Hong Kong is famous for its scorching summers, where the air is thick with humidity, sometimes as high as 95%. For a street sweeper, well past retirement age, there may be no choice. He does this work not because he wants to, but because he must with his family dependent on him. This is the reality for many elderly street cleaners in Hong Kong, where summers grow longer and hotter.
Crossroads recently partnered with the Centre for Community Care to distribute heat relief items to over 100 cleaners. “It’s so heartbreaking to see them work so hard in the heat. I’ve gained a deep respect for them”, said one of our interns, in sorrow, this year.
It’s a privilege to do anything we can to help alleviate any measure of the hardship carried by those whose economic needs are too heavy a burden for them.
