Every weekday a group of senior citizens gather at the Adventist Active Centre in Golden Clover, a HDB Studio Apartment Block in Toa Payoh to exercise, play games, sing, dance and enjoy each other’s company, sometimes over home-cooked meals. On 14 Nov 2017, about 20 of them responded to a call to volunteer for an activity they have not done before. Under the supervision of Centre Manager, Gillian Chong, these men and women, mostly in their 60’s to 80’s cheerfully took their positions at a line of tables to prepare orange coloured ribbons.

From 25 November, which marks International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to 10 December, which is Human Rights Day, the 16 days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign is a time to galvanize action to end violence against women and girls around the world. The international campaign originated from the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute coordinated by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership in 1991.

Currently, more than 3,700 organizations from approximately 164 countries participate in the campaign annually. This year, Marymount Centre which provides care and shelter to women and girls, some of whom are victims of violence, bring awareness to this injustice by encouraging people, young and old, male and female, to wear an orange ribbon prepared by the senior citizens to show their support to eliminate violence against women and girls

We thank the management and members of Adventist Active Centre in Golden Clover for their time and effort in preparing the ribbons, and their support in eliminating gender-based violence.

Here are some photos of the hard work contributed by the senior citizens:-