* Chan Pok Chi

Home Repairing Reflects Caring For Others

　　Mr. Liu, who is 86, built a house in Castle Peak Bay with his father 50 yers ago. It is a small one-bedroom house and is rather dilapidated with the passing of time. Ten of the windows in the house are broken by stones blown onto them by strong wind. With those holes in the windows , Mr Liu has a hard time keeping warm especially when a strong wind is blowing. " It gets colder when the wind blows strong. I sleep with a lot of clothes on."

　　Mr. Liu, who lives on a CCSA of just more than $2,000 , has no spare money to find someone to repair the broken windows, not to mention other parts of the house. One day, a group of five to six renovation volunteers came with necessary tools to repair Mr Liu's small house.

　　One of the group member, Mr. Lee, is not a young fellow anymore. He is already 74 years old. He used to renovate yachts and has just retired for 2 years. His children live in Singapore and he has been helping people who need his help as a volunteer for the last ten years or more.

　　Mr. Lee said, " My children are grown up and I have done voluntary work for more than 10 years. Now I intend to do more to help those who have no one to depend on. I will help as long as I can. Mr. Lee reckons not many young people are willing to become a voluntary worker these days. Besides, the media coverage on voluntary work is too little. He believes if one retires at 50 or over, one has a lot of time to contribute to society by becoming a volunteer.

　　The team finished the repairs project within one day. Mr. Fan, a subcontractor, works as a volunteer on Sundays, repairing electrical and or water works for the needy. He thinks voluntary work is meaningful and encourages his workers to join him when there is voluntary work to be done.

　　St. James' Settlement is the organization that provided the home repairs service for Mr. Liu. The social worker in-charge is Mr Chan Ping Lun. The repairs team was first set up in 1991. There are 350 volunteers in the team. The majority of them are renovations experts. Any elderly citizens who need help regarding water-pipe renewals or electrical installations can contact St. James' through regional networking. The team provides services to approximately 1400 people yearly. The volunteers travel far and near to
provide services to even very remote areas.