Page 8 - CUHK MEDICAL ALUMNI Newsletter Issue 1 Vol 5 2017

HUMANITY AWARD 2016
07

HUMANITY AWARD 2016 RECIPIENT

HOPES HER VOLUNTARY

WORK WILL INSPIRE OTHERS TO

FOLLOW IN HER FOOTSTEPS

“Through voluntary work, I felt I could contribute
meaningfully to the community, even though my
efforts were small.”
- Dr Kwong Wing-yan

（鄺詠茵醫生, MBChB 2010）

Dr Kwong joined the Faculty of By the
Medicine of The Chinese University of time she
Hong Kong (CUHK) in 2004 but after returned
three years, she decided to defer her home, she had put
studies to help the needy overseas. on weight and her health
It would be the first time she would had suffered.
travel abroad for volunteer work.
She had read in a newspaper that Despite the difficulties,
someone from Hong Kong had gone Dr Kwong never regretted
to Cameroon in West Africa to work her decision, saying there
for a local NGO, NAVTI Foundation. were memorable moments.
She contacted the person and before One of her projec t s
long, Dr Kwong was winging her way involved visiting children
he motivation to help others there, armed with just HKD10,000, a from the scattered villages
Tbegan when Dr Kwong Wing-yan camera, a notebook and a backpack to gauge their eligibility to
was in secondary school. When her of essentials. be sponsored for school. Every
classmates were taking up dancing day she had to trudge in mud, in 40
or learning a new language as their degrees’ heat, for three to four hours
extra-curricular activities during to get to a village. “I wanted to save
summer, she volunteered at local money for the children’s tuition fees. So
non-governmental organisations. I decided to save on transport costs.”
She was 15 years old. Dr Kwong had to bear all the expenses
herself, as NAVTI Foundation does not
“I came from a low-income family pay its volunteers.
so for me, one way of spending
the summer holidays was to help When the villagers saw her walking
organisations, such as the Hong those long hours, under the
Kong Playground Association.” intense heat, they got together and
collected money for her transport. “I
S o d u r i n g s u m m e r b r e a k s , was very touched,” says Dr Kwong.
Dr Kwong could be found either at “They were so poor yet they wanted
youth centres helping poor children to relieve my suffering. I will never
with free tutorial classes or assisting There was first the culture shock. “I forget that.”
in programmes at rehabilitation had to adjust to the inconveniences
centres for psychiatric patients. “By of daily life there - there was lack of Dr Kwong, who was 21 years old at
that time, I began to really enjoy water and electricity. We had to light the time, also recounted another
helping others. Through voluntary candles after dark. The toilet was a incident when the kindness of the
work, I felt I could contribute pit latrine. And the food was high in local villagers strengthened her
meaningfully to the community, carbohydrates and high in saturated resolve to stay back and complete
even though my efforts were small.” fats from palm oil.” her humanitarian work.