Build & Wish team’s work bringing hand sanitiser to disadvantaged communities amid Covid-19 earns Spirit of Hong Kong nomination

Working in groups of three, the volunteer effort has seen sanitiser dispensers mounted in the hallways of more than 1,900 older buildings in the city

‘Our volunteers come from all walks of life,’ charity’s leader says of more than 1,100 residents who turned out to help with the initiative

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Build & Wish team members Hin and Gary (left to right), fill a hand sanitiser dispenser they installed at a housing estate in Sham Shui Po. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 10:00am, 2 Aug 2020Updated: 6:30pm, 2 Aug 2020

As Hong Kong battles a devastating third wave of the coronavirus, those living in decades-old tenement blocks across the city are now able to more easily clean their hands to protect themselves from infection – thanks to a specialised team of volunteers.

Working in groups of three, members of the Build & Wish Voluntary Team, have fitted wall-mounted hand sanitiser dispensers in the hallways of more than 1,900 older buildings.

On each errand, they first sounded out residents’ interest in the hygiene-promotion project, before then installing the dispensers and recruiting neighbourhood helpers to refill them.

The Build & Wish Voluntary Team has been nominated for this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards for their work bringing hand sanitiser to disadvantaged communities during the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Hin, who serves as the group’s chairman, said that 1,126 Hongkongers, mostly recruited through mobile-messaging platforms, had taken part in the initiative over the past 13 weeks.

“Our volunteers come from all walks of life,” he said.