Celebrating Life’s Every Triumph Together – Rose Chew Bee Que

Those who have met Mdm Rose Chew Bee Que would agree that she is a cheerful and affable senior. At 68, Rose is enthusiastic about working and staying connected to [...]

Key takeaways:

  • There will always be challenges in life and is often guided by her philosophy that “we must always encourage ourselves and give things a try”.
  • Regardless of age, one can continue to learn and experience new things.

Those who have met Mdm Rose Chew Bee Que would agree that she is a cheerful and affable senior. At 68, Rose is enthusiastic about working and staying connected to people. In this article, Rose shares with senior analyst Poh Sho Siam how she keeps herself active.

Rose has poliomyelitis, commonly known as polio, and the virus affected the development of her legs since she was three years old. Her legs became weaker as she grew up and she has been using walking aids for many years. After a bad fall five years ago, she decided to switch to a motorised scooter.

For Rose, who values her independence and believes in staying active, her motorised scooter has become her trusty companion. It is on this compact machinery that she commutes to meet with friends, go to the movies, library, shopping and to work – all on her own.

The cheery and jovial Rose has not always been accepting of her condition. When she was young, there were times when she felt sad because of it. Over the years, she has learnt to count her blessings and be contented with what she has. “I have a good family and a job,” she beamed and recounted happy moments that she shared with her family, such as enjoying healthy meals prepared by her husband.

Rose feels that there will always be challenges in life and is often guided by her philosophy that “we must always encourage ourselves and give things a try”. It must be this “give things a try” spirit that spurred her to take on a receptionist job through SPD. After retiring as a customer service officer, a position she held for more than 25 years, Rose is glad to have found this part-time job as interacting with people is what she is good at and enjoys doing.

Although Rose has many years of experience handling customers, she realises the importance of upskilling. Hence, she has signed up for several courses to familiarise herself with the use of the internet as well as phone handling and note taking skills.

This willingness to learn new things extends to all aspects of her life. For instance, learning to operate the motorised scooter was something she was very keen to pick up although she doubted if she could handle it properly. However, she told herself, “If others can do it, so can I,” and she did!

Her enthusiasm and “always willing to try” attitude impressed both Patricia Goh and Clara Lee, employment specialists at SPD, who agreed that Rose is a very motivated senior. “Whenever there was an opportunity for job interview, Rose was always enthusiastic and willing to give it a try,” said Patricia.

On what drives her to remain active and positive, Rose said that one should “go outside and see”, otherwise the “mind will deteriorate”.

Regardless of age, one can continue to learn and experience new things. Rose’s positive attitude serves as an encouragement to others and she certainly is a positive influence to those around her.