2020 Fred Hollows Humanity Award

CELEBRATING THE 2019-2020 HUMANITY AWARD 
IN SEARCH OF HOPE 

It has been a difficult year for the world and for Hong Kong. We have all been facing challenges no matter big or small. Yet it is also always the silver lining that keeps us going and in search of hope. When The Fred Hollows Foundation read through all the entries for The Humanity Award in 2019-2020, we are impressed by the perseverance shown by those being nominated. When the pandemic hit the city and schools were suspended, our next generation did not stop their acts of kindness. No matter where they were, at home, at school or in social centers, they have not stopped bringing care to people in need. 
 
The year has been tough, but there is no better time to show the best side of people. The basic attribute of mankind is to help each other, as Fred Hollows, Founder of The Fred Hollows Foundation said, and The Humanity Award has proven this well. We would like to congratulate all the Ambassadors and applicants who have played their part in making Hong Kong a better place.  
 

Ambassador of Hope

Venetia Isabelle Ho, Vanessa Ignacia Ho, Valerie Inez Ho 
Harrow International School Hong Kong 
 
 
You can tell by the names that the team was three sisters. Like a lot of people who were ready to stretch a helping hand during the COVID-19, the team made a thorough plan before making any moves. They went through ideas such as helping children in need of data plan for online classes, then found out by contacting telecommunications companies that they had already responded. They quickly switched to looking for masks as the queue was really long. 
 
They did a peer-to-peer fundraising activity by walking up and down stairs, and raised over HKD21,000 from more than 20 donors. They successfully bought over 6,000 masks and some hand sanitizers. The sisters manned a counter at Caritas in Stanley for the needy to come and take the masks. Some of the hygiene packages were also distributed to The Hong Kong Physically handicapped and Able-Bodied Association Stanley and the Shek O Neighborhood Elderly Center.  
 
Their leadership, thoughtfulness, innovation and spirit to give back to the community was impressive, and reflected The Fred Hollows Foundation’s value of action and collaboration.  

Ambassador of Kindness

Ateqa Jangbarwala and Harper Bradley  
Glenealy School 
 
 
To Ateqa and Harper, everyone should have the right to basic needs including housing, food and health supplies. They wanted to help people who have so much less than those in Hong Kong during the uncertain time of coronavirus. The team carried out a project at school and aimed at helping refugees in Hong Kong.  
 
They researched from the Refugee Union and Christian Action the stories of refugees in Hong Kong and their needs during the pandemic. Ateqa and Harper then ran a campaign and collected over 1,700 face masks, over 900 items of stationery as well as hand sanitizers. The team donated the packages to Refugee Union and Christian Action, where the team also met and understood more about the stories of the refugees.  
 
Ateqa and Harper have picked an issue of less interest to Hong Kong people and helped raise awareness in their social circle. They have thoroughly researched the topic, put their thoughts into actions and brought positive impacts to the community. The team demonstrated how to turn the idea of kindness into action.  

Ambassador of Compassion

Yeung Kin Cheong  
Sung Tak Wong King Sheung Memorial School  
 
 
Kin Cheong is “the prince of volunteering”. He started to participate in volunteer work with his parents when he was just four. He has a long serving record with the Heep Hong Society for children with special needs. In the past year alone, he participated in 11 volunteer activities outside school. He used to visit groups with different social needs and also tried to perform in events.  
 
He believes that volunteering helps him to treasure what he has and learn how to work with others, become more inclusive and agile. 
 
Kin Cheong once joined a volunteer team which consisted of grannies and young people. He recalled in an interview with the organisation that, “During the visit to an elderly person, we were disappointed to know that no one answered the door. When we tried to go back to the social centre, one of the volunteers suggested to visit other people first and came back again. This time the someone answered the door! The experience taught me to stay flexible and not to give up easily.” 

Ambassador of Action

Lui Tsz Him 
S.K.H. Fung Kei Millennium Primary School  
 
Tsz Him thinks that a lot of people are deprived and may feel especially helpless during the pandemic. He thus joined his mother to help people living on the street and visited elderly people who lived alone. He delivered food and also helped distribute hygiene packages to the homeless, street cleaners and “cardboard grannies”, senior citizens who make a living by collecting and selling waste boxes and other scrap. Tsz Him acted out his kindness and was impressive.  

Junior Ambassadors
  

Chung Cheuk Lam  
Tsuen Wan Government Primary School  

When schools were suspended during the pandemic, Cheuk Lam often hiked with her parents and saw a lot of rubbish being left on the hiking trails.  To protect nature, Cheuk Lam picked up the rubbish along the road and brought it down the hills in a recycle bag. Although it was not easy taking down rubbishes every time she hiked, she thought it was very meaningful to reduce trash in nature.     
  

Chiu Man Ki 
Tsuen Wan Government Primary School  

Man Ki joined an activity in the summer of 2019 to protect the ocean. She and other volunteers picked up rubbish on the beaches of Lamma Island. It was not easy cleaning the beach under the hot sun but she was more saddened seeing all the junk being left. Man Ki also joined a scheme at school to take care of Primary One and Two students which she thought was meaningful to help her younger counterparts.  
  

Yuen Lok Yee 
HHCKLA Buddhist Chan Shi Wan Primary School  

Lok Yee is a frequent volunteer at school by helping her schoolmates and serving in different school activities, such as flag selling. Lok Yee also became Greenpeace’s Plastic-Free Ambassador to advocate using less plastic.  
  

P.L.K. Chong Kee Ting Primary School 
Cheng Hei Tung  

Hei Tung used to volunteer with her mother in different activities such as flag selling. When she became bigger, Hei Tung also participated in some visits herself and became a volunteer assistant in a children’s rope-skipping class.  
 
During the pandemic, Hei Tung would like to help more people as she was touched by the story of SARS hero, Dr Joanna Tse Yuen-Man. As schools were suspended, Hei Tung then used some of her time to visit elderly people in the Shatin District and delivered hygiene packs to those in need. She also took videos of herself rope-skipping and shared it on social media, hoping to encourage more people to do sports during Covid-19 to stay healthy. 
  

Li Ying Shan 
SKH Kei Tak Primary School 

Ying Shan is a veteran volunteer. She often joins her mother in serving her community, at school or at the church. She has joined flag-selling, paid home visits to elderly people who lived alone, presented seasonal food to them during festivals, and accompanied them on outings. She also brought hygiene packs to them during Covid-19 to show care. Ying Shan has been awarded certificates from different organisations to recognise her kindness.  
 
 

Students of Merit 

Wong Wing Yan 
Pentecostal Gin Mao Sheng Primary School  

For three years in a row, Wing Yan has joined an activity to visit the elderly people in rural areas of Hong Kong. She learned acupressure and towel exercises, and made Chinese medicine mosquito-expelling bags for the elderly.  
 
This year Wing Yan tried to take up the role of promotion to encourage more members to volunteer. She believed that volunteering could start from her family and then invited her parents, sister and grandmother to join the activity together. More than 64 volunteers joined the visit to elderly people this year and Wing Yan was satisfied with the result.  
 
Wing Yan received the Outstanding Service Award of The Humanity Award in 2018-2019.   
  

Lai Hoi Ying  
Sau Ming Primary School 

Hoi Ying started volunteering in Primary Two and it became a habit when she became a Primary Four student this year. She has joined various types of activities, including being a Kind Ambassador at school, taught junior schoolmates their homework, visited elderly people who lived alone, organised game booths, cleaned up the Country Parks and served the underprivileged in the community.  
 
During the pandemic, Hoi Ying participated in an online teaching volunteer program, which made her realise that it was not easy being a teacher! She had to be patient and learned to explain things in a way easy to understand. Hoi Ying believes that volunteering is not only good to the beneficiaries and she learnt a lot, such as how to organise activities and how to show care and be considerate to other people. 

Tse Chi Sun, Zhu Han Tao, Ng Tsz Wing, Suen Tsz Him, Tang Yin Chung Nathan, Leung Chiu Yung, Chan Kit Sin, Chan Ka Yiu, Cheng Tsz Tung, Chan Yi Ga Ingrid 
Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School  

The team of 10 named themselves Amazing Teens who raised awareness and funds for children with long term or serious illness at the Hong Kong Children's Hospital. The team drew 30 Christmas cards as presents to resident children at the hospitals, hoping that they could feel the care from outside the hospital. When school was suspended during the pandemic, they produced posters which were distributed to students and parents when schools resumed in June. The team appealed to fellow schoolmates to donate and support treatments and surgeries for children in need. All the donations was given to the Children Cancer Fund in the name of the school. 
  

Wong Lok Nam Lucinda 
Pooi To Primary School 

Lucinda loves volunteering Because she can help people in need. She has participated in flag selling and often volunteers with her family at the local community centres. She had distributed gift bags to the elderly at festivals and at events and joined recycling programs in her housing estates. Lucinda was awarded certificates to acknowledge her participation. 
She has also joined her school’s annual signature event Elderly Fun Book, and was matched with an elderly person whom she would need care for during the year. She has to visit her “partner” every month which Lucinda diligently carried out her duties even during the pandemic.  
  

Wong Tin Yu 
Pooi To Primary School  

Tin Yu is a veteran volunteer. She sold flags, gave out moon cakes and meals to the homeless. She has joined the school’s annual signature event Elderly Fun Book for a second year, where she was matched an elderly person to take care of in a year. Tin Yu visited her elderly partner every month. They made snacks together, played games, sang, had Chinese New Year reunion dinner and even took family pictures. Although she was not able to visit her partner during Covid-19, she took videos to show her care and sent her partner hygiene packs, hoping the elderly person would feel warmth and care during the pandemic.