Two alumni of the social work programme of CityU’s Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences scoop Hong Kong Social Workers Association (HKSWA)’s awards which recognise excellent practitioners.
“Being a social worker is more than a job; it’s a vocation. I am aspired to pay extra effort in eliminating the misunderstanding and negligence towards the elderly, and helping them live fruitful later years of life,” says Francis LI Yum-kwok, a 1997 graduate and one of the two awardees of the Outstanding Social Worker Award 2020-2021.
A decade ago, Li came up with a new idea and started “Sham Shui Po District Community Oral History Theatre Project”, bringing a group of elderly together to share their life stories through theatre plays. At first, the elderly knew close to nothing about theatre plays, so no one would have expected that the group could keep running and present its 100th performance one day. But it did on 8 March 2019, receiving rounds of applause and appreciations from the audience. To Li, arranging acting training and performances for the group over the years has been an incredible journey of bringing positivity to the elderly and society.
Li is so delighted to see the elderly, some of them are nearly 90 years old, to shine on the stage. They can also express their happiness and sadness through acting, and pass on wisdom to their family, descendants, and community, through their stories. This experience, which Li regards as “a miracle”, also motivates him to keep serving the elderly with passion and an innovative mindset.
Like veterans such as Li, those in the first few years of their social work career can impact their clients’ lives as well. Carli WONG Uen-ki, a 2014 graduate and one of the two awardees of the Outstanding New Social Worker Award 2020-2021, proves.
Wong recalls the story of a young girl called Sze in her nomination statement. Living in a sub-divided flat and having unstable income, Sze’s mother found it hard to support her daughter when she wanted to enrol in a hip-hop dancing class organised by the centre at which Wong worked. Wong suggested that Sze could attend a trial lesson to see if she’s really interested in hip-hop dancing, and later recommended her to join a dance project that allowed her to learn dancing for free. Wong also contacted a volunteer team to redesign Sze’s home to provide her with a better learning environment, so that she did not need to do her homework on the bed. By applying a subsidy for Sze and her brother, Wong got them a computer that facilitates their learning.
But Wong soon discovered that Sze lacked devotion and responsibility. She decided to step in, and patiently let Sze understand why she should treasure the valuable resources that were only available with the kindness of donors. It paid off, and Sze realised the importance of showing gratitude and compassion for others. Sze now sets a goal for herself: seizing every opportunity to learn and improving the family’s condition when she grows up. She also hopes to teach underprivileged children to dance in the future.
The Chinese proverb goes, “give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime”. It is Wong’s vision to cultivate gratitude in the service receivers, an attitude that would benefit them lifelong.
