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Cindy Sui

The office of Hong Kong charity Love 21 Foundation in San Po Kong is not your typical workplace set-up. Its two floors have a big exercise hall, a smaller fitness training room and plenty of gym equipment.
It is a favourite hang-out spot for Nathan Leung Hiu-fung, a 26-year-old with Down’s syndrome.
“The sports I do here are some muscle training, regular weekly dance sessions on the second floor and personal training on the 11th floor here, and other things to keep up the exercise habit, which I enjoy deeply,” Leung said.
“I got to learn different types of dancing as well … jazz, hip hop. It’s been an unforgettable journey.”
Leung is one of the charity’s more than 457 members, who have Down’s syndrome, autism or other neurodiverse conditions. Most members are aged from 15 to 30 years, with some as young as six and others as old as 50.
The organisation is one of 11 NGOs selected to receive funding this year from the annual fundraising drive Operation Santa Claus (OSC).
The funding will enable the charity to expand its personalised fitness training and tailored nutrition programmes to improve the physical and mental well-being of its members.
CEO Jeff Rotmeyer founded the organisation seven years ago after getting to know the neurodiverse community and seeing how they were treated.
“The stress these families face due to stigma and judgment can be quite overwhelming,” he said.
People with autism sometimes cannot control their emotions and have stressful moments in public. The judgmental stares their families often received deterred them from going out, which was why it was not common to see people with Down’s syndrome in Hong Kong even though the community was large, Rotmeyer added.
They needed “an opportunity to participate in fun, healthy activities, but not just a basic programme, but a programme with high ambition and a curriculum designed to help them reach their full potential,” he said.
The charity hires qualified nutritionists and trainers to design sports, nutrition and holistic support programmes tailored to members’ needs.
Their families also received counselling and peer support, Rotmeyer said, pointing out that more than 50 per cent of members’ parents were single mothers.
With OSC funding, donated by Morgan Stanley, the charity will run a three-year nutrition follow-up programme for 280 of its members, enabling them to revise their dietary and health goals through quarterly one-on-one consultations.
Those in the programme will take part in weekly fitness classes to develop an exercise routine, and be encouraged to improve their eating habits.

People with Down’s syndrome are more susceptible to diabetes and heart problems, while those with autism, who are prone to narrower preferences, need to have a more varied diet.
Rotmeyer said running an NGO was “extremely difficult”, but the funding would enable them to have better fitness programmes and staffing levels, while also raising awareness, with Morgan Stanley’s employees volunteering and interacting with the organisation’s members.
The organisation also put on dance and other public performances to showcase its members’ talent and buck stereotypes.
“The response is always overwhelmingly positive and loving. And it’s beautiful when people meet our neurodiverse people from Love 21, because they can very clearly see how awesome our members are, how much ability they have when given a real opportunity,” Rotmeyer said.
“We don’t see this as an ability issue but more of an opportunity issue.”
Leung said he had got more than just fitness training from Love 21 staff.
“They opened my eyes and let me explore. I’m now living with my purpose, my passion, living my purposeful life. It really made a huge impact with what I was before and I’ve changed a lot since,” he said.
Leung also credited his family for being “super encouraging” and had this advice for people with neurodiverse conditions: “They shouldn’t let their disability define them too much. Just be themselves truthfully, which is how I am.”
There are currently 150 people still on the wait-list to get into the Love 21’s programmes, according to the charity.
OSC is an annual fundraising initiative held by the Post and public broadcaster RTHK. It has raised HK$383 million (US$49.2 million) to support the Hong Kong community through 353 charitable projects since its inception in 1988. There are 11 charitable projects of worthy causes being funded this year.
For more information on this year’s beneficiaries, please click here.


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‘We don’t see this as an ability issue but more of an opportunity issue,’ says head of Love 21 Foundation, selected for annual fundraising drive Operation Santa Claus


‘We don’t see this as an ability issue but more of an opportunity issue,’ says head of Love 21 Foundation, selected for annual fundraising drive Operation Santa Claus.


Operation Santa Claus