Back to top button
Feedback
Watch CityU 101 now for handy tips at CityU
Back to top button
Feedback
Watch CityU 101 now for handy tips at CityU
Home > Achievements & Featured Stories > Achievements & Awards
Achievements &
Featured Stories
Sharing by Students
Student Sharing on Service Outreach Experience Programme - Service Tour to Nepal 2020
Over 20 CityU students joined “Service Outreach Experience Programme (SOEP) - Service Tour to Nepal 2020” from 1 to 9 January 2020. The students visited Lamjung, a district destroyed by an earthquake in 2015, which was also the destination of “Servant Leadership Training Programme (SLTP) 2018/19 Global Village Community Service Project – Nepal”. Through conducting creative workshops and classes for the locals, as well as providing support in farming and wall painting to the village, participants enhanced various skills and gained valuable exposure.
Student name
Tsang Yat Yan Manna
Academic programme
Bachelor of Social Sciences in Public Policy and Politics (Politics)
Year of study
Year 4
Cherish All We Have
My parents have showered me with love and materialistic items but also repeatedly reminded me that I had a rather privileged life and should cherish it. I laughed it off and continued to complain about my first-world problems. I could never imagine living in a world without what was considered basic, such as education and equal rights. On this trip, I had a chance to see and experience the “reality”.

The living and learning conditions in Nepal are a far cry from what we have in Hong Kong. Going to school, they need to hike for over 30 minutes with tattered shoes. There was no proper lighting in the schools we taught, and the classrooms would become unbelievably dark when the sky turned grey. It was amazing that the students were still able to read from the blackboard. Their enthusiasm to learn deeply moved me, as they repeated every word we taught loudly. Despite our language barrier, they didn’t hesitate to communicate with me in basic English. Knowledge seemed to be something they could never get enough of, which made me ashamed of myself. I should treasure the learning opportunities I have had and put my knowledge to good use.

Women’s rights are a sensitive topic in Nepal, and I was fortunate enough to explore it during the trip. It broke my heart when I learnt that girls in villages couldn’t continue their education after 16 and had to prepare for marriage. Many female students I encountered were bright and thirsty for knowledge. Still, most had to become housewives in a few years, relying on their husbands for a living. The teachers wanted to bring changes to the new generation of female students, but it would be a hard path. I spoke to a group of girls, asking what their dream jobs were. Two wanted to be doctors, and the others wanted to be a nurse, an engineer, or a Mathematics teacher. They all promised me that they would achieve their dreams. I hope they can keep their promise and we will meet again in the future.

This service trip has greatly changed my values in life and made me aware of how fortunate I am - basic rights don’t come easily. Although change can’t be fully made in such a short span, this trip has cultivated seedlings of change in all our minds.