¡@Cool breezes are ushering in the cold season. The Hong Kong Observatory forecasts that temperatures will drop to a minimum of 17¢J next week. Some needy elderly people living by themselves don't even own an electric water heater or kettle. St. James' Settlement (SJS) is appealing for donations from caring citizens.
¡@¡§It always takes an hour to boil water for a bath. At night it is so cold it is impossible bathe at all. I can freeze to death!¡¨ so said 94-year-old Grandma Leung Lai, who lives by herself in a public housing unit in Tai O on Lantao Island. She suffers from several ailments due to old age and has trouble moving about, and all she has to live on is just over 2,000 dollars of CSSA.
No Water Heater for her Bath
¡@Winter is particularly cold in Tai O. The temperature is 3 or 4¢J lower than in urban areas. Frost is not unusual. For Grandma Leung Lai the cold weather is killing. A home care helper comes to her house to help her with her bath. Without a water heater, the helper must take an hour to boil water with the rice cooker before Grandma Leung Lai can have her bath.
¡@Winter is coming again. Grandma Leung Lai has fortunately been given an electric kettle by a caring donor. She no longer needs to take time to boil water before she can take her medicine. She now hopes some kind donor will also give her an electric water heater, so that she can enjoy a hot bath.
¡@SJS, concerned that elderly persons living by themselves lack electrical appliances to keep warm, has in recent years been appealing for donation of water heaters, kettles and fan heaters. Every winter it has been able to send warmth, in the form of over 1,000 pieces of appliances, to needy elderly people living on CSSA. These appliances include about 50 pieces, worth HK$100,000, donated by the Shun Hing Technology Company each year. Still, there is need for more. SJS hopes that, before the arrival of the harsh winter, citizens will donate electrical appliances less than five years old, so that the elderly persons need not suffer in the cold. For inquiry, please call 8107-8324.
Hoping Citizens Will Donate Appliances
Less than 5 Years Old
¡@The Hong Kong Observatory forecasts that northeasterly winds will bring cooler weather to the coastal regions of South China next week. Temperatures will drop to below 20¢J, and the wind will intensify. Temperatures will remain within the range of 21-26¢X on Saturday and Sunday. They will drop to 19¢X on Monday, and further down to a minimum of 17¢X on Wednesday.
