96-year-old Hui Jun – the Wang family’s beloved matriarch – has always been an entertainer. Born in China, she sung opera professionally alongside her career as an accountant and even made it to international stages; Sydney’s Opera House being one of them. But Hui Jun doesn’t need a world-class venue to capture an audience. Today, she has 5.7 million online followers who watch her sing, dance and perform comedy skits from her home in Sydney, Maroubra, where she lives with her daughter, Julia and grandson, Jamie.

A new life at 60

Hui Jun raised her family and grandchildren in China, but she had dreams of immigrating to Australia to give them a better quality of life. It was a plan she hatched in her 40s, but it took a lot of determination, hard work and time before she could make it reality.

“When we finally got [to Australia] she was in her 60s,” explains Hui Jun’s grandson, Thomas, who was raised by his grandma and still considers her his “best friend”.

“One by one, we brought the whole family from China over to Australia. This was mostly because of granny's vision, she had to do and sacrifice a lot for this family,” he says.

In turn, Hui Jun’s family take great care in looking after her throughout her golden years. Julia, who fondly refers to her Mum as “the Queen of the house”, has been her main support since 2011. However, the Wang family aren’t the only ones invested in Hui Jun health and happiness – this 96-year-old has a whole online fanclub rooting for her, too.

A performer at 90

Back in 2018, Thomas posted his grandma’s antics on TikTok on a whim, but her infectious energy soon spread and their TikTok account, The Chainz Family, amassed millions of followers, all delighted to see her sing, joke and dance.

“It blew our minds. We were being recognized in supermarkets,” Thomas says. Soon the pair were even being invited to huge content creator events such as VidCon, where Hui Jun got to meet some of her fans. 

Their most popular video has over 149 million views, and involves her trying to sing along to various Western pop and rap clips on the internet. It’s a far cry from Chinese opera, but Hui Jun’s enthusiasm more than makes up for the fact she can’t *quite* copy the English lyrics. 

A few extra hands

In the earlier years, Hui Jun could get around without too much assistance and prior to COVID-19, she was even making annual trips to visit her friends in China. However, a little over two years ago Hui Jun had a stay in hospital that compromised her health. Julia decided it was time to reach out.  

“It was getting harder and harder and Mum was getting older, she needed people to help,” Julia explains.

This was when she turned to The Benevolent Society and was linked up with Chela O’Sullivan, one of our Home Support Partners. After working with the Wang family to establish their needs, Chela put together a home care package to help them run the show. 

“The home care package is not just about the client. It's about the whole family and our holistic approach to the services that they need,” says Chela.

This meant coordinating both regular physiotherapy services for Hui Jun, as well as organising weekly cleaning so that the family could spend more quality time together (and bring more joy to their online community!). Julia felt especially relieved to know that her mum was in capable hands.

"Before The Benevolent Society we had to do everything ourselves," Julia explains. “I was with Mum every day, but I didn’t know how to help her. Cherry [Hui Jun’s Physiotherapist] knows exactly how to help Mum to give her muscle strength. Even at 96 everything is fine; she still can walk, just slowly,” she says.

Over the two years, Chela has witnessed how supporting Hui Jun’s mobility and taking the pressure off Julia has had a positive ripple effect in this family’s lives. 

“The Benevolent Society helps clients live life their way. And I'm really excited to be experiencing that journey with clients,” she enthuses.

With the right services and a loving, supportive family on her side, Hui Jun Wang is able live out her years with humour and grace and keep on singing, dancing and delighting us all.