About Founder of Heart To Heart

About Founder
Sister Teresa - Never too old to care for others

Starting a community service is no easy task and would not have been possible without the strong conviction and dedication of Teresa Hsu.

Teresa was born second of four children to a poor family in Guangdong Province, China, in 1898. Following tradition of those days, woman-folks as young as four years old were expected to attend to household chores. When she protested that it was not fair that her adolescent uncle was holding on to a pen whereas she had to hold a broom, she was told that she was just a woman, a slave. The metaphor of the broom and the pen became her motivation to educate herself.

At 16, with a strong determination to be free, she left for Hong Kong. She again found herself cleaning floors, though this time voluntarily. By attending night classes, she learnt enough English to acquire skills in shorthand and typing, and eventually landed in a job as a stenographer. However her quest for knowledge did not stop just yet. She continued to study bookkeeping.

All the while, Teresa, besides her learning, fought for fairness for her fellow workers. She even donated her money to form Friends of the Needy in 1930 to provide for the homeless, needy, disabled and abandoned. This set the tone for Teresa's lifelong commitment to serving the community. When the war broke out, she moved to Chungking in 1937, working as a secretary and bookkeeper for a German news agency. During that time, she volunteered to look after the injured soldiers with the Friends' Ambulance Unit.

1945 was a turning point in her life. Witnessing the suffering of the wounded during World War II, she recognised a new calling to serve. She convinced the London Nursing Council to accept her as a student at the matured age of 47 and spent the next eight years in London developing her nursing skills. It was also during this time that she joined the International Voluntary Service for Peace (IVSP) and traveled around Europe to help the needy and promote peace.

Learning that she was prepared to serve the poor who could not pay but just offer food and lodging, she was invited by German Jewish refugees to work in a hospital they have established in Paraguay. This led her to a new stage of community care as she assisted the doctors to work with German Jewish refugees and the Paraguayan natives of the surrounding areas.

1961 saw Teresa coming to Singapore to care for her mother. Though she was committed to her family, her service for the society did not stop there. She re-established Friends for the Needy which was subsequently renamed as Heart to Heart Service. Her sister, Ursula Khow, touched by her dedication and commitment to the poor and sick, bought her a piece of land in Jalan Payoh Lai in 1965. This was where she founded the Home for the Aged Sick. In the meantime, she also bought flats, five in Singapore and two in Malaysia, for the homeless with the money given to her by her sister Ursula.

Serving as Matron of the Home for the Aged Sick up to the ripe age of 85, she continues to serve the needy till now. Her dedication to help the needy keeps her busy every moment of her life. Besides being the driving force behind the food program for the needy, she also conducts yoga classes for the public.

Teresa has received several awards and accolades from organizations all over the world and invited to speak at numerous symposiums and given many interviews. Learn more about Sister Teresa and her work in life.

Teresa Hsu "105-year-young" was nominated by Sharana Rao in September 2003 for the Active Seniors Citizens award. She was shortlisted out of the 535 nominees for the final. After her returned from Australia, she was requested to attend an interview with Dr. Lee and Mr. Dexter Tai of the Senior Citizen Award Organising Committee on Wednesday 8th October, 2003.
On November the 13th, 2003 Ms.Teresa Hsu was voted the grand winner and awarded the Active Senior Citizen of the Year 2003 Award by the Guest of Honour, Mr. Chan Soo Sen the Minister of State, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Community Development and Sports. The grand winner of the Grandparent of the Year 2003 Award went to Mr. Lim Soo Tsu aged 83.

On August 7th 2003, Teresa Hsu , Sharana Rao and some volunteers visited an orphanage school of 101 children named Infantia-Kampong Chhnang in Cambodia. We also visited many poor families in their respective villages where we offered rice, milk powder, noodle, biscuits, medicine and money.

Interview with Disabled People Association, Singapore; December 1999

PEACE Symposium Brisbane 2003

Honorary Doctorate Degree, University of Southern Queensland, Australia; April 2003

103-year-old to help orphans in Cambodia; October 2003

Nomination for Active Senior Citizens Award, Singapore; October 2003