Local women reflect on a mission of mercy
She usually considers her actions very carefully, but it took Nussica Cho Chau-man no time at all to decide she was going to help tsunami victims in Thailand.
'Day one I heard about it and applied for leave, day two we had meetings on the trip and day three I was on the plane to Khao Lak,' she said of her decision to join a social workers' mercy mission to the devastated resort.
She said she was shocked by the Boxing Day tragedy and kept thinking how she could do more.
So when she heard about a possible trip organised by Social Workers Across Borders, she contacted them immediately.
'I didn't even consider whether I should go - if I had thought about it, I wouldn't have got on that plane.'
That was 10 days after the tsunami struck. Since then she has visited the area five times at her own expense.
'I didn't see any bodies lying around but I could smell them,' she said of her first visit. 'I never thought about what I would see there.'
The work got off to a difficult start after local officials turned them away due to the chaotic situation.
But they went on to a refugee camp to help both adults and children deal with their emotions.
'I remember an old lady the most,' Ms Cho said. 'She had lost her son and looked depressed when I met her during the first visit. But the second time we went back, she recognised us and was willing to participate in the activities we provided.'
These included skill-training classes for adults to help them return to normal life, and games to help children readjust.
In one activity called 'Smile Action', the social workers gave smiley badges to children to encourage them to smile.
'When we try to help them, we shouldn't treat them with a sense of pity,' she said. 'Instead, we should put ourselves in their shoes.'
Insurance worker Jovita Chan Wai-fong, who attends the same church as Ms Cho, decided to join the fourth trip after hearing about the work being done.
She also did not take much time to make her decision.
'We're so fortunate to be in Hong Kong and I didn't realise how many resources we have until I saw the victims,' she said.
Ms Cho, who calls herself a 'crybaby', said she could not help but weep after her fifth and probably last visit in March.
'The most appropriate time to cry was when I visited there the first time, as everything was in chaos,' she said. 'But I didn't know how to cry at that time. Then on my last trip, I couldn't help it because I was going miss the people in the camp so much.'
The group's next trip starts on June 25 but the two said they were unlikely to join it.
'I've used up all my leave because of the last five trips,' said Ms Cho, laughing.