Outdoor Nativity Figures

The hidden elders

Feeling rejected by their communities, elderly people often retreat into solitude, sometimes going unrecognized for the rest of their lives. Many of these lonely old people would jump at the chance to re-enter society, if only those groups designed to help were able to find them. Ming Yeung reports.

On a sweltering-hot August afternoon, Ho Sai-wah turned on his air-conditioner - something he would not normally do, and waited with eager anticipation for visitors to come.

This is a rare event, he explains to the reporter and photographer from China Daily, and the three social workers from the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council who has just climbed up nine floors to meet with him.

There's no lift in the Housing Society rental estate Ming Wah Dai Ha in Shau Kei Wan, built in the early 1960s. Ho, 68, lives there alone.

Ho's flat is neat and tidy. The walls display some Chinese calligraphy and paintings. There's a bookshelf beside the front door, where Ho keeps his favorite Chinese classics and travel books.

He points with considerable pride to one of the volumes which he boasts he bought at a real bargain at this year's Hong Kong Book Fair. It's a book of photos of the wonders of ancient Egypt. But what excites him most is the interview - and having visitors.

Ho was what is known as a "hidden elder", until he contacted Sheng Kung Hui's Holy Nativity Church Neighbourhood Elderly Centre in 2008.

"It was as though we were forgotten by the community after we retired and no one cared whether we were alive or dead," he tells China Daily.

According to the Commission on Poverty, hidden elderly are those elderly people "who are disengaged from the community and disadvantaged, yet not helped by available services and support".

The Central Policy Unit released a report on people who met this description in 2008. It summed up four causes for the phenomenon of hidden elderly - inadequate capabilities, network deficiency, lack of self-reliance ethos and negative welfare experiences.

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) says it does not keep figures of hidden elders.

"According to government statistics, there are about 100,000 single elders aged 65 or above living alone in Hong Kong. Though they live alone, they could have social lives and connections to some degree with relatives, friends and the community at large," a spokesman for the department says in a written reply.

Plastic Nativity

A plastic nativity set is an affordable way for a family to share their love of the Christmas season with others. Nativities are by far one of the most well loved Christmas decorations. Renowned artists have created fabulous nativities that both inspire and bless people.  Because of the price tag on many of these creations many families cannot afford to purchase one.

Some people even go to great care to create a special nativity stable setting for their plastic outdoor nativity scene, when only the figurines are provided. Often straw is used to help create the right ambiance and setting for Jesus' birth. Some even have a wooden stable built in which to place the plastic nativity figurines. Because plastic generally tends to be lightweight, the stable is quite helpful for protection on windy days. If your carpenter skills or budget is limited and you cannot afford to build a stable, or have one built, then be sure to place the plastic nativity in a location that will help to protect it from the full impact of bad weather, namely wind. Also, adding some weight to the plastic nativity figurines is often very helpful for sets that tend to be rather light in weight. These types of figurines often have a hole in the bottom. Some place a heavy chain inside the hole, as a way of adding weight to figurines that are not of a heavy gauge weight.

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