Companies make customary CNY visit to charity homes
KINARUT: Residents of Sri Pritchard Old Folks Home were all smiles after they received goodie bags and ang pows from Dongshun Group and Nuga Best (Sabah) Sdn Bhd yesterday.
Dongshun Group managing director cum Nuga Best (Sabah) Sdn Bhd executive chairman Datuk Frankie Liew and Nuga Best (Sabah) managing director Francis Liew led their employees in distributing the goodie bags to the 88 residents at the old folks home.
Frankie said both companies have been visiting the elderly at Sri Pritchard Old Folks Home for many years during Chinese New Year. He emphasized that filial piety, respect and care for the elderly were traditional values of the Chinese community that should be preserved.
While technological advancements have brought many conveniences, Frankie lamented that obsession with smartphones and Internet have widened the interpersonal distance between people.
“However, technology cannot replace the human touch,” he asserted.
He said greeting someone face to face or personally giving away ang pows to senior citizens and children were incomparably better than sending e-greetings via smartphone or perhaps in the future, transfer e-ang pows through Alipay.
Frankie disclosed that around 100 staff from Dongshun Group and Nuga Best (Sabah) took part in the visit to Sri Pritchard Old Folks Home yesterday.
Meanwhile, Sri Pritchard Old Folks Home's person-in-charge, Lucina Loijim, said there are 88 residents at the home, including 36 women and 52 men, with ages ranging from 60 to 100 years. The centenarian is an elderly lady named Kabun Kansiaw.
Lucina said the old folks home usually received many visits from companies or organizations during the Chinese New Year.
“We have 15 visits lined up for this week and this will continue right up till Chap Goh Mei,” she said.
Established since 1994, she said the old folks home was in need of maintenance. It was also short-staffed, having only 42 staff members, including herself.
“Our capacity is 155 residents. We used to care for 120 residents at one time but as the number of staff decreases, so does the number of residents,” she said.
Dongshun Group and Nuga Best (Sabah) Sdn Bhd also visited Sabah Cheshire Home and Services in Likas later in the afternoon to give away essential items.
Sabah Cheshire Home and Services has 32 residents, the oldest is a 70-year-old.
The home also runs a nursery to provide early education to disabled children below the age of four. The nursery currently has 20 children.