DESPITE COMING FROM AN exciting world of facilitating top-level business deals and having the opportunity to travel to exotic destinations around the world, Natalie Chan could not be happier with her new role assisting local people in need as project director for this year's Operation Santa Claus.
It is a role which is enabling Ms Chan to focus on helping Hong Kong charities and people who are less fortunate in our community, a far cry from her previous positions in the business world.
'My focus has changed from working on a more business-to-business level, with Hong Kong companies seeking new markets and exposure abroad, to my current role which focuses on seeking business support for local causes,' Ms Chan said.
'The change from my previous positions has been a real eye-opener. I view my current role as a facilitator, linking corporations with charitable organisations, and to raise awareness of the many causes which require community and corporate support in Hong Kong. I always feel there is more that I could do to help the community.'
It is a mindset that Ms Chan first showed prominent signs of in 1996, when she left Hong Kong for a one-year exchange programme in the United States, she travelled to Nicaragua, in Central America, to team up with a pastor and visited remote communities. She played with children, taught them some simple English and volunteered in a medical team.
She found the trip so rewarding that she followed this up with a journey to Nepal during her winter break in 2001. She conducted further volunteer work including the arrangement of a fun day at an orphanage near Kathmandu and the giving of gifts such as stuffed toys for children, which she had collected from colleagues before departing.