"Enjoy Your Birthday Feast and Stay Healthy" ... Yeongyang-gun Prepares Birthday Meals for Elderly Living Alone and Checks on Their Well-being

‘Helping Elderly Living Alone Celebrate Their Birthdays Project’

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Gwiyeol] Yeongyang-gun, Gyeongbuk Province, hosted and the Yeongyang-gun District Council of the Korean Red Cross Volunteer Society, affiliated with the Women's Association Council, organized the ‘Preparing Birthday Tables for Elderly Living Alone’ project on the 21st.

The project of preparing birthday tables for elderly individuals living alone in Yeongyang-gun, continuing for the 9th year this year.

The ‘Preparing Birthday Tables for Elderly Living Alone’ project started in 2015 and has continued for nine years this year. It is conducted quarterly for about 40 elderly people aged 70 or older who have no children or whose children are unable to provide care.

Members of the Korean Red Cross Volunteer Society visited homes early in the morning carrying birthday foods such as seaweed soup, japchae, and bulgogi, which they prepared with care, setting up birthday tables and sharing warmth.

Park Jeongsuk, president of the Yeongyang-gun District Council of the Korean Red Cross Volunteer Society, which organized the event, said, “Seeing the elderly shed tears of joy in front of their birthday tables makes me feel grateful and fulfilled,” and added, “I hope that through this small but warm gesture of sharing, the lonely elderly can feel happiness even if only for a moment.”

County Governor Oh Dochang said, “I appreciate the Yeongyang-gun District Council of the Korean Red Cross for practicing neighborly love, and I will continue to pay attention to creating a Yeongyang-gun where everyone is happy and no neighbors are left out.”