An Idea to Generate Social Impact

One Sunday spectacle of Hong Kong is the sea of domestic helpers gathering at different public spaces, including parks, flyovers, street corners and staircases. While locals are accustomed to this accepted norm, a group of empathetic students is hoping to bring about a change.

As at April this year, around 332,000 domestic helpers are employed in the city. Without a proper place to go on their rest days, they have to resort to public venues that are often cramped, exposed and unhygienic. This situation concerns five young girls from the DHMC Siu Ming Catholic Secondary School. “We wonder why this is the case. This issue is worth our attention.”

Hakka people, historically speaking, are faithful believers of fungshui, assumably owing to their migration activities dating back to as far as the Qin dynasty (221-207 B.C.). Starting afresh in a place they had never set foot in was no easy task. The ancestors of the Hakkas eagerly looked for protection.

While some may regard fungshui as mere superstition, the Hakkas designed their village with a thorough understanding of the physical environment in a hope to maximise their wellbeing. This traditional wisdom, which has contributed to the peaceful co-existence of the ethnic group and the environment through generations, is very much similar to concepts highlighted in contemporary academic disciplines such as environmental psychology.