Our spirit of charity is alive and well
It takes real heart to make a truly great international city. And Hong Kong evidently has that. I came across it while raising funds on the street for flag day.
The experience left me exhilarated by the goodness that exists in the ordinary person. I found people I approached readily parted with their change. And despite the economic downturn, some were happy to exchange their $100 notes for a little banner.
But that, of course, was not what it is about. It is about helping others.
I have not been out raising funds this way since my days in the scouts, but that Saturday morning proved to be a revelation. Hong Kong people do care. They care where their money goes. They want to make sure it goes towards helping others.
There are only so many days that can be set aside for selling flags, yet there are so many deserving agencies. But these occasions are vitally important for the groups, because they present a major source of funding.
So, as chairman of the Hong Kong branch of the International Social Service (ISS), I thought I should do my bit on the group's flag day. I partnered veteran news broadcaster Tony Lawrence, well-known for his work with the BBC over the past 40 years. Less well known is the fact that he headed the ISS in Hong Kong before me, for nearly 28 years.
White-haired, in his 90s and still very English in his demeanour despite his long sojourn in the Far East, Tony stood a good foot above me outside the Landmark in Central. He attracted attention - and many buyers of the ISS flag.
In the process, we learned that the Hong Kong donor does not usually need to be approached. Most do the approaching, usually with a smile or a friendly nod; most like to know more about the organisation they are helping; they readily make a bigger contribution once they know about the cause and can identify with it. (A Filipino man put a dollar coin into my donation box but added a $20 note when told the ISS helped migrant workers from the Philippines); donors come equally from both sexes and from all age groups; the less well-dressed appear more generous than the designer set; and Caucasians seem more distant than local Chinese.
What troubled us both, however, is that ISS Hong Kong does not appear to be well-known, even though it has been here for about 45 years. ISS is an international non-governmental organisation based in Geneva. It has no political, racial, religious or nationality bias. ISS was set up in Hong Kong in 1958. Fourteen years later, it became the ISS Hong Kong branch.
Through its global network of branches and correspondents, ISS helps individuals and families with personal or social problems that require international co-operation. ISS Hong Kong pro-actively responds to the community's needs through an international adoption programme, finding loving homes for children and helping them integrate with their adoptive families.
It runs an international casework programme, providing services to help people solve problems arising from families that are geographically separated, with some members in Hong Kong and others elsewhere.
ISS Hong Kong also provides a post-migration service for Chinese new arrivals, helping them solve personal and family problems, and helping them adjust and integrate into the community.
C. P. Ho, a former news agency correspondent and television executive, heads the International Social Service's Hong Kong branch
