Visit to Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital (8 Aug 11)

  Set 1/7  

To commemorate National Day this year, students from every level were assigned to different places to carry out community services, instead of the usual celebrations in school. The secondary fours were arranged to spend the afternoon at Kwong Wai Shiu hospital to hold a tea party for the elderly patients there.

Shortly after arrival, students were wheeling patients down, filling up the empty hall in the blink of an eye. Different dialects and generations blended perfectly together in harmony as students and teachers mingled around with the old folks. Laughter and chuckles reverberated through the hall as students entertained them with singing, saxophone performances and games like Bingo. Smiles lit up their faces and eventually, these evidence of the infectious merriment made its way onto everyone else’s as well.

Looking back on this trip, it made me realize even more how lonely the elderly there were. Back in Hong Kong, my very own grandmother was left in the care of one of these hospitals so I can somewhat comprehend. Even though tons of other elderly surrounded them, solitude still hung heavily in the air as the ones they long for are the ones close to their heart, their family.

Seeing the lone shadow of their backs as they stare into blank space, their sadness seeped into my heart as well. So even though time there was short, I am still glad that we could break their daily routine of sitting around doing nothing for that brief period by accompanying the lonely elderly, distracting them from the emptiness inside them with the performances we put up.

The delight and satisfaction of being one of the reasons of beaming faces of the elderly is definitely exhilaration that no amount of money can buy.

By Wong Sau Ching (Sec 4 Excellence)