Event Highlights

1.Pairing up with 80 elderly to form Caring Groups

We successfully recruited not less than 150 volunteers organized into ‘family units’ to serve online.  The families were paired up with 80 Kwong Yam seniors of similar background, interests, and hobbies to form the online Caring Groups.

2.Distance Caring Classroom

Caring Group members met and shared in SKYPE video sessions lasting 15 to 30 minutes each. While building up relationship with each other, all partners learnt to show care and appreciation towards their counterparts. The process helped all participants enhance self-worth. The Project attained over 760 video caring sessions that successfully assisted the elderly with reaching out to the community through ‘distance socializing’.

3.A+ BOX Reward

Volunteers as family units completing five video caring sessions of 30 minutes each got an A+ food gift pack. The gift packs could also be donated to real families-in-need as an alternative. The Project distributed over 300 such gift packs.

4. 4. Video Interaction with Therapy Dogs Alleviate Loneliness Helplessness Boredom

During the pandemic visitors to the Care Home were scarce, Charis found some elderly feeling depressed or easily agitated, often groaning, “so pathetic”!  Some other extremely bored elderly bending their heads in the couch looked just like ‘folded’ figures.  Observing the situation, the Care Home tested run in July some video calls between dementia patients and animals trained as therapy assistants. While interacting with Therapy Dogs, the elderly patients had to communicate and think which reduced the feeling of loneliness.  Charis, who had been working in Occupational Therapy for 18 years, explained that as there was no cure for cognitive impairment, mild to severe levels of sickness would demonstrate symptoms including loss in short-term memory, diminishing speech ability, low self-care ability etc.  “Therapy doesn’t aim to make patients recollect lost memories, but to exercise their remaining skills.”

When designing the training activities, Charis focused on making the contents interesting so that the elderly went through cognitive engagement while having fun and staying interactive.  For example, the elderly would instruct the Therapy Dog on the other side of the screen to pick a number and a certain colour, then, based on the choice of the dog, pull out bean bags of an equivalent quantity and colour.  Upon completing all tasks, the elderly could decide on the amount of snacks to be awarded to the Therapy Dog. Charis hoped that by assuming a care-giver role in the activity, the elderly would feel being needed.  In the most impressive occasion, a patient stretching out to touch the Therapy Dog appearing on the screen was able to recall the name of the dog despite weak short-term memory.  To Charis, this was amazing.  She also noticed that those who were more technology prone would render auxiliary treatments on them more convenient and effective.