Hong Kong is regarded as a rich city by many but for some children, travelling overseas is a luxury. This is true for many of the 800-plus students at CMA Secondary School in Shek Kip Mei, Kowloon.
'One-third of our students come from families whose monthly incomes are about HK$8,000. Some are new immigrants from China. Many have never even been to Central, let alone flown anywhere,' says principal Mak Yiu-kwong.
This is why Mak began a series of educational programmes outside Hong Kong. 'I want to give students a chance to see the world. I believe that will broaden their horizons and boost their confidence,' says Mak, who became the school's principal in 2008.
So far, more than 100 students have been taken on trips to Macau, the mainland, Singapore and recently New Zealand.
Crystal Wong Wing-hang and Roney Lee Long-fung were among the 11 students who were sponsored to go on a study trip to New Zealand last month. The 11-day trip would have cost them HK$12,000 each, but they only paid HK$2,000 with the school sponsoring the rest.
'It was so boring on the plane. I had swollen feet,' says 18-year-old Crystal who had never travelled by air before.
'But the trip was magnificent. We rarely get the chance to speak English in Hong Kong. In New Zealand, we used English and talked to the residents all the time.'
