New Eyes in Sham Shui Po

This trip to Sham Shui Po,

my favorite shopping spot in Hong Kong,

was MUCH different than the rest.

A group of us, from our Church Branch,

attended a service project there and

I came home with NEW EYES.

We made our way from the 

MTR (Subway) Station 

to the Nam Chueng Community Center.

There we went through a 30 min. orientation,

ALL IN CHINESE.

I knew what they were saying was very

important so I had one of the girls in our

group translate after.

We would be visiting the homes 

of some of the needy members of

the community.  Our main purposes in 

visiting were to assess their needs and

let them know the community center was

available to them for support.

We were to be positive and helpful.

We wore name-tags to identify us as volunteers.

These were the food bags we delivered.

Canned veggies, noodles and toothpaste.

The streets I was used to shopping on 

were now places where people lived.

Very SMALL, NARROW, OLD places.

We visited three homes -

Home #1 - A little elderly lady, homebound 

with cancer that had spread to her hips so she 

couldn't walk.

Home #2 - An unemployed gentleman living

in a room the size of our bathroom.

He shared a kitchen, with a tiny sink and

one tiny propane burner for cooking,

and a bathroom with EIGHT people.

Home #3 - An 83 year old man

who didn't leave his apartment much

because he lived on the 5th floor and had

to go down, and then climb back up, 

ninety steep and narrow steps.

My shopping excursions to Sham Shui Po,

one of the POOREST parts of Hong Kong,

will NEVER be the same 

because I now see the place with

NEW EYES.