THE Meizhou government in Guangdong Province is providing domestic helpers to seven pensioners in a pilot project to take care of the elderly.

The domestic helpers are assisting the senior citizens, aged between 65 and 88, in cooking, cleaning, washing, exercising, visiting doctors and even bathing.

The seven pensioners suffer from illnesses.

The government pays each domestic helper 650 yuan (US$80) a month. Each pensioner is entitled to about 30 hours of free service a month.

Meijiang District in Meizhou would extend the free service to all senior citizens with no income or low income, said Liu Zhangji, director of the district's civil affairs bureau.

Liu said senior citizens preferred to remain at home rather than in welfare centers, giving rise to the need for such a service.

Meijiang District has 34,611 citizens above 60 years old, accounting for 10.9 percent of its total population. It was listed as one of the two pilot areas for a provincial at-home service project at the beginning this year. The other pilot area is Dongshan District in Guangzhou.

Editor: Wing