Better engagement

In 2014, the HKSAR government tasked the Elderly Commission to come up with a holistic plan for elderly services in the city. The "Elderly Services Programme Plan" was unveiled in 2017 and contains a list of short, and medium- to long-term recommendations.

Empowering the elderly to live to their full potential and promoting an active lifestyle were highlighted as central to elderly services. One suggestion was for the elderly to form a group to initiate, organize and manage their own learning and volunteer programs.

Lam, who headed the commission at the time, said the elderly group could have greater flexibility in identifying the diverse needs in society and make their own plans to address these needs. This would give them a greater sense of satisfaction and involvement, he added.

The plan also proposed the use of a social enterprise model to engage the elderly in working for gainful employment.

Wai, the co-founder of Repairsgivers, is a good example of this. He retired from his job as a sales manager at the age of 54 and started regular participant in volunteerism.

He accompanied the elderly or those with disabilities to medical appointments. He also still teaches Yi Jin Bang — a Chinese qigong exercise that uses a short stick to relieve shoulder and neck pains.

In 2018, Wai's volunteerism journey took another turn when a proposal he and seven other retirees made won seed money of HK$60,000 in a Jockey Club entrepreneurship competition for the over-50s.

In September of that year, their idea to set up Co-Creative Partners, a social enterprise to accompany elderly people in need, came to fruition.