2022-09-07

Our Students, Our Spirits : Ellie Yau Yan Yu

Ellie Yau Yan Yu: GX’s mission in Hong Kong to equip the underprivileged with necessary resources and education is important because it greenlights the need for public health education.

Ellie, a secondary school student studying in UK, first joined GX Foundation as a student helper in the summer of 2021. She took part in the Community Outreach Programme in both 2021 and 2022, assisting in packing and distributing disaster supply bags as well as creating the posters and information sheets on public health.

Often we are overwhelmed by news of the humanitarian crises in other places which need desperate medical attention, and may overlook the huge number of the population in our own home of Hong Kong living in poverty who lack the means to take care of their health, especially under harsh conditions such as those imposed by COVID lockdown restrictions. 

Because of this, Ellie believes GX’s mission in Hong Kong to equip the underprivileged with necessary resources and education is important because it greenlights the need for public health education. In addition to distributing vital health supplies such as oximeters and face masks to the needy, it is paramount to teach them how to use these supplies during each and every visit.

On the very first day of her first outreach programme, Ellie reached the building of one of the households but could not find the apartment unit. After standing in the blistering sun in confusion for a few minutes, Ellie tried calling again—and the answer came cheerfully to her right. The elderly lady led her through a small alley to a nondescript gate on the side of the building and revealed that she, in fact, lived right underneath. 

Following the lady down to a cramped and very damp basement with a singular, blinking light illuminating the furniture and other amenities that were rendered unusable because they were accumulated into massive piles lining the walls, Ellie was shocked by the living environment of the lady.  After chatting to the lady and completing the health survey, she discovered the lady was 85 years old.

Ellies recognised this memory would not fade from her. She very grateful for the chance to interact with this lady and experience her bright, optimistic attitude. Ellie realised that more support for accessible housing is sorely needed for the elderly who struggle with mobility issues. She hope that leaving the items she could use day-to-day would ease the burdens of her.