Jan Chan Ka-chun has always enjoyed running around in the great outdoors. Even as a child, he was mischievous, he says, “but I loved nature. I would run around ponds and water drains and on the hillside, go fishing, and capturing spiders.” That love of the countryside and the world’s great places, has translated into a lifelong passion for exploring. He has trekked at the Arctic, Antarctic, the Taklimakan desert and the Borneo rainforest.
Chan, 41, not only wanted to be an explorer and to have these outdoor experiences for himself. He also wanted to share them with Hong Kong secondary school students, who often lead very sheltered lives of academic study, never escaping the urban landscape. So in 2006, Chan set up Mighty Rovers, a programme that combines environmental protection, cultural exchange and ecological adventure. Since 2010, students from various secondary schools in Hong Kong have been chosen each year to join him on his expeditions – for free. 'In 2010, 22 students went to Antarctica, in 2011, 22 students went on a 17-day expedition to the Arctic. Last year, nine students were chosen to visit the Taklimakan desert in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of northwest China and in July, nine students went on a 10-day adventure to the Borneo rainforest in Indonesia.
“This programme was created to encourage the teenagers’ personal growth and to make them realise their life ambitions and their responsibility to society and to the environment. We hoped that we could provide an alternative and a special learning experience for local teenagers,” Chan said.
Initially Chan found it hard to convince others – particularly those who he wanted to fund the children – about the merits of these expeditions. Companies wanted to know what the benefits for them of sponsorship were. But eventually he managed to convince some firms.
“They saw the value of this programme,” he says, and also were able to advertise their company names as part of the programme.
Chan always travels the route of the expedition prior to taking the students, to ensure their safety and that the trip will go smoothly. It’s an experience that takes often closeted and pampered Hong Kong students out of their comfort zone. Suddenly there are no parents or domestic helpers to run around for them, and they are operating in a harsh environment, so the students do mature quickly, says Chan.