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Jennifer Ngo

Oliver Chou

A unique feature of Operation Santa Claus is to pair up donors and beneficiaries whose paths may never have crossed otherwise. The result often exceeds just give-and-take. Nice surprises crop up.
A case in point is when Deacons, a law firm and a major donor for Operation Santa since 2011 met with Art in Hospital, a small NGO in art therapy, at the Duchess of Kent Children's Hospital in Sandy Bay one warm winter morning.
In addition to their "match-making", the two groups were also there to bring festive joy to a group of physically disabled young patients through games and gifts.
It did not take long for the sight of the wheelchair-bound youngsters to dawn on the elite professionals.
"You call me an elite in the professional circles. Well, I am not quite sure about that when I look at these brave children and their parents in the face of adversity," said Lilian Chiang, the senior partner at Deacons.
"They may not have a high position in society, but I think they are truly heroes," she added.
Chiang led a team of seven solicitors and administration staff to call on the paediatric hospital. It is their fourth year taking part in Operation Santa Claus, an annual fundraising campaign co-hosted by the South China Morning Post and RTHK.
Songs and gifts aside, they brought in Santa, played by registered patent attorney Jeff Mclean, to surprise the youngsters.
"The kids told me they did not believe Santa would come in such warm weather. But then when a Santa came in full costume with personalised gifts for each boy and girl, they were truly elated," said teacher Ching Ying-wah, adding that he or any other Chinese person would never excite the kids as much as a "real" Western Santa.

Observing the scene was Grace Cheng Sim-yee, director of Art in Hospital, a small NGO in Wan Chai and a beneficiary of this year's Operation Santa Claus.
Over the past 20 years, she and her group, which specialises in art therapy for hospital inpatients, have noticed that the profile of the people they serve has changed, particularly with an increase in the number of mentally ill people they come across.
"We started off by painting murals in hospital rooms," Cheng said. "Now, we increasingly do projects involving the elderly in infirmaries or people dealing with different types of psychological illnesses." But the art projects and handicraft workshops the group conducted for the sick did not constitute art therapy, she stressed, instead calling those sessions "art as positive energy".
That approach was reflected in the activity-oriented services the NGO formulated, especially for younger people, who were creative, more active and needed more stimulation - and who seemed to be coming down with illnesses such as psychosis in greater numbers.
With a cash injection from Operation Santa Claus, Art in Hospital is now planning a workshop to possibly teach the elderly and people living with psychosis to put together a photographic diary.
Providing cameras for patients, Cheng said a team of volunteer designers, artists and photographers would teach them photographic skills and help them build their own "life book".
"We hope that the process will be therapeutic as well," she said. "Like painting murals - which is what we did most during our early years. It's using art to change the environment and make it happy. I strongly believe in the healing power of art."
Cheng said Art in Hospital worked mainly with public hospitals at their invitation, but usually had to raise its own funds.
"We want to secure more stable funding so as to take the burden off hospitals - whose staff are already very busy, but it's hard," she said.
Volunteers from Deacons offered one possibility for collaboration.
"With the Operation Santa donations, I plan to run 24 photo diary classes in hospitals for 10 patients in each class. Perhaps I can do one here at this lovely children's hospital," Cheng said enthusiastically.
Sue Chan, principal of Hong Kong Red Cross Hospital Schools, which runs the Sandy Bay facility, considered this a God-given gift on a special occasion.
"This year is the 60th anniversary of our schools in Hong Kong, and I am thankful for your sharing that brings a smiling moment to all of us," she said.
 

How you can give


		Donate online by credit card at osc.scmp.com/donate



		Donate at an ATM or any branch of HSBC (account number 502-676299-001 for SCMP Charities Ltd - Operation Santa Claus)



		You can donate with a cheque payable to "SCMP Charities Ltd - Operation Santa Claus" and mail it to: Operation Santa Claus, Morning Post Centre, 22 Dai Fat Street, Tai Po Industrial Estate, Tai Po, New Territories.



		Donations of HK$100 or more are tax-deductible. If you would like a tax receipt, please send the completed donation form and original bank receipt to the address above.



		Please call 26808159 or e-mail osc@scmp.com with any inquiries, or visit us online at osc.scmp.com



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Operation Santa Claus

Deacons lawyers team up with Art in Hospital to bring joy to physically disabled at Hong Kong hospital

Volunteers from the Deacons law firm join Art in Hospital in bringing smiles to youngsters at the Duchess of Kent Children's Hospital - and a close encounter with Santa Claus. Photos: Jonathan Wong

News

Hong Kong

Lawyers from Deacons team up with art group to bring joy to physically disabled children at Sandy Bay hospital - and all for a good cause


A unique feature of Operation Santa Claus is to pair up donors and beneficiaries whose paths may never have crossed otherwise. The result often exceeds just give-and-take. Nice surprises crop up.
