Your Participation

A Volunteer’s Testimonial:

They are very loveable and sincere. I learnt a lot from this great experience.

I have been a voluntary homework tutor for non-Chinese speaking students for only half a year but I already got to realise they are very loveable and sincere people. And I learnt a lot from this great experience. Now I am also more clear that the learning obstacles faced by non-Chinese speaking students basically stem from the significant differences between their languages and cultures with those of our local children. Of course, the academic performance of South Asian children is dependent on their personalities, abilities, interests, and available assistance as well. On the other hand, Hong Kong has allocated little resources to the education of non-Chinese speaking children. As a result of all the reasons I just mentioned, I can feel that non-Chinese speaking children are facing great challenges as they grow up in Hong Kong. If they cannot perform well academically, their access to higher education will be restricted, which in turn greatly reduces their upward mobility when they eventually work in the society. They can only secure low-skilled and low-income jobs that require usually only labour work. So it seems they can never come out of intergenerational poverty. As I thought of this, I felt sad in my heart! So I decided to help non-Chinese students with their learning by working as a voluntary homework tutor, hoping to help them build interest in their learning and improve their school results. When guiding them, I have to learn to use different teaching methods and skills to effectively help them learn better.

Wai-yan Tang

A Volunteer’s Testimonial:

…Knowing that "there are someone who care about you" strongly cheers everyone up, and that knowing there is something precious in life encourages not only them, but also us.

In the past year’s volunteer work, I met many families, and came to realise that they are all very friendly. As immigrants, it is not easy for them to live in a different place. They all hope to work hard and improve their families. And by hoping it means counting on the younger generation to study. As their children go to school and acquire knowledge, they will be able to integrate into society. However, they mostly are faced with the language barrier in the first step, coupled with their inherent lack of social network after arriving at Hong Kong. Therefore they are left with few job opportunities. Some of them even have problems with maintaining basic livelihoods. In one family, for instance, the husband suffered an injury at work and has not yet received his compensation. The family has had no income for more than a year. Their children have to go to school and the wife takes care of them at home. The financial pressure is very heavy. Yet it is unlikely for them to seek support from their family far away in the home country. And going out of the home is not an easy option for the wife due to their cultural traditions. She feels confused and helpless. The family has been visited regularly by some volunteers. They talk with them and show care for them. Sometimes it may not be about meeting their material needs, but knowing that "there are someone who care about you" strongly cheers everyone up, and that knowing there is something precious in life encourages not only them, but also us. At present, we work with the community to arrange family visits per month or as needed, where both sides share together. When taking care of the children, Chinese is a major obstacle to deal with, so are other subjects during the homework guidance and tuition. I believe our work will go much further when more people join us.

Morning