Seniors can live abundant lives too: How one woman is transforming eldercare in Malaysia

In 2010, Anna Chew stepped into a five-star hotel in downtown Kuala Lumpur (KL). “This would be a great space for eldercare services,” the Malaysian thought.

At the time, Anna was a nominal Christian who was busy carving a name for herself in the start-up world.

Gifted with a sharp mind and astute business acumen, Anna had established successful companies in tech, digital marketing and communications.

Meanwhile, her ageing father was battling a heart condition and passed away that same year. Around the same time, she visited an elderly aunt at a nursing home in Penang, only to be horrified by its squalid conditions.

This series of events marked the beginning of a vision that, looking back, Anna believes God deposited deep within her heart.

Nearly 15 years later, Anna has launched several innovative eldercare products, including the award-winning ReU Living, an assisted living and recovery centre set up during the pandemic.

She has also been recognised as a Global Ageing Trailblazer and regional expert on ageing and care innovation, and is sought after in both private and public sectors.

In 2023, ReU Living was named Operator of the Year at the 11th Asia Pacific Eldercare Innovation Awards in Singapore.

“ReU Living is located in MiCasa Hotel, the exact hotel where the idea of exploring eldercare first dropped into my heart. Only God could have orchestrated this full-circle moment,” she said.

Finding God in the marketplace

Anna is a sixth-generation Christian with a spiritual heritage in marketplace ministry.

Her great-great-great-grandmother was a marketplace minister in China, travelling from village to village preaching the Word.

Her great-great-grandfather came to Malaysia and set up antique shops in Petaling Street, but passed the businesses soon after to his children so he could preach the Gospel to other vendors in the heart of Chinatown, KL.

“I was born into a Christian family with this amazing spiritual legacy, but strayed from the faith in my twenties. It was only in my forties that I rediscovered God,” she said.

Interestingly, Anna found God in the marketplace, not the church.

Now part of the Accomplish Asia core leadership team, Anna speaks at events encouraging marketplace leaders to integrate faith and work.

With a renewed zeal to glorify God through her work, she sunk herself into the faith-driven community of marketplace leaders, eventually joining the Accomplish Asia core leadership team.

As her faith grew through time with the Lord, church life and Accomplish Asia, the Lord’s purposes for her life and work began to unfold with greater clarity: to speak His truth and help people live and age meaningfully.

Abundant life even in old age

“Changing mindsets is not easy. We have been told that with age comes illness of mind and body, so without realising it, we assume that we will be sick and tired when we get old. But that is not God’s truth,” Anna said.

The Word of God is filled with promises of abundant life, and science has only confirmed it.

Anna (third from right) with the ReU Living team.

Anna quotes Isaiah 46:4. “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”

In its original Hebrew, the word ‘sustain’ (esbol) means to bear, uphold and carry through life’s weight and frailty, while ‘rescue’ (malat) means to deliver from danger or distress and bring into safety.

“Setting aside unforeseen health conditions or unfortunate incidents, God has given us a body that is resilient and able to recover at a phenomenal rate. We can be active in mind, body and spirit until we pass from earth to eternity,” she said.

“God has made our bodies to work and move with purpose. He has designed us for fellowship – with Him, others and the environment,” she added.

Anna with her mother, who can do full squats unsupported at 75 years old.

Ageing begins the day we are born, and we need to decide for ourselves how we want to age, said Anna.

“If we don’t encourage people to take charge (of this) by exercising, staying healthy and being with a community, we rob them of the abundant life God has promised to us.”

Empowering seniors to age actively

According to Anna, many seniors wait until a serious illness strikes before they take action. When this happens, most seniors do not want to be admitted into a facility and would rather age in-place (at home).

Those who can afford to will likely hire a domestic helper, often not trained in caregiving, and the senior will spend most daytime hours in front of the television.

For many others, homes for the elderly are the more suitable option.

“The truth, however, is that many homes for the elderly in Malaysia are not regulated; in fact, half are probably unregistered. The conditions are often appalling, the care is less than adequate. Their focus is on keeping a senior alive, not helping them live meaningfully,” she said.

Anna’s latest venture is Meaningfull Care Hub, an active ageing daycare centre that offers physiotherapy, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and mental health services alongside science-backed programs.

The Meaningfull Care Hub, an active ageing daycare centre nestled in the heart of a new township in Selangor.

Senior daycare centres allow healthy seniors to age at home without compromising their social, psychological and physical needs. This set-up also encourages seniors to care for themselves and build active lifestyles, said Anna.

“Our Care Hub is located in an integrated township, with seniors able to enjoy pickleball, mahjong, walks around a nearby lake and even a flying fox for the thrill-seeking senior.” 

Churches as thriving spaces for seniors

Anna believes that the programs and activities run by these senior daycare centres are crucial to a senior’s ability to live meaningfully.

“Here is where churches can really step up. Many have spaces that are only fully utilised on weekends, but churches ought to be community spaces that bless and impact the community even on weekdays,” she said.

Her team is currently in discussions with a local church in Malaysia to utilise their premise during downtime, so that they can provide an important, much-needed service for the communities they serve.

The ReU Living community on a festive day. Ageing and recovery can become meaningful when done with truth, competence and care, said Anna.

Anna firmly believes that activity-driven programs for seniors, paid and free, can be a powerful evangelism and outreach tool, but there must be an emphasis on quality.

“Charity without quality is not helpful at all; it does not help the senior, the church or society in general. If you are a church and are willing to open your doors, I will happily come and help you set something up,” she said.

Anna’s products are high-end, but her objective is not to build luxury products. As Christians, we are called to be standard-bearers (Titus 2:7-8),” she said.

“I need to build what can be, so that the government and private sectors have a reference to work towards and innovate. With mass market demand, we will see healthy competition, which will make the product more affordable and result in more people having access to quality care,” she explained.

Led by wisdom from above

The trailblazer takes no credit for her care innovations and far-thinking business strategies. These are blueprints from the Lord, she said.

In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul speaks of how God reveals things even our minds cannot conceive, through His Spirit and wisdom from above.

“This passage helps to make sense of the blueprints I’ve received from the Lord, from concept to set-up, operations and protocols. My prayer is always, ‘God, help me,’ whenever I am building a new product. Through the years, God has given me downloads and taught me how to put them together over time,” she said.

For example, Anna had never stepped foot into an assisted-living facility, so when architects and designers asked her for direction when planning ReU Living, the vision she laid out had to come directly from the Lord.

“When it opened, it couldn’t have been designed with a better flow and usage of space. Our recovery protocols and pricing models were also blueprints from God, who provided the design thinking behind each concept,” she shared.

For Anna, the eldercare business is her mission field and ministry. She has been called to transform the way society values seniors and businesses approach ageing.

“As Christians in the marketplace, we are tasked with enriching lives through business. For me, that means pushing eldercare standards up, driving policy change and leading ground implementation so that care is democratised,” she said.

Only then, Anna concludes, will every person be able to age actively, live meaningfully and experience the abundant life God has promised.

“When we allow God’s truth to sit in our hearts, we do not have to fear becoming old.”

How can we support the seniors in our lives?

Meaningful change does not have to start big. It begins close to home, in the way we notice, care for, and empower the seniors around us. Anna shares a few simple ways to begin:

1. Find a community: Seniors need shared experiences with others, whether at home, in church or in interest groups.
2. Get them walking: Fresh air and sunshine are free, and God has made nature to support active ageing.
3. Support mental health: As Christians, a strong faith in God is crucial to mental resilience and cognitive health. Isolation is a quick destroyer, as the pandemic lockdown showed.
4. Address abnormal pain immediately: Delayed intervention can lead to permanent issues.
5. Let them be seen and heard: More than caring for their physical health, seniors need relationships, conversation, activity and engagement.

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