elderly at SHEAC

“Old buddies” were very excited to pose for photos at the entrance of the College.
老友記們興奮地在書院門外擺姿勢拍照留念。

On 26th October, 2014, an ordinary Sunday, Stanley Ho East Asia College (SHEAC) warmly received a large group of extraordinary guests. The event entitled “Visit to UM & College Fun Day for Vulnerable Groups of Macau Community”, as the second part of “Oxfam X Caritas X SHEAC Community Walk Series”, was co-organized by SHEAC, Oxfam Hong Kong and Caritas Macau. About 60 visitors from three vulnerable groups of the local community, namely, elderly, family and foreign workers, enjoyed a half-day visit and fun activities in the College and on the new campus of UM. Among these visitors also included some of the residents visited by SHEAC students during the Community Walk on 8th October.

For more in-depth experience and closer interaction, the visitors were divided into small groups, each of which was led by several volunteers comprised not only SHEAC students, but also social workers and volunteers of Caritas, as well as tutors and student leaders from Chi Sun College of The University of Hong Kong invited by SHEAC.

Appearance of the Milion puppet brought a lot of excitement to the children and even the “old buddies”. 小黃人大人偶的出現為孩子們甚至老友記帶來了許多歡樂。

Appearance of the Milion puppet brought a lot of excitement to the children and even the “old buddies”.
小黃人大人偶的出現為孩子們甚至老友記帶來了許多歡樂。

At around 11:30am, the first batch of visitors, the family group, arrived. Most of them were children who were adorable and lively. Led by the SHEAC students, all the three groups of visitors toured around the College. The College students eagerly introduced the facilities, their daily lives and activities in the College. They also answered questions about the fees of the University and residential colleges. Through such casual conversations, volunteers and visitors were getting familiar with each other, and loads of laughter could be heard all the way.

SHEAC student volunteers assisted the work at the serving counter of the Refectory. 書院義工同學協助服務櫃檯分發食物的工作。

SHEAC student volunteers assisted the work at the serving counter of the Refectory.
書院義工同學協助服務櫃檯分發食物的工作。

Lunch was also arranged for the visitors at the College Refectory. Three SHEAC students volunteered to help at the serving counter, and experienced the hard work of kitchen workers. By wearing a mask and a hair cover, they felt a strong sacred responsibility, and their hearts were filled with a sense of satisfaction when serving food for the visitors. Over the meal, the visitors and volunteers had lively chats, and learned each other’s backgrounds and personal experiences. After the lunch, the visitors were given a set of snacks and a fridge magnet of the College as souvenirs. A man-size Minion puppet also came to play with the children and even the elderly!

The old ladies were happily trying the various musical instruments in the music room at the College. 老友記們在書院的音樂室興高采烈地嘗試各種樂器。

The old ladies were happily trying the various musical instruments in the music room at the College.
老友記們在書院的音樂室興高采烈地嘗試各種樂器。

At three o’clock, the UM Public Relations Student Ambassadors guided the groups to visit the new campus, and each of the visitors also received an UM postcard set. The whole event ended with a series of group photos taken in front of Wu Yee Sun Library showing everyone having a big smile.

After the event, the SHEAC student volunteers said that they gained a lot: Although they felt tired after the series of activities, they expressed that it was worth it when they saw the smiles on the faces of the children, elderly and foreign workers. The students believe that the vulnerable groups in the local community need more care and empathy. For example, the children may have their own ideals and orientations. Even our simple words or moves could give them a great encouragement. We hope that everything that happened on that day has become unforgettable memories to all the visitors and volunteers.

By: Wei Jiaan, Year 1 General Business Studies Student (Chinese draft)

 

樂施會 X 澳門明愛 X 何鴻燊東亞書院社區深度遊系列活動之二：澳門弱勢社群參觀澳大及書院同樂日

Visitors gathered in the College Refectory at SHEAC. 訪客們聚首在書院的膳堂。

Visitors gathered in the College Refectory at SHEAC.
訪客們聚首在書院的膳堂。

2014年10月26日，在這個平凡的週日，何鴻燊東亞書院迎來了一批不平凡的客人。在本次由樂施會、澳門明愛和何鴻燊東亞書院聯合舉辦的「澳大校園參觀暨書院同樂日」，六十位由書院同學於10月8日「社區深度遊」訪問過的弱勢社群的居民還有社區內的其他長者、家庭及外勞組成的訪客，在澳大新校園及SHEAC享受了半天的參觀和遊樂活動。

活動當日，為了讓訪客們得到更深入的體驗，活動主辦方將這一批客人分成了三組，包括長者組、家庭組和外來勞工組，並由不同義工帶領，義工不僅有我們書院的十多位同學，更有來自明愛的同事以及來自香港大學志新學院的導師和學生領袖。

Foreign workers were very excited about taking photos with student volunteers and among themselves. 外地勞工十分興奮地與學生義工及彼此拍照。

Foreign workers were very excited about taking photos with student volunteers and among themselves.
外地勞工十分興奮地與學生義工及彼此拍照。

於上午11時30分左右，我們首先迎接了來自家庭組的訪客，家庭組裏以小孩子居多，他們都十分活潑可愛。在一眾義工的帶領下，三組訪客分批參觀了何鴻燊東亞書院內部，書院同學們熱情洋溢的向他們介紹了書院的各項設施、同學們平日的生活情況及活動，並且解答了他們關於學校收費的問題，義工同學們就這樣開始與訪客們熟絡起來，一路上笑聲不斷。

參觀完書院之後，三組訪客與義工們一起在書院的膳堂就餐，並且有三名書院同學進入膳食服務櫃檯內部幫忙，親身體驗廚房工作者工作的辛苦。戴上口罩與頭套的同學們表示心中仿佛多了一份神聖的責任感，在分發飯菜給書院的大小客人們時更是有一種滿足感充斥於心中。吃飯過程中，訪客們與義工聊得興高采烈，相互交流了解對方的基本背景和生活境遇。飯後，義工同學們代表書院向訪客們發送了零食以及印有東亞書院的冰箱貼作為紀念品，更有小黃人大人偶出現與孩子們玩耍。

SHEAC students were patiently introducing different aspects of College life to the parents. 書院同學耐心地為到訪的家長介紹各個層面的大學生活。

SHEAC students were patiently introducing different aspects of College life to the parents.
書院同學耐心地為到訪的家長介紹各個層面的大學生活。

下午三點左右，在校園公關大使的協助下，義工同學們引領三組訪客群一同遊覽了澳大校園，訪客們收到了澳大的明信片都表示感謝。最終，大家在伍宜孫圖書館大門前拍了的一張又一張充斥著笑臉的大合照，作為結束這次短暫旅程的謝幕。

經過這次活動，書院一眾義工同學均表示收穫了許多：即使經過半天的奔波他們都比較疲憊，但看著小朋友、老人家和外勞們的笑容，一切都是值得的。這次活動更是想告訴大家，社會上有這麼一個群體，他們需要我們更多的關懷和幫助。例如這些小朋友都有各自的理想以及方向，我們一些看似簡單的舉動，也能給他們極大的鼓勵。這一天的一切一切，都讓參與的義工和訪客們難以忘懷。

撰寫：工商管理學院一年級學生 韋嘉安（中文稿）