now lives in a 3-room HDB flat with a maid. Serene visits every Sunday to see to her needs and to bring her out. “Actually, now that she has dementia she is easier to get along with…more docile and no more gambling. Before, she was always making a lot of noise and spewing vulgarities. The entire block could hear her,” says Serene, who is the eldest. She has a younger brother and sister. But she doesn’t remember exactly how many siblings she had before her mother sold them all.

“My family tell me not to care about her. But how to? If I can be a volunteer to care for others, how can I not treat my family well?” explains Serene.

An iconic figure in SGH’s volunteering scene, Serene was the one who suggested the idea of having retail carts to raise funds for needy patients, back in 1997. These unassuming carts sell T-shirts and fashion accessories outside SGH Specialist Outpatient Clinics. “I was inspired by the retail carts at Far East Plaza,” says Serene, who had then just retired from being a florist.

This initiative proved remarkably successful, raising over $100,000 between 1997 and 2005, benefiting more than 5,000 needy patients with transport allowances and hospital supplies. 

She also helped to launch the Mobile Library programme in 1998. Collaborating with the National Library, Serene brought over 1,000 books and magazines every year to SGH for five years. “I saw the patients in the wards looking bored. I thought how wonderful if they had some books or magazines to read,” says Serene, who loves going to the library as it gives her peace of mind. “SGH’s volunteer team contacted the National Library to ask if they had any books or magazines to donate, and I picked mostly cooking and handicraft books.”

Serene would wheel a mobile cart filled with these books and magazines from bed to bed once a week. “Some of the uncles would ask me if I had any horse-racing books,” chuckles Serene. Sadly, the programme ended during the SARs epidemic in 2003.

These days, as an SGH Guider, Serene helps patients, visitors and caregivers find their way around the huge hospital grounds. She has been doing this for two days every week for the past 15 years.

Explains Mumtaj Ibrahim, Senior Manager of Volunteer Management, “The SGH Campus has transformed in the last 10 years and patients have difficulty finding their way around the hospital. So we launched the Guiders programme in 2010. Serene was one of our first volunteers.”

To date, Serene has clocked about 6,000 volunteer hours and helped over 53,000 patients, visitors and caregivers find their way to their doctors’ appointments.

When asked why she volunteered for this role, Serene says, “Someone has to take the initiative. I see a lot of elderly come alone. I can see in their eyes that they are lost.”

She goes on to share other fond memories. “Every three months, a visually impaired man will come to SGH with his guide dog called Grace. He tells me he was born blind. And that he migrated to Australia and returns every three months for his medical check-up. I will bring him to his clinic and then to the pharmacy to collect his medication.”

Serene also stepped up to mentor new volunteers joining the SGH Guider’s programme. “Then there will be more volunteers. Many of my volunteers are in their 70s and may stop volunteering soon.”

But the words “stop volunteering“ do not seem to be in Serene’s vocabulary. “I heard last year that the pharmacists needed help to pack medication. So I volunteered to be a pharmacy packer once a week,” beams Serene. This has enabled our pharmacists to focus more on patient care.

Serene (first from left) with other SGH volunteers

What drives this super volunteer? “Satisfaction. Knowing that I did the right thing. I help. I am useful to society. Then I can leave planet Earth with love and peace in my heart.”

Serene goes on to explain, “If you volunteer at SGH, you are sure to have a big heart. Your heart will be so big that you will feel very contented. You will feel that life is very good to you because many people need your help. And because of what you do, you will be happy. And when you die, you will leave this Earth happy and contented.”

For her dedication, Serene was given the Singapore Health Inspirational Patient & Caregiver Volunteer Award. “Serene's award truly captures what she means to our SGH community," says Mumtaj.  "For 26 years, she has gone above and beyond, creating innovative programmes like our retail carts and mobile library. As our pioneering Guider, she has personally helped over thousands of people navigate our campus, all while quietly caring for her mother at home. The award recognises not just her service, but her remarkable resilience in balancing both roles. Whether she's guiding a lost patient or mentoring new volunteers, Serene shows us that life's challenges can be transformed into a deeper capacity to help others. She's an inspiration to everyone at SGH."

If you would like to be an SGH Volunteer, drop us an email at volunteer@sgh.com.sg

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