Statistics from the Census and Statistics Department show that Sham Shui Po District is one of the largest population of elderly aged 65 and over in Hong Kong. Many of them are living in old private housing. They have been residing in the District for decades, and getting homebound especially for those living in old tenement buildings without elevators. Hardly do they look for community services nor are reached out by elderly service organisations in Sham Shui Po. Hence, they become one of the most deprived and neglected groups in the District, particularly for those with limited mobility or suffering from chronic diseases.

To look after the needs of these homebound elderly, we joined hands with local organizations to launch the Sham Shui Po Community Care Service for the Elderly in August, 2004. Through regular visits, the Project provides simple body checks, psychological support, healthcare tips and information on community resources to homebound elderly. In addition, elderly are encouraged to expand their social and support networks through different activities, while assisting them on household maintenance, cleaning and clinic visits. Their physical and psychological needs can be better taken care of, as their cases can be referred to appropriate professional services for follow-up. We hope to invite your support with a gift of HK$500, to help these homebound elderly receiving continuous services, and support other humanitarian works of the Hong Kong Red Cross.

Your donation is crucial to our humanitarian works ... Please allow me to share the story of Uncle Hung Kwok-chung who is one of our service users.

Uncle Hung, who is in his eighties, suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure and cataract. Having broken up with his family for a long time, he is now living alone in a sub-divided flat of nearly 60 square feet. Uncle Hung barely contacts his friends or talks to his neighbours. He only goes to the park or the market nearby in the mornings, and back home before lunch. If his diabetes gets worse on the day, he will have to stay home all day suffering foot pain.

A year ago, Uncle Hung was referred by a social worker to join this project. Three volunteers from different backgrounds are paired up to look after him: Eddie Au (a financial consultant), Enoch Lau (a corporate volunteer), as well as Jenna Mak (a Year 1 undergraduate) who joined in later on. Apart from the monthly visit, they will make caring phone calls to Uncle Hung for casual chats, sharing much care as if he is one of their relatives.

‘There was once that I kept calling him on his phone for several days but he just didn’t answer. I went straight to his home but he was not there. Even his neighbours had no idea where he went. He is all alone. Nobody will know if anything happens to him. So I was really worried,’ says Eddie. ‘Only after we knew that he had spent the few days at his home village in the Mainland and was all safe, that we could finally relieve ourselves,’ says Enoch.

‘They treat me better than my family does,’ says Uncle Hung.

Uncle Hung speaks with heavy Hakka accent. Most people may not understand his Cantonese quite well. Yet, Enoch finds no language barrier between himself and Uncle Hung, as he got used to speak Hakka with his mother before she passed away.

‘I used to talk with my mother in Hakka dialect. Now I can speak Hakka with Uncle Hung, this makes me feel close and connected,’ Enoch mentions.

‘Uncle Hung once called me on the phone but I couldn’t understand what he said, so I immediately contacted Enoch who was working in Dongguan at that time,’ Eddie recalls. Eventually, they found out Uncle Hung was just calling to confirm the time for their next visit. The worry was over.

This time, Uncle Hung is so excited to share the good news that his application for public housing may be granted shortly. The volunteers are all happy for him. His place, once silent and lonely, is now filled with laughter and energy.

In this 45 minute visit, the volunteers have casual chat with Uncle Hung, and read news related to elderly to him so that he can be alerted. Uncle Hung also shares his worry about the expense of moving to the new place. He enjoys talking to the volunteers on every aspect of life, and treats them like family members of his own.

‘It’s always nice to have someone to talk to. I share my needs and difficulties to them. They treat me nicer than my family does.’

Getting back to the community with volunteers’ efforts

The volunteers had also encouraged Uncle Hung to visit a health related carnival in Sham Shui Po District. Being reluctant to join any community events in the first year, Uncle Hung finally accepted the invitation this time. Everyone was glad to see such a change. On the day of the event, Eddie walked with Uncle Hung from his home to the carnival. They played in every game stall, which was all about seasonal health knowledge. Impressed by the cheerful face on Uncle Hung, the team believed it was a good start.

Eddie summarizes the project is, most importantly of all, giving psychological support and compassion to the elderly rather than just material aids. Many homebound elderly do not have good relationship with their family and neighbours. They rarely talk to other people, needless to say to receive any care from others. Just like Uncle Hung, when the volunteers first approached him, he was silent about his past and personal life. Only after he got to know the volunteers well that he started sharing his life and showed enthusiasm to their visits.

Such meaningful project has to be backed up by passionate volunteers and many other supports, including the service to find out and contact the homebound elderly, volunteer training, organising regular visits and material supplies. Your generous support and donation is indispensable. Your regular donation will help sustain this project, to look after homebound elderly like Uncle Hung in this case.

Benefitted from serving the others

Volunteers can be benefitted by helping others, too. Jenna is a keen volunteer who is studying occupational therapy in the university and wants to give a helping hand. Her task is to read newspapers to Uncle Hung. Jenna will try every way to make the news sound lively for easy memory of Uncle Hung. Enoch and Eddie also feel that through this project, they can understand more about the perspectives and problems of the elderly. They now enjoy a closer relationship with their parents, and learn to rethink their future after getting along with the elderly.

In times of loneliness, sickness and adversity, gestures as simple as an eye contact, a greeting or a hug can be great support to people in need. Though it takes time to break ice and build trust, there is always an exception--when the puppets show up and win everyone’s heart. Formed in 2002 by a group of dedicated volunteers, the Red Cross Volunteer Puppet Theatre has been performing puppet shows themed on tracing service in elderly centres. It is hoped that elderly audience will learn about our tracing service, so that they can try to reconnect with their lost family members.

Puppet Theatre to care for the vulnerable

The Red Cross Volunteer Puppet Theatre has a team of versatile volunteers. More than 300 volunteers have been recruited since the past 12 years, to perform puppet shows and share puppetry skills in elderly homes, hospitals and schools. Messages on humanitarian spirit and voluntary compassion are disseminated through the joyous puppet performances, demonstrating our mission of ‘care for the health of the vulnerable’.

Wenda Wong is one of our donors who is impressed by the Red Cross Volunteer Puppet Theatre in one of the live performances she came across. She immediately joined the Theatre when its annual recruitment opened in July 2013. Wenda has been interested in volunteering for the elderly, but she is afraid of triggering their sad stories in the course of serving them. In this sense, the Red Cross Volunteer Puppet Theatre sets out the best stage for her volunteering.

Cheer for all ages

‘Sometimes when we talk with elderly, we may get into their old stories and even some sad memories. It may end up in tears, and my emotion will be affected too. On the contrary, puppet shows can bring happiness and positiveness to the audience, as well as to ourselves as puppeteers.’ Wenda explains the reason for volunteering in the Theatre.

Children love puppets as much as elderly do. The Theatre sometimes perform puppet shows in hospitals, and after the show, volunteers will teach child patients to make finger puppets. ‘Children are excited to make their own finger puppets. They can bring along their D.I.Y. puppets home or to the ward, thus keeping them happy all the time. The smiles and satisfaction on their faces are motivation of our services.’

A bridge to social inclusion

For more than a decade of development, the Red Cross Volunteer Puppet Theatre has extended its services to more sectors. Recently Wenda has taken part in a workshop for secondary school students to learn puppetry skills, so that they can perform puppet show for intellectually disabled audience. To achieve this, the Christmas puppet show is incorporated with the elements of social inclusion--the main cast, being disabled, can also shine on stage.

‘This puppet show acts as a bridge between young students and intellectually disabled people. They can learn to get along with each other, share support and reach social inclusion. That is what we want to achieve,’ says Wenda.

Please click here to donate or download the donation form. Your donation of HK$500, HK$800 or HK$1,000 will help sustain our elderly services, for provision of psychological support and tangible assistance to homebound elderly, reconnecting them to get into the community, build support network among neighbours, and enjoy their golden years. The Red Cross Volunteer Puppet Theatre also solicits your donation to sustain volunteer training and material supplies, so that puppet shows can carry on delivering happiness, care and spirit of humanity to people in need. Please act now to support the Community Care Service for Homebound Elderly in Sham Shui Po and the Red Cross Volunteer Puppet Theatre, as well as our other humanitarian works.

The Hong Kong Red Cross is committed to helping the needy in the society, through a wide range of humanitarian services including special education, youth development programmes, psychological first aid, as well as disaster preparedness and relief projects. We sincerely appreciate your positive response to our call for donation, to enable our projects and services to sustain.

We urge your immediate reply. Your kind donation can bring hope and support to people in need, including homebound elderly like Uncle Hung under the Community Care Service Project for Homebound Elderly in Sham Shui Po, as well as to our other humanitarian initiatives.

Lastly, we express our deepest gratitude to your support and donation. If you require further information on our scope of services or usage of donation, please always feel free to contact us or feedback to us at secretarygeneral@redcross.org.hk or at 2802 0016.