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Elaine Yau

Teenage suicides and accidents involving young victims have made the news in recent weeks.

A young life cut short is especially tragic and difficult to deal with, for family and friends.

Classmates of  victims sometimes feel  helpless or  fall into an abyss of despair.

In the face of tragedy, schools and the Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB)  have worked together to provide students with a means of coping with the  trauma of loss.

One  school that faced adversity bravely is YWCA Hioe Tjo Yoeng College in Ho Man Tin.

On December 15 last year at the school's annual sports gala,  14-year-old Timothy Ng collapsed. He was rushed to hospital,   but was later declared dead.

Struck by the sudden death of their classmate, students at the school were very sad.

'The junior form students were hardest hit by the tragedy,' said principal  Chan Wing-kit. 'Upon hearing the news,  some of them burst into tears at the sports stadium.'

Gary Law,  head prefect of the school, said he witnessed first-hand the frailty of life.

'I  recorded his name in the morning for breaking uniform rules. In the afternoon, he was gone. Life is fragile and we must treasure it,' said the Form Six student.

After the tragedy, teachers at the school scrambled for a way  to help the students deal with the devastating effects of loss.

'After discussion, we decided to suspend the sports competition. Junior form students were brought back to school to receive immediate counselling. A special meeting was also convened  so that teaching staff could come up with measures to help students overcome their negative thoughts and feelings,' said Mr Chan.

A crisis management team comprising teachers, educational psychologists from the EMB, and social workers was set up.

Students were encouraged to write memorial cards and make paper stars and cranes to release their pent-up feelings.

'We asked students to write down how they felt,' said Lo Yee-wah, the school counsellor.

'Class teachers collected and read all the cards. Those whose messages showed severe emotional distress were given further counselling.'

Chan Tak-yin,  Timothy's class teacher, was touched by the strength shown by her students.

'On the day of the tragedy, we [the two class teachers of class 1A] were devastated by his passing away. To make us feel better, my students wrote cards to encourage us,' said Ms Chan.

'They made 1,215 paper cranes to commemorate Timothy. A basketball  covered in signatures was also given to his parents. The paper cranes and basketball were buried with him.'

Religious faith was also a strong healing force for the Christian school.

'We held praying sessions during lunchtime after the incident,' said  Lee Kit-ying, chairman of the school's Christian education committee.

'We encouraged students to express their feelings in prayers. By turning sadness into action, both students and teachers became stronger after the incident.'

Child psychologists agree that expressing and talking about negative feelings is the most effective way to help  someone overcome trauma.

'Clinical research has proved that music, words and art have immense therapeutic effects,' said Anna Hui, child psychologist at Hong Kong Baptist University's child development centre.

'Youngsters should be taught to see silver linings to sad incidents. With counselling and support, suffering and loss can be turned into a lesson on life education.'



In the face of adversity