‘Sad but glad to help’: Hong Kong fire teaches children lesson in empathy
Father of two volunteers collects stuffed toys, saying they give children emotional security and show them that someone cares
Beneath the podium at Kwong Fuk Estate in Tai Po, between rows of relief aid booths and supply tables stacked with bottled water and meal boxes, a group of children took a break from their volunteering for the fire relief effort.
But they did not rest for long. As soon as they finished eating, they darted through the crowds to reach residents, their arms full of bottles of hot water, ginger tea and bags of essentials, offering warmth to anyone who needed it on a cold Friday night.
Under their parents’ guidance, six children spent Thursday and Friday evenings, from 6pm to 10pm, checking stock and calling out to residents about the available supplies.
For 10-year-old Leif Ng, a Primary Five student at NTWJWA Christian Remembrance of Grace Primary School, the fire at Wang Fuk Court on Wednesday prompted him to join the community effort.
“I felt a bit sad. We saw so many people hurt and dead,” the Tai Po resident said.
Still, he said he was glad he and his 12-year-old brother, Liam, could help in some way.