“Humanity is to respect and care for every human life, accompany the elderly and allow them to depart with dignity.”
 

Accompany elderly without caretakers through their final journey
Birth, aging, sickness and death are the inevitable stages of life, but not everyone can complete the final leg of their journey with dignity. A lot of elderly do not have relatives who could take care of them, not only do they have to rely on themselves in daily life, but they also have to worry about the funeral arrangements. Since 1995, Ms Patty Sy Ching-pik has volunteered to take care of elderly who are single or living with their spouses. Aside from daily tasks like attending medical appointments, home visits, delivering meals, etc., she would also arrange funeral matters according to the elderly’s wishes, in hopes of allowing the elderly to complete their life journey in peace.

Taking good care of elderly like your own family 
In her 20 years of hospice service, instead of just taking care of the elderly’s daily needs, Ms Sy concerns about their mental health. She treated the elderly like her family members, and made the time to chat with them frequently to build mutual trust. Ms Sy considers serving the elderly brought her the joy that money cannot buy, “One time, I was visiting a terminal elderly in the hospital, and I was ignored by her at the beginning. But I did not give up, after repeated counselling and visits, the old lady finally smiled at me. Although she has passed away for many years, I still remember her smiling face.”
 

Ms Sy’s motto is “Born in happiness; live with dignity; pass away in peace.” Ms Sy is sometimes sad because of frequent dealings with life and death, but she considers assisting elderly to fulfill their final wishes meaningful enough to insist on providing such service. “Many years ago, I received a case from the social worker regarding an old man who wished to have his ashes scattered in the sea. Without relatives to make funeral arrangements, his remains will be handled by the government and buried anonymously. At last, it brought me great consolation that we were able to bid farewell to him according to his own wishes, and he could leave in peace.”