Cardboard grannies are one of the most visible indicators of Hong Kong’s struggle to support its rapidly ageing population. According to researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the city now has the longest life expectancy in the world. On average, men in Hong Kong live for 81.3 years and women for 87.3 years – beating other “blue zones” (regions with the oldest and healthiest people in the world) such as Japan and Italy.
Any sense of pride in the world’s longest life expectancy is overshadowed by the fact that one third of Hong Kong’s elderly live in poverty. Official figures from 2016 put the figure at 478,400 people aged 65 or over languishing below the poverty line, which is set at a monthly income of HK$3,800. In Hong Kong, there are a lot of elderly who search for disused cardboard to sell to local recycling plants for a living.
We formed a team of 6 to find these elderlies in the community and we donated cash to these individuals.
Source: The Guardian