Partnering with nine elderly service agencies on Hong Kong and Lamma islands, HK Electric extends its care to single elders through the "CAREnJOY for the Elderly" (CAREnJOY) programme.
CAREnJOY encourages single elders to reach out to the community and promotes mutual support in the neighbourhood. Senior citizens are recruited and trained as ambassadors to encourage single elders to join local service centres, so that the latter are connected to community support and know where to seek help if needed.
Visits to single elders and district-based electrical safety talks cum gatherings are held on Hong Kong and Lamma islands. Material aids in the form of daily necessities are provided during monthly visits. HK Electric volunteers also leverage their expertise to check out electrical installations in the elders' homes, and to share electrical safety and efficiency tips.
Since 2019, the theme of dementia prevention has been added to the programme in support of the Government's efforts to enhance public awareness of the problem among our aging population. During home visits and district-based talks, senior citizens were taught to do exercises good for the brain and provided with tips on how to prevent dementia.
While our regular elderly care and community outreach initiatives were mostly suspended in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, we continued to extend care and connect with the elderly through creative means. Throughout the year, our volunteers reached out to 141 single elders via phone call under the "CAREnJOY Call-to Care" service. We also provided useful information on health and electrical safety in the form of text messages to about 6,100 single elders every week. With the pandemic still prevailing in 2021, a new initiative "CAREnJOY Go-Go-Go" is organised to provide material aids to single elders by delivering giftbags with items for preventing COVID and dementia.