Hong Kong charity connecting visually impaired ambassadors with anxiety-stricken seniors to receive funding from Operation Santa Claus

The ‘We Care’ project, launched by the Dialogue in the Dark (HK) Foundation, is helping isolated seniors cope with the pandemic

It will soon receive additional funding from Operation Santa Claus, an annual fundraiser organised by the Post and public broadcaster RTHK

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‘We Care’ ambassador Alsa Kwok (left) and Dialogue in the Dark (HK) Foundation CEO Cora Chu at the organisation’s offices in Cheung Sha Wan. Photo: Edmond So

Published: 10:00am, 9 Nov 2021Updated: 10:03am, 9 Nov 2021

Diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease in 2000, Alsa Kwok King’s vision has since worsened to the point that she cannot see anything clearly, even up close.

But that has never stopped the 60-year-old from serving the underprivileged in society.

Since March last year, Kwok – who lives with macular disease, which affects the centre of the retina – has been chatting with elderly people on the phone, patiently listening to their worries and troubles.

She is one of 10 visually impaired ambassadors from a project called “We Care”, which makes calls to 200 elderly people per month to provide emotional support and relieve their pandemic-related isolation and anxiety.

The initiative was launched by the Dialogue in the Dark (HK) Foundation, a social enterprise that organises immersive activities that have given the sighted a taste of the daily lives of the blind since 2010.