Under the COVID-19 pandemic, we understand the importance of staying home and avoiding contact with others to reduce the risk of infection. Youngsters could perhaps kill time by surfing the internet or playing video games, but what about “old buddies” who treat elderly centres as their second home? How have they been doing recently?

Ms Lam Shun-shun, the Officer-in-charge of Sun Chui Lutheran Centre for the Elderly, and her colleagues have great affection for elders who frequently visited their Centre, and treat them as members of family. “The Centre is the second home for our old buddies. They often come to chat with others or take classes, which facilitates their sense of belonging and sustenance. Unfortunately, in face of the pandemic, the Centre has to be temporarily closed, and we could only know how they’re getting on through the phone.” Ms Lam realized that some old buddies became depressed as they could not leave home due to the pandemic or the lack of face masks.

In fact, some elders without financial support could not afford to purchase infection control items on top of basic daily essentials. Although some organizations had been distributing face masks in public places, they had to queue for a long time on the street, which also increased their chances of being infected. Due to the lack of face masks, old buddies had to stay home and it greatly affected their emotion.

Ms Lam was delighted when she learnt that the Hong Kong Red Cross (HKRC) had planned to distribute infection control kits to the vulnerable groups. She immediately contacted the HKRC and screened appropriate recipients based on the background of the Centre members. “I am very grateful to the HKRC for donating infection control kits to our Centre, so we could meet and chat with our old buddies when distributing the kits to them, and try to cheer them up. Also, they did not need to queue for a long time as they only had to collect the infection control kits from the Centre, which was a thoughtful arrangement. What impressed me most was that the Chairperson and some council members of the HKRC took time from their busy schedule to distribute the kits in person. They asked how the old buddies were doing and explained basic hygiene knowledge to them. The care they had shown towards the vulnerables was hard to come by.” Ms Lam felt extremely aspired when she and her colleagues saw the expressions of relief on the old buddies’ faces upon receiving the kits, and found this programme was very successful and meaningful.

Although the risk of pandemic began to slightly reduce, there should be no let-up in the measures against the pandemic. In response to the situation of the vulnerable groups in the community, the HKRC will continue to care for their needs and collaborate with community partners to provide assistance to the people in need so that they can weather the storm.

Photo: The Chairperson and council members of the HKRC visit the Centre, distribute the infection control kits to old buddies and send them care and warmth.