Purpose
The Honours Volunteer Programme (HVP) of the University of Macau, cooperated with the Macau Pou Tai Integrated Service Centre, serves to provide an opportunity for HC students to participate in volunteer services, especially in-depth communication with the elderly. As Macao’s aging population becomes an increasingly important issue, it is hoped that through this programme, students can learn how to interact with and care for the elderly.
Programme Description
Volunteers first attend a Briefing Session held by Honours College (HC) to learn about this programme. Afterwards, they need to participate in a three-hour Orientation Session at Pou Tai Integrated Service Centre, where social workers will explain the concept of volunteering, training on communication with the elderly and basic knowledge on the use of wheelchairs and other medical equipment. After these two compulsory sessions, volunteers are ready to serve and they must complete at least 18 hours of service over a period of approximately three months. The major tasks of the volunteers are to have in-depth communication with the elderly and spend quality time with the elderly. The focus of the programme is to make friends with the life mentors, i.e. the elderly, learn from the life mentors and be a good companion of the life mentor.
Programme Schedule
