The Salvation Army elderly centre is always filled with joy and laughter. Lau Chi-keung and Lee Wai-ching are two of the happiness makers﹒ They not only help others to help themselves, but work their way out of the dark valley. On the other side, Yu Kam-wing, Leung Ho-yan and Pong Chun-bill visit homeless people every week with social workers of The Salvation Army Integrated Service for Street Sleepers. These five persons are volunteers of The Salvation Army who are glad to act as companions and influence others with love.

Out of Dark Valley and Spread Positive Energy
71-year-old Chi-keung and Wai-ching in her 60s are volunteer partners. Dedicated to community services, they brighten the lives of people in need by doing magic and balloon twisting. The two elders are quick-witted, strong and healthy. On the day of the interview, as they made various cartoon characters by twisting balloons, they shared the funny things they have encountered as a volunteer magician. ‘Volunteering is like going to work’. This is their life in retirement.

One of them had experienced illness, and the other loss of family. That is why they become so active in volunteer service. Chi -keu ng was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease a decade ago. Following his doctor’s advice, he stays in touch with the community and keeps learning. By coincidence, he found that learn ing magic tricks miraculously slowed down the progression of his disease. Wai-ching indulged in volunteering to heal her pain of bereavement. Five years ago, Chi-keung asked her to be his assistant. Since then she became ‘addicted’ to it as the laughter of audience is the best cure for her depression.

Volunteering is not giving. Chi-keung and Wai-ching have walked out of their dark valleys, and now serve others with empathy. In addition to magic performances, they also teach other elders at elderly centres of The Salvation Army, sharing their experience of using ‘magic as a cure for diseases’. Wai-ching s id, ‘You have to memorise the steps and techniques when learning to do magic tricks. It helps concentration and training of the brains.’ Having experienced the power of magic, Chi-keung encourages fellow ‘elder Buddies’ not to give up and hide at home despite their old age. ‘We can’t determine the length of our life, but we can control the width of it.’

Cure Angels Give Street Sleepers Medication
The Salvation Army Integrated Service for Street Sleepers has implemented the ‘Cure Angels’ mobile medical outreach service since 2014. Yu Kam-wing (Yu), Leung Ho-yan (Ryle) and Pong Chun-bill (Bill) are three medical volunteers of the project, as well as long-term companions of the Army social workers. The trio are medical personnel. Outside of their work, they walk into the homeless community and care about their physical and emotional needs.

Yu worked as a nurse in a public hospital before, where he met many homeless patients. He even joined some sleep-out activities to experience homelessness before joining The Salvation Army as a volunteer He felt that under the existing medical system, homeless people cannot receive comprehensive medical support. That is why he joined the volunteering project to reach out to the community. By offering free medical consultation, he also encourages the homeless to seek medical treatment. He wants to provide treatment for them by using his medical knowledge. ’Many homeless people know little of their health conditions. They may not even realise when they fall sick. It ’s not easy to convince them. It takes time to build mutual trust. I find the greatest sense of achievement when they become willing to take the first step and look for services to help themselves and their life transformed.’

Doctor Ryle has deep experience with building a rapport with homeless people. Volunteers will give out apples or oranges during their visits. Two years ago, as a new volunteer Ryle was surprised to find that some street sleepers were so picky they only took oranges but not apples. Later, Ryle taught them about Oral care, only then did he notice that they had very serious tooth decay. ‘The best case had only three teeth left in good condition. At that point, I understood why they insisted on picking Oranges. I realise that in order to get close to the homeless, I must first get to know them and understand their needs fully.’

Psychiatric nurse Bill had many volunteering experiences. Outside of work, he joins different organisations to pay visits or give out mooncakes. After becoming a Cure Angel, Bill realised that the needs of the homeless were more than just material needs. Behind them are a series of social issues such as drug abuse and family problems. There is a scene he will never forget.’ Once when I went out with The Salvation Army social workers, I saw a child was caught by a strange man. The child’s elder sister yelled at a side, “Let go of my brother!”, Later, we found that it was because the children’s mother was extremely mentally unstable, that was why she would let her kids wander the street. Finally, we reported the case to the police. ’Bill experienced various risks’, big or small, when he went visits with the social workers. He thanks the social workers for their companionship and support.

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