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Update 36
The Boy Without a Name
Dear Friends,
It's been too long!
THE BOY WITHOUT A NAME
A 16-year-old boy stares vacantly at the wall in a Macau residential centre.
Nurses walk by with trolleys and medicines but he does not turn to look at them.
Relentlessly, almost obsessively, the boy scratches at his arms, re-opening
permanent wounds that he won't allow to heal.
His occupational therapist, Steven, told Adelaide in an interview that this
compulsive scratching is a typical sign of a neglected child. “It shows that he
was not given physical touch when he was young. He was never nurtured or loved,”
he said. The tactile action of scratching his arm is somehow compensatory for
the lack of touch from his parents or other people. There are other signs, too.
The boy cannot talk, or even make vocal sounds. “When the police found him
living on the streets,” said Steven, “he couldn't tell them his name. Our nurses
had to choose one for him.”
It was a fairly powerful story, and only one of many from this young,
quietly-spoken occupational therapist just out of college. He told Adelaide of
other patients at this centre in Macau who live with polio disabilities,
cerebral palsy, mental illness or mental retardation. A lot of these people
can't walk at all and, until recently, spent most of their time lying on their
backs staring at the ceiling. This inactivity and lack of stimulation aggravates
mental illness and retardation, but the centre had only a handful of wheelchairs
with which to take the residents outside into the garden, or let them sit and
watch TV. “There were terrible side effects,” explained Steven, “bedsores,
spinal deformities, deep vein thrombosis, it was awful.”
Steven had come into the warehouse especially to hand over some photos of the 20
new wheelchairs that Crossroads sent to this centre. It was a fairly big event
for the cash-strapped centre. “Some of these people have never had a wheelchair
of their own. They were taking turns each day to use three wheelchairs between
20 people.”
It was a great experience to meet this young guy, who really could have been
employed in a well-paid job in Hong Kong but had obviously chosen to serve in a
much poorer area, helping people who are often rejected by the rest of the
world.
PS – If you're saying 'Macau???', go here to see a map of this former Portugese
colony, now a special administrative region of China like Hong Kong:
http://www.vegamedia.com/macau/macafact.html
A BICYCLE BUILT FOR.....GAS BOTTLES
Well, we finally caved in and bought a bike. Those who have visited our place
will be pleased to hear it, although will wish we had thought of this while they
were staying with us. The 20 minute walk from Luk Tei Tong to the ferry pier is
good exercise, but is really too hot in summer. Now that we are on the cusp of
the sauna season in Hong Kong, we thought it was as good a time as any to make
this purchase. We chose to shop at 'Bike King', (was named 'King of Bicycles'
until someone told them it sounded a bit odd) where a friend of a friend who
sold us a second hand silver bicycle for a fairly cheap price. Rather than buy
two, we have borrowed a second bike from a friend who has a bad knee and can't
ride at the moment.
This second bike is a real gem. It is huge, old, clunky and equipped with the
bike equivalent of a bull-bar – a gigantic metal carry rack directly in front of
the handlebars. These kind of bikes are used by gas deliverers around the
villages to carry the large, heavy cooking gas bottles a few at a time. So far
Matt has only used it to carry violins and sundries but it certainly looks
menacing coming down a dark alley at night. Pedestrians beware!
FLAG DAY
It was a glorious, sunny morning on Hong Kong island – shoppers were out in
droves, strolling to and fro. But this was no ordinary Hong Kong day (and not
just because it was glorious and sunny). As pedestrians ambled through Central,
Wan Chai, Aberdeen and Causeway Bay, they encountered wave upon wave of polite
young people dressed in red or white shirts and neat caps asking, 'would you
like to buy a flag for Crossroads?'
On Saturday, 31st May, Crossroads held our first Flag Day. Hong Kong residents
are very familiar with Flag Days, which happen most Saturdays throughout the
year. Charities in Hong Kong can apply for permission to run one of these days,
which involve getting as many volunteers as you can out on the streets selling
stickers or 'flags' to raise money. Ours was a smashing success, not just
because of the fundraising aspect (although that was great), but because of the
wonderful sense of unity and common purpose that it brought to the extended
Crossroads community. Each of our full time team was assigned a special role,
like supervising teams or manning a bank collection post, and we appealled to
all of our community contacts to help make up an army of street collectors.
School students, Mums and Dads, ladies' groups, junior police clubs, church
groups and a pile of individuals who just wanted to be a part of it, rallied
together with warmth and cheerfulness to help raise money so that Crossroads can
continue to send goods to people who need them.
Many of the volunteers commented afterwards that it was quite an eye-opener to
see the poorest people donate the most money on the day. Many noticed domestic
helpers, who earn little and send a lot of money home to their families in the
Philippines, give $100 notes. Other local people in lower socio-economic areas
would stop to put down their shopping bags and search for a note to give from
their wallet.
It was an amazing morning of community spirit. Adelaide was an official
photographer for the day, while Matt's special role was to hoon around Hong Kong
in a 4 x 4 (sadly only in the passenger seat) collecting people's money bags.
There are some photos of the day, some of which Ad took, posted here:
http://www.crossroads.org.hk (click on the main photo on the front page for more
pics).
IN OTHER NEWS....
Crossroads is shipping to Brazil next Thursday! We shared the story of these
thalidomide victims in our last update and we're really happy that they will be
receiving their container soon. Adelaide visited Chinese International School
this morning along with a co-worker, to speak at the Year 9 assembly about this
shipment. The students had collected aluminium cans in a drive to raise an
incredible HK$33,000 (about $6,000 Oz) with which to purchase 25 new sewing
machines, 10 of which will be going to Brazil to help teach sewing skills to
people with thalidomide disabilities. Ad was quite excited about holding the
over-sized novelty check for the photo.
We went to see the musical South Pacific last weekend! It was a nice treat and
the first time for both of us seeing this particular show. We were kindly given
some complementary tickets (long story) and went along with another couple, Phil
and Sue. It's good to now know where those famous tunes come from (I'm gonna
wash that man right outta my hair!)
Till next time (which we hope will be next week),
Adelaide and Matt.
It's been too long!
THE BOY WITHOUT A NAME
A 16-year-old boy stares vacantly at the wall in a Macau residential centre.
Nurses walk by with trolleys and medicines but he does not turn to look at them.
Relentlessly, almost obsessively, the boy scratches at his arms, re-opening
permanent wounds that he won't allow to heal.
His occupational therapist, Steven, told Adelaide in an interview that this
compulsive scratching is a typical sign of a neglected child. “It shows that he
was not given physical touch when he was young. He was never nurtured or loved,”
he said. The tactile action of scratching his arm is somehow compensatory for
the lack of touch from his parents or other people. There are other signs, too.
The boy cannot talk, or even make vocal sounds. “When the police found him
living on the streets,” said Steven, “he couldn't tell them his name. Our nurses
had to choose one for him.”
It was a fairly powerful story, and only one of many from this young,
quietly-spoken occupational therapist just out of college. He told Adelaide of
other patients at this centre in Macau who live with polio disabilities,
cerebral palsy, mental illness or mental retardation. A lot of these people
can't walk at all and, until recently, spent most of their time lying on their
backs staring at the ceiling. This inactivity and lack of stimulation aggravates
mental illness and retardation, but the centre had only a handful of wheelchairs
with which to take the residents outside into the garden, or let them sit and
watch TV. “There were terrible side effects,” explained Steven, “bedsores,
spinal deformities, deep vein thrombosis, it was awful.”
Steven had come into the warehouse especially to hand over some photos of the 20
new wheelchairs that Crossroads sent to this centre. It was a fairly big event
for the cash-strapped centre. “Some of these people have never had a wheelchair
of their own. They were taking turns each day to use three wheelchairs between
20 people.”
It was a great experience to meet this young guy, who really could have been
employed in a well-paid job in Hong Kong but had obviously chosen to serve in a
much poorer area, helping people who are often rejected by the rest of the
world.
PS – If you're saying 'Macau???', go here to see a map of this former Portugese
colony, now a special administrative region of China like Hong Kong:
http://www.vegamedia.com/macau/macafact.html
A BICYCLE BUILT FOR.....GAS BOTTLES
Well, we finally caved in and bought a bike. Those who have visited our place
will be pleased to hear it, although will wish we had thought of this while they
were staying with us. The 20 minute walk from Luk Tei Tong to the ferry pier is
good exercise, but is really too hot in summer. Now that we are on the cusp of
the sauna season in Hong Kong, we thought it was as good a time as any to make
this purchase. We chose to shop at 'Bike King', (was named 'King of Bicycles'
until someone told them it sounded a bit odd) where a friend of a friend who
sold us a second hand silver bicycle for a fairly cheap price. Rather than buy
two, we have borrowed a second bike from a friend who has a bad knee and can't
ride at the moment.
This second bike is a real gem. It is huge, old, clunky and equipped with the
bike equivalent of a bull-bar – a gigantic metal carry rack directly in front of
the handlebars. These kind of bikes are used by gas deliverers around the
villages to carry the large, heavy cooking gas bottles a few at a time. So far
Matt has only used it to carry violins and sundries but it certainly looks
menacing coming down a dark alley at night. Pedestrians beware!
FLAG DAY
It was a glorious, sunny morning on Hong Kong island – shoppers were out in
droves, strolling to and fro. But this was no ordinary Hong Kong day (and not
just because it was glorious and sunny). As pedestrians ambled through Central,
Wan Chai, Aberdeen and Causeway Bay, they encountered wave upon wave of polite
young people dressed in red or white shirts and neat caps asking, 'would you
like to buy a flag for Crossroads?'
On Saturday, 31st May, Crossroads held our first Flag Day. Hong Kong residents
are very familiar with Flag Days, which happen most Saturdays throughout the
year. Charities in Hong Kong can apply for permission to run one of these days,
which involve getting as many volunteers as you can out on the streets selling
stickers or 'flags' to raise money. Ours was a smashing success, not just
because of the fundraising aspect (although that was great), but because of the
wonderful sense of unity and common purpose that it brought to the extended
Crossroads community. Each of our full time team was assigned a special role,
like supervising teams or manning a bank collection post, and we appealled to
all of our community contacts to help make up an army of street collectors.
School students, Mums and Dads, ladies' groups, junior police clubs, church
groups and a pile of individuals who just wanted to be a part of it, rallied
together with warmth and cheerfulness to help raise money so that Crossroads can
continue to send goods to people who need them.
Many of the volunteers commented afterwards that it was quite an eye-opener to
see the poorest people donate the most money on the day. Many noticed domestic
helpers, who earn little and send a lot of money home to their families in the
Philippines, give $100 notes. Other local people in lower socio-economic areas
would stop to put down their shopping bags and search for a note to give from
their wallet.
It was an amazing morning of community spirit. Adelaide was an official
photographer for the day, while Matt's special role was to hoon around Hong Kong
in a 4 x 4 (sadly only in the passenger seat) collecting people's money bags.
There are some photos of the day, some of which Ad took, posted here:
http://www.crossroads.org.hk (click on the main photo on the front page for more
pics).
IN OTHER NEWS....
Crossroads is shipping to Brazil next Thursday! We shared the story of these
thalidomide victims in our last update and we're really happy that they will be
receiving their container soon. Adelaide visited Chinese International School
this morning along with a co-worker, to speak at the Year 9 assembly about this
shipment. The students had collected aluminium cans in a drive to raise an
incredible HK$33,000 (about $6,000 Oz) with which to purchase 25 new sewing
machines, 10 of which will be going to Brazil to help teach sewing skills to
people with thalidomide disabilities. Ad was quite excited about holding the
over-sized novelty check for the photo.
We went to see the musical South Pacific last weekend! It was a nice treat and
the first time for both of us seeing this particular show. We were kindly given
some complementary tickets (long story) and went along with another couple, Phil
and Sue. It's good to now know where those famous tunes come from (I'm gonna
wash that man right outta my hair!)
Till next time (which we hope will be next week),
Adelaide and Matt.