Teen volunteer: Christopher Lee Chunyin, 12, is a Form Two student at the Australian International School Hong Kong.

'Helping old people is good because they are often lonely. They don't have many people to talk to.

Along with my classmates, I go to the home every Friday afternoon for about an hour. I learn how to take care of old people, brush up on my history knowledge and play bingo.

In the beginning, the inhabitants of the home and the youngsters didn't know what to talk about, but now we get on well. You need to get to know the people first - what they like and don't like. Then you can talk to them and make friends.

The people are in their 60s and 70s. They talk about planes, wars and past times. Some tell how they helped in the war making planes and other things. In return, I tell them what's happening at school and how things have changed.

They also talked about when they were in school. Their teachers used to cane bad boys but now teachers just give detentions. I think the cane is better because it hurts so you will remember.

I enjoy playing bingo and letting the old people win some money. They sometimes shake a little, so I help them. If they can't see the number on the bingo card, I will point to it so they can put the marker on.

The prize is $10. I don't get anything, except happiness.

I have made particularly good friends with Simon and John. They are both in their 70s. They like to share their opinions on TV programmes like cooking shows or movies they watch on Pearl or Jade.

The people in the home are always cheerful. Their knowledge of history is also very helpful - I am not doing a history project at the moment, but the information may come in handy next year.

Old people are usually kind. They can just be as chatty and helpful as your classmates.'