With the Chinese New Year upon them, Tainan City’s Anding District Office made sure elderly residents living in single-person households felt cared for during the new year season. On the eve of the Lunar New Year, District Chief Liu Shih-Hsiung led a group comprised of village officers and chiefs, and together they wished these senior citizens a happy new year while giving care in the form of gift vouchers for goods. The purpose of this act was ensuring these residents were able to feel the happy atmosphere of the upcoming Spring Festival as they welcomed in the new year with joy in their hearts.
In the past, Anding District gave frozen New Year-style dishes to single-person household elderly residents as a solution for what they’d eat during this ethnic Chinese holiday season. But taste buds vary among these residents and preserving this frozen food was also an issue, so this year a new method was tried: vouchers. These vouchers could be used at convenience stores during the new year season, thereby helping make sure these senior citizens wouldn’t go hungry during the Lunar New Year. So, no longer would issues involving the direct delivery of food be a problem, as residents wouldn’t need to preserve frozen food nor would they receive food they don’t like or can’t eat. With these vouchers, residents could simply choose what they want to eat.
District Chief Liu said that as Taiwan has become an aging society, that means from now on the population of elderly living in single-person households will continue to steadily increase over time. Therefore, caring for elderly who live alone also means you’re essentially caring for your own future. Liu expected that the event Ensuring Elderly in Single-Person Households Have a Happy New Year, which was held prior to the lunar new year, would help these senior citizens not feel as lonely during this holiday season. Because of this event, Anding District’s elderly people would be able to have happiness and warmth in their hearts as they felt the jovial nature of the Chinese New Year. Liu added that when everyone feels loved, every part of the community spreads warmth.