Stop, listen and put overstressed Hong Kong pupils first, help group pleads

“Can you stop and listen to our voices? Are tests and evaluations more important than our lives?”

This was part of the plea from Love Our Kids (LOK) as part of its youth suicide prevention efforts to help tackle the increasing pressure of Hong Kong’s education system following seven student suicides in the city last month.

LOK was co-founded last April by Annie Cheung Yim-shuen and Rachel Tong Chung-yee, both mothers of children who struggled with the rigours of the city’s school system, which has long been criticised for putting unbearable stress on students.

The non-profit has around 20 to 30 volunteers – including parents, teachers, social workers, and psychologists – who organise half-day programmes at primary and secondary schools to help students express themselves and relieve their academic stress, if only for a few hours.

They’ve so far been invited to five schools to run tailor-made programmes with activities such as pottery, expressive art therapy, dance, writing and conversation.

“For the kids, at that moment, their minds are at peace,” Cheung said.