Operation Santa Claus: near-death experience inspires Hong Kong campaign against elderly loneliness
- Top lawyer Tan Poh Lee decided in 2015 to set up Mighty Oaks to help the elderly after emerging unscathed from a car crash in India
- With Operation Santa Claus support, she is planning to match hundreds of youngsters with the elderly next year to combat loneliness
After cheating death in a New Delhi car accident 10 years ago, Tan Poh Lee decided in 2015 to quit her job as a partner at a multinational law firm and start a non-profit-making organisation in Hong Kong serving the elderly.
Mighty Oaks hopes to next year continue pairing its senior clients with primary school students, a programme it has run over the last five years to combat loneliness among the elderly and bridge the gap between generations.
Project Sparkle plans in 2022 to send hundreds of pupils into care homes and other facilities to engage with the elderly across six to 10 workshops per semester. Activities range from horticulture to dance, crafting bamboo fans to re-enacting Broadway musicals.
The elderly have contributed to our world too, so we’d hate to leave them feeling lonely after retirement
“I am a Christian,” Tan said. “So when I came out of the car accident unscathed, I asked God why he has preserved me, and what he would like me to do. That’s when I remembered my father’s teachings of living beyond ourselves and the underserved elderly in our communities.”
Mighty Oaks is one of 18 beneficiaries of Operation Santa Claus (OSC) – an annual fundraising initiative held by the South China Morning Post and public broadcaster RTHK since 1988.
Tan’s organisation plans to match nearly 500 primary school pupils with members of the older generation through HK$813,597 (US$104,536) in funding from the annual charity drive.
“Ninety per cent of the people I speak to support children and young people because they believe that they are the future of our society,” Tan said.
“But the elderly have contributed to our world too, so we’d hate to leave them feeling lonely after retirement. We want to give them purpose and hope, and the best way to do that is through children.”
