Sars medic Tse Yuen-man's story is providing inspiration and education
Schools in Hong Kong are using a memorial booklet telling the story of Sars-fighting doctor Joanna Tse Yuen-man to motivate and inspire students.
Tse, the first public hospital doctor to die from the disease, was one of the first to volunteer to work in a Sars ward in Tuen Mun Hospital. She was infected while trying to resuscitate a Sars patient, and died on May 13.
A spokeswoman for Tse's family said: 'Her story is about not giving up easily, and about loving people no matter what their status in life. Unlike historical role models, Tse was an ordinary person of today's Hong Kong.'
Irene Lo Oi-lan, principal of Oi Kwan Road Baptist Church Liu Kwok Pat Fong Kindergarten in Wan Chai, agreed. She said: 'Dr Tse had a very positive attitude to life. She is a real-life example and testament to how to sacrifice oneself to save others.
'Her background and upbringing were very similar to the general public's, so I think it will be easier to educate the children [with her story].'
The memorial booklet, detailing Tse's life story and including tributes to her, was produced 10 days ago by a Christian group to which she belonged, the Praise Assembly. All 50,000 copies have been given away already, and more than 200,000 copies of an expanded edition will be distributed next week to schools and hospitals.