The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, today (September 13) visited Sai Kung District, where he toured facilities for the elderly and people with disabilities (PWDs) and met with District Council members. The Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Caspar Tsui, also joined the visit.
Accompanied by the Chairman of the Sai Kung District Council (SKDC), Mr George Ng; the District Officer (Sai Kung), Mr David Chiu; and the District Social Welfare Officer (Wong Tai Sin/Sai Kung), Ms Micy Lui, Dr Law first called at the Haven of Hope Tsui Lam Day Training Centre for the Elderly of Haven of Hope Christian Service in Tseung Kwan O to get an update on the operations of the Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly. The centre offers sensory training for elderly users to help slow down their cognitive deterioration. Apart from providing nursing care and rehabilitation services to elderly persons, nurses and social workers there also provide counselling and emotional support for their carers and family members to relieve their pressure in taking care of elderly persons.
The Government will provide an additional 1 000 service vouchers under the Second Phase of the Scheme to a total of 6 000 next month to enhance support for elderly persons with moderate or severe impairment to enable their ageing in the community. The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has invited eligible elderly persons to submit applications. Elderly persons or their family members may contact the Centralised Team of the Scheme on 3107 3013 for enquiries.
Dr Law and the other officers then proceeded to the Direction Association for the Handicapped in Tiu Keng Leng. The Association has been providing multifaceted support to physically handicapped persons and their family members, including visits by outreach social workers, wheelchair repair and rehabilitative equipment lending services. Dr Law paid tribute to the Association for setting up social enterprises to create employment opportunities for PWDs. He said he was particularly impressed by its Adversity Quotient Training Program launched in recent years with funding under the SWD's "Enhancing Employment of People with Disabilities through Small Enterprise" Project. Through sharing of its members' inspiring stories, the training programme is designed to train able-bodied corporate employees to overcome adversities in the workplace.
Dr Law said that the Government has enhanced initiatives to promote the employment of PWDs, including strengthening post-placement follow-up services in vocational rehabilitation service units as well as increasing subsidies provided to employers of PWDs. He appealed to enterprises to hire PWDs for them to unleash their potential and contribute to the community.
After the visit, Dr Law attended a meeting arranged by the SKDC to exchange views with SKDC members on various labour and welfare policy issues as well as matters of local concern.
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