Students from the IMU School of Pharmacy organised a service-learning outreach at Rumah Charis Old Folks Home in Shah Alam. The programme promoted healthy ageing through gentle exercises, cognitive games, and meaningful interactions with elderly residents.

On 31 January 2026, students from the IMU School of Pharmacy, cohorts BP124 and PC224, organised a community outreach visit to Rumah Charis Old Folks Home, Sri Muda, Shah Alam, as part of a service-learning initiative promoting holistic well-being among the elderly.

The project, titled “Wellness and Joy for the Golden Years at Rumah Charis”, was conducted under the supervision of Dr Louis Liew Yun Khoon and focused on supporting residents’ physical, cognitive, and emotional health.

Students kicked off the day with a physical health session, leading an interactive warm-up followed by light chair-based exercises.

Residents were guided through gentle stretching and simple limb movements to improve flexibility, circulation, and muscle strength. The exercises were conducted at a slow and comfortable pace, with the caregiver assisting when needed.

Students highlighted the importance of regular physical activity and encouraged residents to include these exercises in their daily routines to support healthy ageing.

Students then facilitated interactive brain-stimulating games, including memory card matching and charades. These activities aimed to promote mental alertness, memory, attention, concentration, recall ability, and visual recognition – key essential cognitive functions that can decline with ageing.

Throughout the session, students provided encouragement and guidance throughout to ensure residents felt supported while actively participating.

During charades, the game incorporated familiar daily-life activities such as waking up, brushing teeth, bathing, eating, and walking.

These activities reflect commonly used in task-oriented cognitive stimulation approaches in clinical settings – an approach which helped residents activate memories, supporting language function and cognitive processing.

The activities created a lively atmosphere filled with laughter, allowing residents to challenge themselves mentally while enjoying social engagement with peers and students.

The visit continued with a bonding session over teatime, where students engaged residents in small-group conversations about their life experiences, hobbies, and daily routines.

This meaningful interaction allowed residents to feel heard and valued, while students gained insights into the challenges faced by older adults. The session fostered mutual understanding, empathy, and a sense of companionship.

The outreach programme, organised by IMU School of Pharmacy students, under the guidance of Dr Louis Liew Yun Khoon, Dr Gan Sook Yee, and Dr Ravindran A/L M Vythilingam, provided students with valuable exposure to community-based care and highlighted the important role pharmacists play in promoting health beyond medication therapy.

“Wellness and Joy for the Golden Years at Rumah Charis” reflects IMU’s commitment to nurturing socially responsible healthcare professionals. The visit not only brought smiles and meaningful moments to the residents but also left a lasting impact on the students by extending learning beyond the classroom.

The project leader, Nur Zainina, shared that this was her first time leading a programme on this scale, which required her to learn and navigate many new responsibilities throughout the planning process. From coordinating the team to managing plans and ensuring the programme ran smoothly, she encountered several challenges along the way. Despite this, the experience proved that resilience was indeed rewarding, as seeing the joy and appreciation from the residents made all the effort worthwhile.

The students also expressed their sincere appreciation to the lecturers for their guidance and to Rumah Charis and the caregiver for their warm support in making the programme a meaningful success.

Written by Leow Yi Xing (BP124)