Hong Kong & Macau Joint University Service Camp 港澳聯校服務營
The 5-day-4-night Hong Kong & Macau Joint University Service Camp was held successfully in June. This service camp aimed to support and empower underprivileged groups in both cities, and to provide a platform for participants from HKUST and University of Macau to gain a better understanding on the social issues faced by these groups.
The service camp began with "Walking into Community" in Sham Shui Po district. By chatting with people in the community from different backgrounds, students could understand more about the needs of different underprivileged groups. During the two and a half days in Hong Kong, volunteers organized an activity for the elderly living in Sham Shui Po for a long time. They chatted with the elders and let them share some old photos taken in Sham Shui Po, and bring them to revisit the places. For the homeless, students organized a circle painting activity which was a medium for volunteers and service recipients to interact with each other and to express their feelings. For the low-income family, they played games and made bookmarks with the children in the Joyful Family Canteen and talked with their parents to know more about their living situation and needs. Besides, volunteers also visited the mid-night market at Pei Ho Street to talk with hawkers about their struggles and concerns.
Service sessions in Macau also included elderly, low-income children and homeless people. Cooperating with the Salvation Army, volunteers delivered soup to the elders and set up game booths about environmental protection to the children in Macau. They also organized an afternoon activity for the primary school students and brought happiness to them. Besides, volunteers delivered sweet soups and showed their care for the homeless people. There was also a visit to a drug rehabilitation center to learn about issues of drug abuse and from teenagers who have undergone rehabilitation treatment. Another session was a service outreach to the residents and shop owners in the Iao Han district which deepened the volunteers' understanding of Macau's local community.
Throughout this service camp, participants got the opportunity to interact with people from different backgrounds in both Sham Shui Po and Macau, and to discuss with each other and compare the situation of the two places during the sharing and debriefing sessions. They thus gained a better understanding of the needs and challenges faced by the various under-privileged groups that they served in Sham Shui Po and Macau and were motivated to continue serving even after the trip.
