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The JoyPhone Community Project is an initiative aimed at bringing more joy to the Singapore elderly living with dementia.
Photo by Wai Hsuen (Weixian) Chan
IT'S HERE !
Our prototype is ready
We did it! The JoyPhone prototype is ready! This amazing device transforms a vintage rotary phone into a portable jukebox, bringing joy to seniors with dementia. Our Community Project aims to improve their quality of life and we can't wait to share it with families and care homes across Singapore. Join us in making a positive impact! Let's build a community of electronics builders and bring happiness to people in Singapore living with dementia and their caregivers.
1 in 10
Singaporeans live with dementia
210,000
Singaporeans take care of loved ones with dementia
67%
Music reduces agitation in people with dementia
What the Project is about
Support Caregivers
The Joyphone Project has been designed to support care providers with the emotional needs of their loved ones and help create more precious moments with them.
Raise Awareness
JoyPhone’s aim is to brighten the day for both the person with dementia and their caregiver. We hope that JoyPhones in every home will help increase the understanding of dementia.
Build A Community
Joyphone has the opportunity to positively impact dementia in Singapore. We believe that by making the build plan available to everyone, we can make an even bigger impact.
Building a JoyPhone Community
What is a JoyPhone
The JoyPhone is basic computer electronics and an mp3 player module used to convert a vintage rotary phone into a portable jukebox. After you pick up the handset, you will hear a dial tone. When you dial a number, a classic song from the era of the person with dementia begins to play.
What is the build community about
We have built our first JoyPhones now, but we want to spread the joy faster. For our builds, we will only use electronics parts that are readily available to buy for everyone. The detailed build instructions are now available to all handy people in Singapore so everyone can create their own JoyPhone. We will also need everyone's support to help source for rotary telephones so our Singapore building community can build as many as we possible.
Why does it play music
The JoyPhone can be programmed to play any piece of music that has significance to the person living with dementia. People with dementia often have memories from when they were young but are less capable of remembering recent events. Music is stored differently in the brain than language and so individuals with severe memory loss or speech impairment can still sing songs from their childhood. It's why we think the JoyPhone will become very popular
How you can get involved
Now that our protype is ready, we are very keen to test them out in the field and document the responses so we can create some excitement around the project in Singapore. We then plan to set-up JoyPhone build teams by partnering with local electronics hobby clubs, schools and other amateurs. We will need plenty of donor rotary telephones to give to our build teams. And lastly, we will want ideas and input what music we should consider for our prototypes.
We will share project updates to everyone who has subscribed to our mailing list. You can also follow our Instagram account.
Sign up to Our Mailing List
Stay up to date while we build the prototype over the next few weeks.