Love and Care for the Heart

Since 2010, Hong Kong has been ranked No. 1 worldwide for the longest lifespan of its residents. Experts suggested this was due to the city’s well-developed economy and quality healthcare services, which helped to raise average life expectancy to 85.4 years. The finding also indicates that the majority of elderly people often suffer from chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, it is imperative that we assist the elderly to maintain good heart health.

In the Wong Tai Sin District, there are 80,000 elderly people aged 65 or older, accounting for nearly 20% of the district's population. In order to awaken public attention to cardiovascular disease, the Rotary Club of Kai Tak organized a series of public education activities covering Kowloon East, Lam Tin East, Sau Mau Ping, and Choi Wan. On September 24th 2023, the Ngau Tau Kok Neighbourhood Welfare Association, together with Christian Action, co-organized a “Healthy Heart Caring Day” to promote heart protection messages and healthy-heart choices, to increase public awareness of significant cardiovascular disease in Choi Wan district. The activity day attracted more than 1,000 people to attend the CAC Headquarters.

At the end of the presentations, each attendee received a free ECG test and advice about their health concerns from the qualified medical experts present. When more testing was required, the qualified cardiologists would refer the seniors to hospitals for more tests and follow-ups, to prevent heart disease and stroke.

To show appreciation for our senior citizens’ attendance, each participant received a Blessing Bag to take home, as a token of Christian Action’s recognition of their situation. In recent years, Christian Action has actively served senior citizens by offering tailor-made programmes to help them live a happier and healthier life. This service has included the distribution of anti-epidemic supplies during the Covid pandemic, daily hot-meal sharing, and special festival food distributions like those at Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year. Christian Action aims to raise public awareness concerning:
- the needs of senior citizens living in hardship close-by,
- to fill the existing service gaps and
- to offer timely services, to facilitate their participation and integration into our community.

Come and join us in serving the elderly in Choi Wan!
Siew Mei

An invitation to the elderly in Choi Wan Receiving free ECG tests and getting health
tips from the front-line officers