How to Thrive Beyond Constraints?

"Empathy is a crucial quality when we meet a person with disabilities"

In this talk "How to Thrive Beyond Constraints?", students had the chance to listen to inspiring stories from Mr. Matthew Yu, a person with disability (PWD) who looked to the brighter side despite his conditions; and Mr. Eric Chu, a representative from Hong Kong Federation of Handicapped Youth.

Mr. Chu shared about how to identify different types of disabilities, the requirements of barrier-free facilities, and the ways to approach PWD. In this way, we are able to imagine their daily difficulties. It is also very important that we know the dos and don'ts when we encounter a PWD.

Regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the PWDs, Mr. Yu said the most affected communities are the physically handicapped and those with hearing difficulty who find speechreading hard when everyone is wearing a mask. However, Mr. Yu is quite positive about the increasingly PWD-friendly environment in Hong Kong, and the improving public awareness of the PWDs. The most important thing to bear in mind is that we treat everyone equally and we put ourselves into others' shoes before we interact with anyone.