Teresa Hsu Chih

Infobox Person
name = Teresa Hsu Chih
許哲

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image_size= 160px
caption = The founder of Heart to Heart Service and Home for the Aged Sick.
birth_date = birth date and age|df=yes|1897|7|07cite news | title = Supercentenarian but she'll still be there for the needy | date = 8 July 2007 | publisher = The Straits Times ]
birth_place = Shantou, China
death_date =
death_place =
occupation = Social worker, Yoga teacher, nurse (retired)
education = Honorary Doctorate Degree,cite web | url = http://www.usq.edu.au/marketng/usqnews/archive/2003/23apr.pdf | title = USQ News dated 23 April 2003 | accessdate = 2007-11-04 | publisher = University of Southern Queensland ] University of Southern Queensland
parents =
Awards/Honours = See 'Commendation' section below
website = http://hearttoheartservice.org

Teresa Hsu Chih, or commonly known as Teresa Hsu (zh-s|许哲; pinyin: Xǔ Zhe) is a Chinese-born Singaporean social worker, known affectionately as "Singapore's Mother Teresa", in recognition for her active life-long devotion in helping the aged sick and destitutes locally. [cite news | last = Tay | first = Ming Liang | title = Letter—She is our very own Mother Teresa | date = 7 January 2000 | publisher = The Straits Times ] The retired nurse is the founder of the non-profit charities—Heart to Heart Service and the Home for the Aged Sick, one of the first homes for the aged sick in Singapore. She has been a social worker in China and Paraguay and a nurse in England, before coming to Singapore to start similar non-profit charities since 1961. Now a supercentenarian, she is still actively involved in charity work to the present day. She has spent almost all her savings on feeding and housing the poor and the elderly, most of whom are younger than she is, but she herself leads a simple and humble lifestyle.cite book | last = Khng | first = Eu Meng | title = Singapore's Extraordinary People—"Teresa Hsu: Never too old to care for others" | publisher = Singapore: Landmark Books | date = 1995 | pages = pp. 48—53 | isbn = 981-3002-96-4 ] In 2005, she received the Special Recognition Award from the Singapore government in recognition of her contribution to the country.cite news | last = Yap | first = Su-Yin | title = The Substation wins award for model fund-raising drive | date = 23 November 2005 | publisher = The Straits Times ]

Biography

Early years

Teresa Hsu Chih was born on 7 July 1897, in Shantou prefecture of China, during the reign of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. When Hsu was young, her father walked out on the family for another woman. [cite news | last = Sapawi | first = Tuminah | title = Never too old to be useful | date = 31 March 1994 | publisher = The Straits Times | page = Life at Large section ] Her mother, who was illiterate, had to fend for the three girls and one brother singlehandedly. At 16, her family moved to Penang in Malaya, where they worked as cleaners in a convent. As she did not want to be a cleaner all her life, Hsu asked the nuns there to allow her to study with the children, and they agreed. Combining study with work, she passed her Senior Cambridge examinations four years later. Equipped with a basic education, she ventured to Hongkong to work and, later, to Chongqing, China, where she became a secretary and bookkeeper at a German news agency in the 1930s. She quit her job to become a volunteer, helping the injured during the Sino-Japanese War.cite news | title = 100 years, and still going strong | date = 31 December 1999 | publisher = The Straits Times ]

Recalling her inability to help the wounded people whom she saw during the Second World War, Hsu decided to become a nurse. As she was overaged at 47, she wrote a request to the chief matron of the Nursing Council in London. Touched by Hsu's sincerity and dedication, her application was accepted. She spent eight years in England doing nursing and another eight in Paraguay as a member of the German charity group "Bruderhof", to start hospitals and homes for the aged there. In her mid-50s, she decided to return home to Penang to be with her mother. In Malaysia, she assisted her brother in starting the Assunta Foundation for the Poor in Ipoh. She also played a key role in the startup of three homes for the elderly and two homes for young girls and neglected children in Ipoh.cite web | url = http://www1.nvpc.org.sg/sub_page.asp?pid=101&sid=150&aid=590#7 | title = Special Recognition Award : Teresa Hsu | accessdate = 2007-11-04 | publisher = National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre ]

Home for the Aged Sick

In 1961, she came to Singapore to live with her older sister, Ursula, late principal of the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus in Bukit Timah. On seeing her dedication and commitment in helping the poor and sick, Ursula bought her a 0.6-hectare piece of land at Jalan Payoh Lai in 1965, so that Hsu could open the first home for the aged sick in Singapore. The two sisters ran the Home for the Aged Sick for five years. Ursula financed its operations with her pay, while Hsu managed it and made some extra cash by selling the harvest of 10 coconut trees and a dozen banana trees in the backyard.cite news | last = Abu Bakar | first = Mardiana | title = Society: Unending service | date = 20 May 1993 | publisher = The Straits Times ]

The sisters converted a servants' quarters and a bungalow into wards for their patients, but it became increasingly difficult to cope with the numbers. In 1970, with about 100 patients, they approached the Rotary Club for funds. The Rotary Club agreed to finance the home on condition that the club take over the running of it. The sisters handed the deeds over to the Society for the Aged Sick, an association formed by the Rotary Club members. The society built three blocks to house the increasing number of residents and Hsu remained the home's matron until 1980, when she was asked to retire at 83. Hsu moved into a three-room apartment on the rooftop of the Home, built by the society. After her sister died, she left Hsu a sum of money which she was able to buy flats with—five in Singapore and two in Malaysia for those people who had no money and who were asked to move.cite book | last = Shuying | title = Nagapuspa (Vol. 11)—110 Years Old, A Life of Abundant Wealth | publisher = Singapore: Buddha Tooth Relic Temple Publication |pages = pp. 78—79 | date = Jul/Aug 2007 ] When asked where all her compassion and deep caring came from, Hsu replied:

Heart to Heart Service

Shortly after she retired, Hsu set up the Heart to Heart Service with Sharana Yao, her co-social worker, a non-profit, non-government aided welfare service which provides food, clothes and monthly cash contributions to those in need. With the help of volunteers who drive her around, she brings necessities to the homes of elderly women and destitutes in their 80s and 90s on public assistance, such as rice, sugar, biscuits, beverages and monthly cash allowances of between S$20 and S$180. She gets her rations and funds from various sources—merchants, people in the neighbourhood, church friends, and their friends. The needy get on Heart-to-Heart's list based on good faith by word of mouth. In 2000, a Straits Times reader wrote to comment on her selfless contributions to the society and urged the young to follow her example:

At present

As of 2007, Hsu is 110 years old, but she is still actively involved in charity work. An advocate of healthy living, Hsu often gives public talks at schools, welfare homes, and hospitals in Singapore and overseas about health and service to the needy. When asked about the secret of her good health and longevity, Hsu attributes her good health to a spartan lifestyle, vegetarian diet, and to her positive attitude towards life:

She starts her day at 4 am with calisthenics, meditation and an hour of yoga exercises. At night, she does yoga again, then reads until midnight. She picked up yoga at age 69, when she bought a book titled "Forever Young, Forever Healthy". She also teaches yoga to the young and old at temples, associations, hospitals and schools. She eats sparely; her breakfast is a glass of water or milk. Lunch is often milk and salad, unless "people bring me food", and it is milk or yogurt for dinner. [cite news | title = Staying '97 Years Young'—A calm mind and simple life the secret | date = 7 November 1997 | publisher = The Straits Times ] At home, she has a 2,000-volume private library she calls "Prema", which in Sanskrit means "divine love". Today, her days are kept busy with trips to help needy senior citizens, reading and yoga practice at her sparsely-furnished single-storey house attached to the Society For The Aged Sick.

Commendation

*2005: Received the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre's Special Recognition Award from Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar.
*2005: A photography exhibition was held to honour Hsu's life and work at the Mica Building, from July 6 till July 18, titled "OneZeroSeven Photography Exhibition: Teresa Hsu Chih". [cite news | title = Around town | date = 6 July 2005 | publisher = The Straits Times | page = Life Events section ]
*2004: Received the Sporting Singapore Inspiration Award from Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, for her devotion to the teaching of yoga. [cite news | last = Chia | first = Han Keong | title = 107 years old, and still going strong | date = 30 October 2004 | publisher = The Straits Times | page = Sports section ]
*2003: Received the Active Senior Citizen of the Year Award from Chan Soo Sen, Minister of State (Education, Community Development and Sports). [cite news | title = Teresa Hsu is Active Senior Citizen | date = 14 November 2003 | publisher = The Straits Times ]
*2003: Received a Honorary Doctorate Degree from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia.
*1999: Received a one-off Special Award at the Woman of the Year 1999 awards ceremony at the Raffles Hotel organised by "Her World" magazine. [cite news | title = Three women of substance | date = 3 March 2000 | publisher = The Straits Times ]
*1997: Named 'Hero for Today' by the Chinese-edition of the Reader's Digest. [cite news | last = Sapawi | first = Tuminah | title = Strong and supple, at 97 | date = 7 November 1997 | publisher = The Straits Times ]
*1994: Received the Community Service Award awarded by the Life Insurance Association for her contribution to community service. [cite news | last = Chin | first = Soo Fang | title = Young-at-heart : 94-year-old wins life insurance award | date = 3 November 1994 | publisher = The Straits Times | page = Life at Large section ]

ee also

*Venerable Ho Yuen Hoe
*Lee Choon Seng
*Gan Eng Seng
*Oldest people

References

External links

* [http://www.societyagedsick.org.sg Society for the Aged Sick website]
* [http://www.mcys.gov.sg/web/faces/Faces34/seniorCitizen.htm Active Senior Citizen of the Year: Teresa Hsu]
* [http://www.chinavegan.com/2004/[e-mail] 106岁的许哲：爱使生命年轻] (Chinese)