A lifetime of caring: at 92, So Kam’s positive energy still works magic on those around her

At 92, So Kam has lived through the dark days of war and still remembers how she would often stumble over bodies walking through pitch-black streets at night.

“There was a lot of bombing, back then,” she recalls. “Life was difficult.”

But unlike many who might be hardened by experiencing the brutal side of humanity, So lives by a philosophy of helping anyone she can. After raising her three children, who have now branched out the family tree with six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, she has spent the past few decades volunteering her services to others.

In earlier days she often played the role of “clinic buddy”, going with older folk on their hospital and clinic visits. So remembers cabbing to and from hospital with an elderly man who had cancer. “He would lean back, feeling ill from the chemotherapy, on the taxi rides; I had to keep calling his name from time to time to make sure he was still alive. I was really afraid he would die then. It was so scary.”

Walking has since become difficult for her, but So’s energy can still be felt as she totters around, pushing her wheeled walker. She now serves as a friendly ambassador at her elderly home, and she continues to go out regularly, chatting with senior citizens looking lonely on park benches.