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 This week we are
helping a friend in need.
On Sunday morning when I looked down from my balcony, I was
shocked to see my downstairs neighbour
sitting in a wheelchair being fed congee. This is
the man who, when I moved in 3 years ago, invited me to join their parties and
we had become friends.
For most of the day, I wondered what to do and finally
decided the easiest thing was to fill a bowl with blueberries and join the
visitors who had been dropping in all day.
I learned that Tony had a stroke several weeks ago that
paralyzed the left side of his body. In a strange twist of fate, his long-term
partner left suddenly in early December, unable to return to Hong Kong for 18
years. Tony's life has changed completely overnight at age 55, his and his physically recovery must be accomplished without the woman who cared for him. When the local medical community assigned Tony to a home for the aged, he appealed to family overseas and his 2 young sons have arrived to care for him at home.
I am asking myself how I can help this family, beyond cooking healthy meals for them and stopping in to help raise spirits and relieve boredom.
Tony had told me of his plans to eventually join family in New Zealand and he had retired from his work as a tour guide in December with plans to leave Hong Kong in January.
Now, he has no physical therapy available to aid his recovery. Because he had left his job just before the stroke, he does not qualify for any of the medical benefits or compensation that many of us take for granted. His MPF, when it arrives, will not to be sufficient to provide for Tony and his boys if they are allowed to stay.
Some of us pooled our resources to cover his overdue rent and a neighbour has given Tony a much-needed wheelchair. A steady stream of friends lends support in our little village which is mostly made up of Chinese elders and fisherman.
I hope you will connect with your own heart and consider your own good fortune when we ask you to give what you can to provide much-needed assistance to our fellow human.
Think big. Be creative.
What would you do if you knew you could make a difference
?
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