Every Tuesday morning in Toa Payoh, some seniors move a little faster than usual. Phones are out, names are registered, and hopes are quietly pinned on a ballot. What they’re trying to secure isn’t money or a free meal — it’s a seat at a mahjong table on Sunday afternoon, and a few hours of warmth, laughter and company.
For many, that seat has become something to look forward to all week.
A Sunday game worth queuing for
The mahjong sessions at Toa Payoh West Community Club are so popular that organisers had to introduce balloting in 2025. With only 24 places available for seniors each week, demand almost always exceeds supply.
Seventy-three-year-old retiree Kong Yoke Kew knows the feeling well. She has been attending the sessions for two years, and the excitement hasn’t worn off. “I’m very happy when I get the chance to play,” she said simply. “I really look forward to it.”
Each three-hour session brings together 24 seniors and 24 youth volunteers, seated around mahjong tables. Tiles clack, jokes fly across the table, and conversations drift from game strategies to family, school and everyday life. No money is involved — just time, attention and shared presence.
How four students sparked something bigger
What many seniors now eagerly anticipate each week began as a small idea. Mahjong Together was started in 2021 by four Dunman High School students who wanted to do something meaningful for their community.
That idea has since grown far beyond its beginnings. Today, the initiative is run by a rotating committee of 15 young people, mostly students, who manage everything from operations to volunteer recruitment. Each month, between 70 and 90 youths sign up online to help run sessions across community clubs, active ageing centres and care homes around Singapore.
The most regular sessions still happen on Sunday afternoons in Toa Payoh.
For founding member Ms Yap Yihui, now 21 and studying at the University of Virginia, the spark came during the Covid-19 pandemic. Stories about elderly loneliness struck a chord, and she wanted to respond in a way that felt natural and genuine.
Mahjong, she believed, was the perfect connector. “Four people sit together at a table — half talking about the game, half talking about life,” she said. “Conversation just happens.”
Although she has since stepped away after moving overseas, watching the project grow has been deeply meaningful. “It’s surreal,” she said. “I never imagined it would reach this stage.”
Where generations meet, one tile at a time
Walk into a Mahjong Together session and the energy is immediately obvious. At a December 2025 gathering, the room was filled with chatter, laughter and the familiar rhythm of tiles shuffling across tables.
For first-time volunteer Duan Zehao, a 16-year-old student from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), the experience exceeded expectations. “It was very fun,” he said. “I even learned some mahjong tips from the seniors.”
Not all volunteers come in knowing how to play. Seventeen-year-old Reese Chin joined in January 2025 and learned on the job. “I picked it up quite quickly,” she said with a grin, “but some aunties still jokingly scold me when I make the wrong move.”
For others, it’s the relationships that keep them coming back. Former committee member Tan Yan Kai, 18, returned after a 10-month break to focus on his A-levels. What stayed with him was how the seniors remembered him. “I was very touched,” he said. “I really missed the atmosphere. It feels good to give back.”
The feeling is mutual. Homemaker Doris Tan, 66, said the sessions keep her mind sharp and her days lively. “I can learn from young people, and they can learn from me,” she said.
As Madam Kong gathered her tiles at the end of the game, she summed it up with a smile: “Playing with these young people makes me feel younger.”
