In Hong Kong, there are almost 130,000 elderly individuals who do not have sufficient social support. Eileen Yue hopes more people in society will pay attention to this issue and help Hong Kong's seniors live with dignity.
Eileen’s Chinese name was a blessing from her grandfather and carries the meaning of overcoming difficulties and achieving a bright future. She remembers her grandfather as an aspirational and educated man. Keen to open an art and design school in Shanghai, he devoted his time, energy and money to the project, but the journey was very difficult due to the lack of a sustainable business model. His difficulties prompted Eileen to switch from science to business studies after taking her public exams. Sadly, he passed away before she became the top graduate of her school.
Now whenever she has to make important decisions in life, she still remembers her grandfather’s advice: “Be passionate about what you do. It doesn't matter so much whether history remembers you”.
Most graduates from a global business studies programme either become investment bankers or consultants for multinational corporations. “The Jockey Club Scholarship gave me a lot of opportunities to explore what is happening in the world – I didn’t have to worry about earning money from tutorial work,” she recalls.
Eventually, having organised a school volunteer team and experienced overseas exchange programmes, as well as internships with multinational corporations and social enterprises, she found her direction in life. Rather than chasing after money and climbing the career ladder, she wanted to bring positive changes to society. After graduation, she worked in the government, before joining the Charities Department of The Hong Kong Jockey Club where she proactively got involved in various social projects and tried to fill gaps left by insufficient resources.
Serving the elderly has always been Eileen’s mission. Now responsible for a project to engage and support “hard-to-reach” elderly, she notes that in Hong Kong, there are almost 130,000 elderly individuals, some of whom live alone, who do not have sufficient social support. Significant manpower and resources are required from the local community, not just to connect with these seniors in need, but also to help them access resources crucial to their health and well-being.
“All of us will become seniors one day, if we are lucky enough,” Eileen points out. “We all have significant senior figures in our lives; to me, it’s been my grandpa and grandma.” With the ageing population, she hopes more people in society will pay attention to this issue and help Hong Kong's seniors live with dignity.
Over the past 26 years, recipients of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarships have come from a wide range of backgrounds, from local Chinese students to ethnic minority students, and from those who pursue music, atmospheric science, aerospace engineering and zoology, to budding teachers and educators. The programme has supported a number of students with special learning needs.
All scholarship recipients are members of The Jockey Club Scholars Alumni Association, forming a close-knit group to perform community service.
This story was originally published on The Hong Kong Jockey Club's "With You. Then. Now. Always." website.
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