Campus Digest

HKBU’s elderly care programme promotes cross-generational integration and positive ageing

Friday, 24 May 2024

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The closing ceremony of the “Community Engagement Organisers: Positive Ageing Learners Programme” this year.
Student and elderly volunteers join the ice-breaking activities at Noah’s Ark.
The elderly participate in the workshop on acupuncture.

Over 60 students and elderly volunteers engaged in the “Community Engagement Organisers: Positive Ageing Learners Programme” in 2023–24 organised by the Leadership Qualities Centre of the Office of Student Affairs and the Providence Foundation. They formed cross-generational buddy teams to provide care and services to over 130 elderly in the Wong Tai Sin community from October last year to March this year. The programme concluded with a closing ceremony on 13 April.

This programme is dedicated to promoting positive ageing, providing care for the elderly, and fostering inter-generational interaction. The buddy teams offer various services, including making regular visits to the frail elderly, accompanying them to social activities, and improving home environment for the elderly. The participants completed over 80 home improvement solutions for the elderly, including cleaning and applying anti-slip coatings to the bathroom floors of the residential units, refurbishing furniture, and purchasing household appliances. These services encourage the elderly to reintegrate into the community and enhance their quality of life.

Chan Chin-ching, a student from the School of Chinese Medicine participating in the programme, said that the programme has facilitated his personal growth by teaching him the importance of empathy, patience, and compassion.