Located near Hong Kong’s borders, the old
communities of Sha Tau Kok, Tap Mun (aka Grass
Island) and Ko Lau Wan have become somewhat
lonesome due to population exodus. We thus
led CUHK students to these communities for
the “Rural and Remote Community Friendship
Project” in 2014, visiting elderly people living
in those areas on a regular basis. Bringing with
them care and love, students listened patiently
to the elderly as they shared the stories of their
past: how they fought in the war against Japan,
and how they worked especially hard back
in the day. Students could then have a peek
into their life stories as well as the changes
the communities had gone through. They also
recorded the places’ histories, cultures and
customs from these oral history interviews.
During a visit to Sha Tau Kok, the students
and their elderly friends enjoyed homemade
delicacy outside lines of village houses, while
the elderly reminisced about their weddings on
fishing boats. The Hoklo folks even dug out their
treasured folk costumes to dress the students.
Accompanied by the sounds of the gong and
drum, the students and their elderly friends
danced together – it was as though time was
rewound back to decades ago; the merry time
with the students had reinvigorated both the
elderly and the community.
Community Identity Constructed in Daily Life
Students’ continuous participation outside of
class has contributed to their personal growth,
allowing them to gradually strengthen the sense
of recognition and identification with local
culture. In this modern era, what is Hong Kong’s
community culture all about? We hope to visit
different communities, where students will
understand the past and get involved in cultural
inheritance, so as to preserve and renew old
culture.
How to join:
The ‘Rural
and Remote Community
Friendship Project’ will be
here in September 2015.
This year, we will focus on
Sha Tau Kok. Aside from
visiting elderly regularly,
y o u w i l l h a v e m o r e
opportunites to inspect the
community and discover Sha Tau Kok’s ‘now
and then’ through a diversity of channels. Unveil
this forbidden district’s mystery and its past and
present through your lens and exploration!
Click the link below to join!
Enquiry number: 3943 9859
The Answers Lie in
Community
These days everyone is saying, “Hong Kong is sick.” To
restore Hong Kong’s lovely side; to be rid of the feelings
of lost and powerlessness; and to truly let those who are
struggling between narrow cracks become self-reliance and
dignified – we believe the answers lie in community. Through
specific actions, community involvement strengthens the
connection between people and the environment, as well
as between people themselves, laying the foundation for
‘saving one’s own community’. Community involvement also
places emphasis on building interpersonal relationship in the
community, members’ sense of participation in community
affairs, and the preservation and continuation of regional
history and culture. Therefore, change must begin from within
the community, and it must be self-initiated and independent.
Only then will ‘sam gaang sai zok’ (deep plowing and careful
cultivation, a metaphor for change in society, which requires
patience and long-time nurturing) not only be a mere slogan,
but also the beginning of real change.
Community Story Collectors
I·CARE’s Local Poverty Alleviation Initiatives (LPAI), including
the ‘Rural and Remote Community Friendship Project’, ‘Hong
Kong Cultural Tours Project’ and ‘Need-based Development
Scheme’, are the answers to how we implement this belief. By
going into the community, and through different workshops
and community visits, CUHK students taking part in the
projects can discuss, observe and gain a new perspective
into their supposedly familiar living space, while depicting
community environment and creating community cohesion.
As students participate in community services, they
transform into story collectors and continue to co-write
the communities’ stories. Understanding the ideas and
beliefs within a community and building mutual support
and connection with its residents are key to community
involvement. As participants walk hand in hand to collect
and play out each unique community story, they are not only
showing the diversity of communities in Hong Kong, but also
outlining a comprehensive landscape of humanities.
Rural and Remote
Community Friendship Project
Those of you who live downtown, have you ever been to the city’s suburbs?
And those of you who are enjoying a relaxing time with a backdrop of rolling
mountains and views of vast grasslands that overlook the sea, do you have any
idea what has happened exactly where you are in the past?
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The Answers Lie in Community
