Serve Beyond the Service

Last Updated (Thursday, 30 June 2022 12:51)

The fifth wave of the pandemic has been rapidly escalating in the community since the beginning of February this year. With the number of confirmed cases growing exponentially, many under­resourced families and seniors living alone were out of anti­epidemic and living supplies. Therefore, YMCA of Hong Kong Cheung Sha Wan Centre launched a Care Package Campaign for the people in need in Cheung Sha Wan. Miraculously, the Campaign had attracted an anonymous donation of $100,000 that allowed the supplies to include emergency food and daily necessities to 450 families in Cheung Sha Wan and Tung Chung to relieve their urgent needs.

It all started with a phone call...

On February 27, Fish received a call from a single parent, who is on the After School Care Programme and live in a subdivided flat with her 3 children, she expressed her devastation as her entire family had been tested positive. When Fish was planning to purchase some necessities for them, Mary received more calls from other families in the similar dire situations, so they started buying and delivering the supplies to them, on top of their normal duties. While answering the call to response and suffering from manpower shortage as a consequence of their staff being tested positive or undergoing quarantine as close contact, all they thought about was 'how much they could help'.

With the enormous responsibilities ahead of them, they encouraged each other to stay strong and healthy, to step up and rush to rescue those were helpless. They dashed out to purchase supplies for several days and contacted the local grocery shops, "there was a shortage of supplies around town, so we bought whatever was available on the shelves. As soon as we received a call for help, we headed out to deliver the supplies the following day."

The good cause bore fruit and was eventually attracted an anonymous donation of $100,000 for the Care Package Campaign. With the sponsorship, Fish and Mary were able to procure more supplies and expand the reach to 450 families in Cheung Sha Wan and Tung Chung. Besides serving more beneficiaries, they were also able to include supplies to address symptoms such as sore throat, to replace biscuits with cakes; and for those under home quarantine, to bring them canned vegetables to maintain a balanced diet.

Little did we know that Fish and Mary had given up more than what they did. With Hong Kong facing an onslaught from the 5th wave of the pandemic, work from home had become a common phenomenon, but they were not stopped by any of these. "As I live with my grandmother and daughter, I was worried to put my family at risk, so I decided to stay at The Salisbury temporarily. I found it hard for my family to understand why I am doing this, so I just texted them, and explained to them when I got home at night." Fish's daughter just turned 5 years old, she has never slept alone and away from her family. She could only see her daughter via video call for a whole month because of the work they did. "Thankfully, our families respected our decision and were supportive, so that we could stay focus to serve."

Step up to serve more people

"Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40) When we are committed to supporting the disadvantaged and serving those in need, we are serving God. Although Fish and Mary are not Christians, they have shown the spirit of serving as Jesus did. "One day when I was on my way to work, I read an article about a professor's remarks 'we need to help each other during this unprecedented time.' I always remind myself that my objective is to serve more people at work ­ and now it's the time. How can I turn a blind eye?" Fish said. "Do it if you can", "Help as much as you can" have become their mottos, and giving up had never crossed their minds.

Through the Care Package Campaign, Fish and Mary reconnected with former service targets. "Among others, one hasn't been in touch since she had cancer. When we visited her again this time, she was very happy and thankful: 'Thank you so much for remembering me, these supplies came in timely'. We took a photo to commemorate this moment with a big smile on her." A radiant smile motivates them to continue serving. They always put their beneficiaries ahead of themselves because they do not see what they do at YMCAHK as a job ­ they live out Jesus' love through their commitment to serve and genuinely care for them.

Their dedication is commendable while the support from colleagues of other departments of YMCAHK is equally heartening, which makes the timely distribution of care bags possible. One of the colleagues, Ah Luen, a technician from the Facilities Management Division, volunteered to help on his regular day off and even took annual leave. The participation of colleagues has eased the burden on Fish and Mary. They are very grateful to the management and staff for their support.

Having been working partners for years, we have no clue that they have completely different personalities, yet one thing in common is, they are both kind­hearted and selfless. They fully support and trust each other, "Without her support, I would not have gone this far, and the Care Package Campaign might not have happened." Mary said with a smile. During their stay at the hotel, while late at night, they always looked into how to make delivery better and more efficient, in case similar service was needed in the future.

Looking back, Fish and Mary are more determined and committed to providing caregiving services than ever through this experience, especially for their former service beneficiaries. They have come to aware that they should always stay in touch and stay on top of their needs, including to ensure applicants of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme have the daily necessities while awaiting for the application outcome. Despite the simple caregiving acts, showing our respect and care to the beneficiaries is all that matters.

Serve Beyond the Job

Not only that the people of Hong Kong were devastated by the 5th wave of the pandemic, but also the most vulnerable minority groups; among others, our domestic helpers ­ quite a number of them were let go without advance notice and subsequently displaced with nowhere to go to.

Sponsored by the HKEX Foundation and supported by Mission For Migrant Workers and Bethune House Migrant Women's Refuge, YMCAHK launched a 3­month project on March 14 to provide temporary accommodation for the domestic helpers in need of emergency shelter at The Salisbury. A total of 20 rooms, which can accommodate up to 40 displaced domestic helpers (DH), were made available to those referred by the 2 non­profit organisations. As of May 31, The Salisbury welcomed a total of 100 domestic helpers and a newborn baby boy.

Since its establishment in 1994, the mission of the YMCA of Hong Kong Domestic Helper Unit has been to care for the wellbeing of the domestic helpers, including offering a safe haven for them to get together on weekends and a learning platform to equip them with various skill sets. Parni, a staff of the YMCAHK who for many years has been responsible for the Unit's Sunday learning programmes for domestic helpers, it is the first time she takes on an assignment which is very much different from her usual duties. "It was a challenge to me indeed, I was so confused in the beginning, but I had a willpower to help them." She never imagined her 'willpower' would enable the project to achieve beyond what was expected. Besides providing accommodation support, she also provides spiritual solace to them.

Since the project has launched, most of the homeless domestic helpers came in unscheduled. Parni once received a helper being let go at 7 am and needed to move in, she went back to YMCAHK to assist her without any complaint, "When I thought about the girl being suddenly terminated and left alone in a park with her luggage, I just wanted to help her as soon as possible." On a Sunday, since all classes were suspended due to the pandemic, Parni was supposed to be on leave, while she went to greet a domestic helper at the Star Ferry Pier, a call came in about another helper needed immediate shelter. And as Parni was at the reception counter helping check­in, another referral call came in. When Parni finally 'got off work' in the evening on that day, she recalled, "Luckily I was at the pier, normally on a Sunday, especially when there is no programme, The Salisbury might not have sufficient manpower to handle unscheduled check­in." Just like that, without any complaints about working on her day­off, Parni stepped up and was thankful that she was able to help.

Not only that Parni received new displaced helpers every day, she did her best to look after the girls beyond giving them a roof, she also took care of other chores such as booking return flight tickets, accompanying them to the hospital and checking on work visa matters. "I can never ignore their needs just because it is not my working day." Although she sacrificed her family time, Parni's husband has been very supportive, "Once when he came home from work, I was so occupied that I hadn't started preparing dinner yet. While I was cooking, I still kept working on the phone, and finally we had dinner at 11 pm." Parni has a very considerate husband, he also drove her to refill supplies for the helpers. His unfailing support allows her to focus on work.

Despite the helpers being temporary guests, Parni did her best to make them feel welcome. She was emphatic and always thought of them from their perspective. Besides arranging microwaves in their rooms, Parni specially arranged a room with cooking facilities and snacks, for them to get together, so that they can chat, support and comfort each other during their stay at The Salisbury.

"I am here for them"

For Parni, each domestic helper is not just a work case, but an unique sad story. She listened to them with patience and empathy. "Some of the girls couldn't stop crying when they just moved in. Although I cannot support them financially, I am here for them to listen to their stories. That's the least I could do to make them feel better." When helping them to overcome the challenges, Parni was delighted to be their source of emotional comfort. "I am glad to see their tears turning into smiles."

Considering the additional workload Parni needs to take on, she is not alone. The support from the volunteers of the Domestic Helper Unit took a lot of pressure off her. They bought snacks and supermarket cash coupons out of their own pockets; prepared diapers, milk powder and clothes for baby Edwin, let alone meeting the girls' emotional needs on their day­off by being there for them.

Never fail to do anything good which you deem as petty. Perhaps Parni sees what she did were insignificant, but her meticulous care means a lot to the displaced helpers. Her selflessness has shown the spirit of serving as Jesus did. "The Domestic Helper Unit is no longer just to equip the domestic workers with skills, but to serve the needy in the community." said Parni.

By: Vivian Chan, Communications Officer
YMCA of Hong Kong