Café Kawan

Café Kawan, located on level 3 at Whampoa CC, is one of the important components of ComSA. Besides having home-made food and beverages, Café Kawan is also an informal gathering space for older residents to share and learn skills and knowledge with each other.

Through ground-up programmes and interest groups, this informal space encourages forging of friendships. The programme initiative also creates opportunities for seniors to step up to peer-lead in the programmes gradually. Some of the popular programmes include cooking sessions where seniors gather and take turns to explore recipes, and popular craftwork activities where seniors can express their creativity.

As the seniors confide in each other, sometimes our staff get alerted by their peers when they identify certain issues faced by their friends - be it physical, mental health or other issues. We then follow up with the other services, for example care management and/or counselling, to render help to the seniors. This illustrates that Café Kawan acts as a listening post and also shows how ComSA’s integrated services benefit our seniors, improving the quality of life for the seniors.

In collaboration with the National Library Board, the Café also operates a community free library for the residents to pick up a book and return at their convenience. They are also encouraged to do a book swap among the patrons of the Café.