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The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, visited the headquarters of the Senior Citizen Home Safety Association in Ho Man Tin this morning (July 28) to familiarise himself with the Association's support and care services for the elderly, as well as its interactive and educational facilities that foster inter-generational harmony.
Accompanied by the Association's Chief Executive Officer, Ms Irene Leung, Mr Cheung first toured the Jockey Club Life Journey Centre in the same premises. The Centre offers interactive and experiential activities that stimulate the younger generation to reflect on different stages in their life journey, and to learn to treasure those around them and lead a positive life. During his visit, Mr Cheung experienced at first hand the interactive facilities and chatted with some young visitors there.
He also toured the Association's Jockey Club Silver Hall, which provides a wide range of innovative activities for the elderly. Mr Cheung chatted happily with some energetic elderly participants of a photography class. He also listened with interest to the "A Message for My Beloved" service offered by the Association to encourage the elderly to express themselves through recording a message for their family members.
Afterwards, Mr Cheung toured the Association's 24-hour Call and Care Centre, where he was briefed on the Centre's round-the-clock emergency support and care services for over 80 000 elderly users. He said he was pleased to know that free use of the Association's Personal Emergency Link or Mobile Link service was provided to those with financial hardship through a charity fund. Mr Cheung said he was particularly pleased to know that some 1 000 volunteers, most of them newly retired, were taking the initiative to ring up the users to express care and check on their well-being every day.
Mr Cheung thanked the Association for enhancing the quality of life of elderly persons and supporting the Government's policy of promoting "ageing in place" through the adoption of technology and a people-oriented approach. He also paid tribute to the Association's dedication in building an innovative community engagement platform to encourage the general public to understand ageing in a positive light, thereby facilitating the development of an elderly-friendly community that embraces inter-generational harmony.
Ends/Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:48
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