Service during lockdown – how RCHK can give to local communities
By Ariana Jones
With the imminent resumption of regular face-to-face classes for all students under the approval of the Hong Kong Education Bureau, the partial change back to normal schooling is certain to bring about a revival of community and social activities for all those returning to RCHK.
The loosening of lockdown restrictions in public areas has also brought back a number of public activities outside of the school community, and many of those are now centred on the focus of providing charitable aid for groups of people most affected by the coronavirus. This has been a major concern for many prominent local NGO’s and agencies, and RCHK has wasted no time in organising a number of opportunities for students to participate in all types of different service work.
One such service program, setup by the NGO The Christian Family Service Centre (CFSC), has taken steps within a branch of their organisation involved in Elderly Care services to make their provided care non-contact-based, making it possible for volunteers to help out within the confine of their homes. Through the promotional efforts of the school social worker, Ms. Angela Lee, six student volunteers from RCHK have signed up and begun taking part in this program.
The program will run for three months – from September to November – in which the volunteers will complete six sessions to provide caring and listening ears as outlets for their matched elderly members in CFSC’s Elder Care services. Each session will consist of a phone call conducted in Cantonese between a volunteer and their elderly partner, and they are given the opportunity to discuss any topics presenting concerns to the elderly member for as long as forty-five minutes.
Lee sent out a series of posts in the Student Bulletin to promote the service of her own accord starting from August 19th, because she felt that, “When I got the information about this regular care call service, I found it is rather meaningful to involve RC students to participate [in] this service – especially during the quarantine, [when] we are unable to visit the elderly face to face.”
The service program is designed so that neither the elderly nor the volunteering groups of people involved have to meet in person – which is of particular importance for those isolated elderly members, who are posed with a more serious threat by the ongoing pandemic. The limiting of social contact is in the best interest only to their health and not their well-being.
Fortunately, what relief that the sessions aren’t able to offer will at least be balanced with the good will of the student helpers, who are establishing the beginning of very meaningful connections between themselves and their elderly members.
Ines Lau, one of the students who participated in the very first session hosted on the 12th of September, commented that, “The conversation was very enjoyable, and as we got to know each other better the conversation became easier to hold.”
“At the start it involved prompting the elderly with pre-prepared questions, but towards the end I took on more of a listening role,” said Lau when discussing what role she played in the conversation that took place. “My elderly lady was most concerned about her family back in the mainland, with which she has little contact.”
Unfortunately, the circumstances of the elderly lady Lau is working with is not an uncommon occurrence. As stated in an SCMP article titled written by Kylie Knott, “As social isolation adds to loneliness of the elderly, charities reach out to keep people connected”. About 150,000 elderly aged 65 and above live in isolation, and the pandemic has restricted them from many of the normal cultural activities that keep them engaged with friends and family members.
“I look forward to developing my relationship with my elderly, and also learn from her at the same time,” concludes Lau.
The CFSC encourages volunteers to take this care-call service as a learning opportunity, since it can teach participants about the collective consciousness of the large elderly communities around us, and possibly even the perspective of people living through similar situations around the world. Although the RCHK student body may not be able to assist all elderly folks in Hong Kong, at least we may be able to step forward and sacrifice just a little bit of our time for a few in our local communities.