What: Established in 1974 by a group of young people dedicated to serving the community, the association is now an independent volunteer group that provides a wide variety of services to elderly people as well as those who suffer from mental or physical disabilities. The group also offers summer training programmes for young people to better equip themselves as volunteers. How: The group will hold a summer volunteer training programme, V-Begin 2006, from July 5 to August 27 for those aged 16 to 25. The programme involves going to workshops and training camps, and undertaking some social service activities. You can download an application form from www.yunnfai.org . Call 9606 4279 for more information. Volunteer: Sammi Lam Yun-yee, 21, is an associate degree student at Hong Kong Baptist University. She has been working as a volunteer for Yunn Fai for five years and is the chairperson of the association. 'During summer in 2000, I searched on the internet for volunteer work and found a summer programme run by Yunn Fai. It offered classes and training camps where I learned the skills to run and design activities. We then went to a centre for mentally-handicapped people and conducted a two-hour programme that included games, singing and magic performances. I was the MC [master of ceremonies] for the day. 'When you work for one of the larger social service organisations, the people you work with are different every time. 'Also, a lot of things are already planned for you. At Yunn Fai, I have made many friends and learned how to put together a programme from scratch. 'Experience is very important. Some volunteers are afraid of mentally-handicapped people. A female volunteer once told me that she froze when a mentally-handicapped woman held her hand. 'And some new volunteers are careless because they lack experience. For example, they will say 'Look at this!' or 'Let's go there!' during activities with blind people, forgetting to mention the directions. 'Also, I think it is important that, no matter what kind of volunteer work you do, you do not see the people you serve as leading miserable lives. There is a sunny side to everyone's life. 'My experiences with Yunn Fai have helped me to become more mature. I am the chairperson this year and I therefore need to approach a wide variety of people. I find that each person has his or her own character and must be handled differently. I have also gained more experience in handling emergency situations.'
