He’s helped drug addicts and taught refugees, but Hong Kong welfare worker says being a stage director was ‘terrifying’
Hard working Hongkonger Lam Kam-sing has been a welfare worker for more than four decades, quitting a successful job to do what he loves most
Lam Kam-sing has been doing welfare work at Caritas Community Centre in Kowloon for 44 years, and the 72-year-old has no intention of stopping.
It all started in the early 1970s when he was recruited as what was then called a welfare worker. As a young man, that meant joining a large group of like-minded individuals who wanted to help society.
“I’m not religious, even though Caritas is a Catholic organisation. I just feel that I’ve learned a lot from society, so I am simply giving back,” he explained.
“I’ve had a lot of chances to talk to people from different sectors of society because of welfare work. I could talk to them about my experiences, and I could learn from their experiences too.”
Back in that time, there was no such thing as a degree in social work, nor were there any requirements for Lam to join. All he had to do was show up after working at his day job to contribute in any way he could. That is why his experiences are very diverse, he said. Lam has worked with drug addicts in rehabilitation, organising social events for them and building a support network. He has also taught English to Vietnamese refugees, so they could lead better lives. Many of them eventually immigrated to the US or UK.
One of Lam’s most nerve-wracking jobs was to be a stage director for a piece of theatre that community centre members were performing. He says he was “so terrified his face went pale” and that “not even leading members on a camp out in the wild was that scary”. He remembers feeling relieved when it was over.