BERNARD VAN ZUIDEN stepped off a boat in Hong Kong in 1946, looked around and made a decision that was to change his life - and continues to change the lives of thousands of people today, 25 years after his death.
The Dutchman was on his way back to Holland, having been interned in Shanghai during the second world war, when his boat docked for a stopover in Victoria Harbour. When it set sail some days later, he wasn't on board. According to his nephew, Peter van Zuiden, his uncle took one look at Hong Kong, fell in love with it, and made it his home until his death 33 years later.
Today, Peter van Zuiden, 57, oversees his uncle's legacy: the multimillion-dollar Van Zuiden Charity Trust that helps charities and organisations throughout Hong Kong. Since making a donation to its first recipient (the Helping Hand charity for the elderly, in September 1984), it has gone on to donate millions of dollars to almost 40 organisations, including the Red Cross, the Hong Kong Physically Handicapped and Able Bodied Association (PHAB) and the China Coast Community - and all virtually unnoticed.
This month, Van Zuiden was guest of honour at the opening of the Aileen Bridgewater Rock Garden at the Helping Hand's Cheung Muk Tau Holiday Centre for the Elderly in Sai Kung, designed by Peter Tsang Hon-man, a retired social worker with an interest in rock formations. The garden, funded by the trust and named after one of Helping Hand's founders, provides a peaceful environment for the elderly. Tsang travelled through China to gather rare and unique rocks for his creation. Pride of place goes to a dragon-shaped natural stalagmite he donated, having had it for more than 30 years. Even before its opening, elderly visitors could be seen walking through the garden and resting in the many shady seating areas it offers. Bridgewater says she asked the Van Zuiden trust for help with the respite centre because, 'I'd seen, in my own family and outside, elderly people with dementia treated with impatience, rudeness and downright cruelty. My hope is that this centre will act as a little pebble in a pond which will spread when other agencies come and learn from it.'
Yvonne Tong Yuen-yee, an administrative officer at Helping Hand, says the trust had already helped fund two exercise rooms, complete with equipment and a nurses' station for one of their care and attention homes. It's believed the trust has contributed more than $2.7 million over the years to the charity.
Van Zuiden, who visits Hong Kong twice a year to help administer the trust and distribute its funds, acknowledges the legacy of his uncle. 'I'm getting a lot of credit for what my uncle did,' he says.