In a Singapore nursing home, a group of seniors with dementia gathered to look at old photographs. One image-the 1961 Bukit Ho Swee fire-unlocked vivid memories for a former firefighter. This is the work of Re2ignite, a psychosocial program run by medical social workers Nur Sahara Kamsani, Siti Aisyah Ismail, and Louisa Bielig at Ren Ci Hospital.
The program, launched in 2019, uses images, symbols, music, and food to reignite conversation. For early-stage patients, these triggers help weave fragmented memories into collective stories of resilience and survival.
In March 2026, the three won the Outstanding Social Work Award from the Singapore Association of Social Workers.
For advanced dementia, Re2ignite engages patients through art therapy, music, scent, and sensory massage. Bielig recalled a bedridden woman who suddenly said she went to Hong Kong, and a former piano teacher who played again with assistance. "When memory fades and words fail, the feeling we leave our loved ones with is what matters," Sahara said.
Both Sahara and Bielig were inspired by personal experiences. Sahara's mother had memory loss before dying from a stroke; Bielig's childhood caring for a neighbor with dementia shaped her path.