Next time someone jio-s you to go for a 1.5km walk and you say “No”, think of Darren Lim’s 96-year-old grandpa.
It was recently reported that the 51-year-old actor and his family had participated in a 1.5km charity walk in support of Darren’s grandfather, Lim Hon Hoi, who was the oldest participant of that event.
Darren’s wife, former actress Evelyn Tan, 49, and their four children — Kristen, 19, Jairus, 17, Way, 15, and Elliot, 11 — as well as his dad and younger brother were all at the walk, which was organised by active ageing centre Blossom Seeds.
In an interview with Shinmin Daily, Darren shared that his family began worrying about his grandfather’s health after his grandmother passed away in May this year.
Though he has two helpers taking care of his day-to-day activities, the family was afraid that Grandpa Lim, who spent most of his time in the past few years taking care of his ailing wife, would not be able to adapt to his new lifestyle after her passing.
Two months ago, a neighbour suggested Grandpa Lim visit Blossom Seeds, which is located in Canberra.
“We were worried that our grandpa wouldn’t get used to the environment, but he went there and said he really liked it,” shared Darren.
“He even picked up calligraphy and would share his works in our family group chat. I can tell that he’s very proud of himself,” he added.
Grandpa Lim now goes to the centre twice a week and would come home feeling happy.
He also told Darren that he’s “a bigger celebrity than [Darren is]” as many people wanted to be his friend after finding out how old he is.
When Darren heard that Blossom Seeds was organising a charity walk, he immediately thought of gathering his family to participate.
“I hope to express our support towards the centre, and at the same time encourage more elderly to step out of their houses and be active,” he said.
A total of 15 of Darren’s family members turned up for the walk.
Needless to say, Grandpa Lim was very excited after finding out about the turn out.
To make things better, he also received an award from Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung, who was at the event to hand out awards to participants aged above 90.
“In the past, when I received an award for my kindergarten graduation, my grandfather took photos of me. Now, he’s receiving an award and it’s my turn to take pictures of him,” said Darren.