Disadvantaged Hong Kong youths seek salvation through fencing - with a helping hand from Operation Santa Claus
InspiringHK Sports Foundation funds classes to help children relieve stress and acquire winning qualities so they can climb the social ladder
Poon Ip-yin goes over the new sword tricks he learned in fencing class at home with a wooden stick. The 11-year-old fledgling fencer from a housing estate in Kwai Hing has bold ambitions. He hopes one day to fence for Hong Kong.
"I was nervous when I first started training because I didn't want the more experienced boys to beat me," he said. "But then I started beating them, and I got a lot more confident," he said.
Ip-yin's coach, Rolf Chow Chi-Sang, believes Ip-yin may very well go far. The boy had talent, he said, and was wily and creative in his play.
Ip-Yin's dream may never have been sparked had he not found himself enrolled in a fencing programme for underprivileged youngsters. Hong Kong can be so fixated on grades that children rarely find time to try out and master a sport.
We definitely need more sports in schools, but schools don't set enough time for it
"We definitely need more sports in schools, but schools don't set enough time for it," said Judy Kong, who acts as chief campaigner and executive director for InspiringHK Sports Foundation, a local NGO which was founded to offer long-term training programmes to young people who would not otherwise have access to them.