CS Daily：Participated in Hong Kong Social Service Expo 2023

Unveiling the plight of the poor

On February 15 2023, Hong Kong Christian Service (HKCS) participated in the ‘Hong Kong Social Service Expo 2023’ organised by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS). With the theme ‘Amplifier 33,’ we aimed at unveiling the plight of the poor and deprived people, referring to those who are disadvantaged and lack resources or social connections. 33 decibels (dB) is pretty quiet, as low as whispering, which implies the unheard voices in the community. In Chinese the word ‘貧’ (poor) can be divided into two words equating to ‘分貝’ (dB). It is believed that poverty can be eliminated through collective intelligence.

Friends and partners from welfare, health care, education, business and other sectors all came visit our booth to give support, including Mr Ho Kai Ming, JP, Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Lam Ching Choi, SBS, JP, non-official member of the Executive Council, Mr Choi Hoi Wai, JP, Chief Executive Officer of HKCSS, etc. We actively exchanged insights with visitors from all sectors on social services, and co-create innovative service ideas.

To raise social awareness on poverty, the exhibition booth featured the sound installation named ‘Voice of the Heart’ which allowed visitors to hear stories from 10 service users including caregivers, hearing-impaired people, ethnic minorities, elderly in residential care home, hidden youth, drug abuser, and youth who lived in children's home.

In addition, a simulated home environment of a single parent family and a family of elderly doubletons was presented with immersive virtual reality equipment (VR Cave) in the booth. It enabled visitors to feel as if they were in those families, experienced their daily difficulties, and could select different methods to assist the families, so as to work together to create more possibilities for those in need, echoing the theme of ‘To Hear, To See, To Create.’