Count your blessings and giveyour lai see to those in need
A eye-opening trip to Cambodia with Oxfam changes the way pop star Denise Ho sees life
Canto-pop singer Denise Ho Wan-sze says that the key to a rewarding life is to be happy with what you have and to do your part to make the world a better place.
'The most important thing in life is to be happy and count your blessings. Once you've sorted out your basic needs - food, clothing, shelter and transportation - you shouldn't worry about whether you are earning HK$1 million, HK$10 million or HK$100 million,' said Ho, who travelled to Cambodia with the charity Oxfam in October.
The four-day trip, during which she visited poor people in slums in Phnom Penh and a fishing village in Kampong Chhnang Province - both frequently plagued by floods - made her feel fortunate to be living in a modern, highly-developed city like Hong Kong.
'We live in tall buildings, but the people there [in Phnom Penh] live in wooden houses along the river. Every year the homes flood for about seven months. They [the local people] told me that, in the worst situations, the water rises above their heads. They then have to move somewhere higher up, such as a temple,' Ho explained to about 60 Primary Four and Five students at Lok Sin Tong Primary School earlier this week.
'When they return home, things in their houses have been washed away or destroyed. As the dirty water is littered with waste, their houses smell.'
Many people in Phnom Penh make a living by picking up cardboard or plastic bottles. On average, a family earns less than HK$30 a day.
'Parents wish their children could study and learn to read and write because, if the kids continue to work as scavengers the family's livelihood will never improve,' said Ho.
People in the fishing village live in constant fear of floods. Ho and the Oxfam staff had to enter the village on a boat. The children walk to school in the filthy water every day.
'You can see many children with skin problems on their legs because there are water-borne diseases,' she said, adding that some children bathe in the water because there's no fresh water supply.
Ho was touched by the children's bright smiles and optimistic attitude towards life despite their harsh living conditions. 'People who live in affluent cities are perhaps greedier. They see what other people have and they feel they don't have enough and keep wanting more,' she said.
'The Cambodian children don't get to see the outside world and don't have time to feel bad. They work hard to support their family and are happy as long as they have three full meals a day.'
The bond between family members - revealed by the children's eagerness to help their parents with fishing or collecting plastic bottles after school - is lacking in Hong Kong, Ho said.
'In that sense, the people there lead a richer life than we do.'
The singer set up a fund earlier this year to arrange for her fans to do charity work. She said she hopes her role as an Oxfam ambassador will encourage young people to care about the unfortunate people in Hong Kong and around the world. One out of three people in developing countries in Asia earns less than HK$8 a day.
