Wanting More 

Jim was mostly raised by his grandmother, in a loving home. His parents weren’t around much, and she looked after him from the day he was born. “My grandma totally spoiled me. My grandma is my heart.” 

Due to a lack of resources, Jim’s father was unable to support him to continue his education. So, at age 17 he went to work: call-center shifts, part-time sales, whatever he could get. Eventually he landed a steady job on an organic farm and stayed for more than ten years. The pay was very low, and his life felt narrow, but he couldn’t figure out how to make a change.  

“I have no education and not many skills. I just know a little bit of farming. That’s it,” he said. “I had no bargaining power at all.” He didn’t have much faith in his prospects. “I always said, I don’t deserve to earn more, because of my low education.” 

Jim also dreamt of more than just a bigger paycheck. “I wanted to be something different, something values-based,” he said. “But before Generation, I couldn’t find an opportunity to make a change.”

A Fall and Then a Rising Up

During the pandemic, Jim’s grandmother, then 96, fell at home and fractured her hip. It was an extremely high-risk situation, given her age. For the first time in his life, Jim became a carer.

“My grandmother took care of me when I was growing up. But when she got injured, I couldn’t do anything,” he said. “I didn’t know how to bring her to physical therapy, to the medical check-ups. I thought, “I’m useless.” 

But out of love for his grandmother, Jim did not give up. He began searching online for ways to better support her, and that’s when he found Guardians of the Silver Age, Generation Hong Kong’s free eldercare training program. He cleared all of his unpaid leave from the farm to take it, “to learn how to take care of my grandmother,” he said. 

What surprised him was how much more he learned through the program: “It’s not only hard skills, it’s soft skills: empathy, how to protect their identity, their autonomy, how to think from their mindset.”

His grandmother began to slowly recover, and Jim gained in confidence and expertise as he cared for her. 

Eventually, through the program’s network of eldercare providers, Jim began taking some part-time work, caring for elders he did not know. He realized that he didn’t mind it at all. In fact, he was good at it. “After that, I had a deep reflection about my career path,” he said. “And I thought, I want to serve the elders.”

A Life-Changing Journey

“These five years have been a big change in my life,” Jim said. Now, Jim works with elders every day. He finds this work immensely rewarding and feels that he has found the value-driven calling he hoped for, along with a much better paycheck. “I enjoy working with them. I think I make them happier. I feel valuable,” he shares. 

After the program, he went back to college to study social work. “I want to, step by step, create an aging-friendly society,” he shares. 

Today, his increased income has “improved everything,” he said. “I can give more money to my mom. I have more petty cash to use. I can go traveling as well.” Today, Jim has peace of mind and no longer worries about the future. 

“My grandma and Generation Hong Kong inspired me. And now, I can see my path,” he told us.