So Sung Tin, Chow Ka Yee and Cheuk Hok Fan (2nd to 4th left, back row) and volunteers
The almost three-year-long coronavirus pandemic has nearly called a halt to all fabulous campus life and events. The anti-pandemic lockdown measures deterred students from travelling overseas to take part in exchange programmes as usual. Chow Ka Yee and So Sung Tin, Chung Chi alumni; and Cheuk Hok Fan, a fifth-year Chung Chi-er majoring in Chinese Medicine, never compromise on being stuck in the city and decided to fly abroad to embark on an exciting expedition. They were sponsored by Chung Chi’s “FLY Award” for participating in a rhino conservation volunteer programme in Zimbabwe. Apart from getting closer to nature, the trio also had a chance to reflect on their routines and lives.
Looking back on the past few years of our university life (U-life), we feel a little empty. Under the haze of the epidemic, the wonderful city was locked down, and so was our U-life. Countless activities like exchange programmes were all suspended under the pandemic control. All we can do was interact with one another through screens. Therefore, the idea of doing something special at the last moment suddenly arose. Maybe just going abroad and relaxing before the end of our carefree schooldays was what we had been craving for so long. We ended up exploring various possibilities with such a vague idea, and found a rhino conservation volunteer programme in Zimbabwe. Being fascinated by large creatures such as rhinos and elephants, and attracted to Africa’s vastness, primitiveness, and wildness, we finally chose to travel to Zimbabwe to take part in such a meaningful voluntary activity.
The interviewees have realised the dream of getting close to wild rhinos.
A film camera was used to capture the moment of the elephants drinking water.
Q: What was the most memorable part of the journey?
The experience in Zimbabwe is too blissful and wonderful that we could hardly mention all in the sharing. Not only the local culture and people but also the uncontaminated nature have made us always miss the place after we have come back to Hong Kong. Perhaps the most memorable part is our relationship and interaction with nature. In Hong Kong, we rarely have an opportunity to get close to nature and wild animals. In Zimbabwe, on the contrary, most of the things we used were taken from nature, such as the wood used to repair the fence, the crops we ate every day, the wooden houses we lived in, and so on. We no longer treat nature with an attitude of superiority but have learned how to humble ourselves to respect nature and “coexist” with plants, trees, and different animals. We observed how local people cherish natural resources by reusing scrap wood as fireplace fuel, and how they cherish the environment by picking up every piece of garbage on the ground. After we have been back to Hong Kong, we started to think of what we can do to protect the environment on this well-developed land.
The trio encountered a few giraffes on the grassland.
Q: What is the positive impact of this journey on you?
Having observed what happened in Hong Kong in the past three years, perhaps we did not have any expectations or visions for the future. We just succumbed to everydayness. However, after the journey and graduation, we began to ask ourselves seriously, “What do we want to do in the future?” Under the stereotypical education system in Hong Kong, this question usually triggers us to adopt a life-planning-oriented thinking mode, that is, asking ourselves what career path we aspire to pursue. However, when there was a chance to experience another way of life in Zimbabwe, we reminded ourselves that we don’t have to follow the most typical path in Hong Kong by striving hard to secure a stable job. Therefore, we started to question ourselves, “What do I want to do in my life?” It should not be merely a job, but also “the way of life we desire”. An individual’s aspiration cannot simply be fulfilled by a job, a position or a company. When it comes to what you want to do in your life, how can it be narrowly defined by a job? For the time being, we plan to work in Hong Kong for a few years, in the hope of going out and exploring the vastness of the world and the beauty of nature in the future.
