#1 Volunteer Training Scheme 2002
"SamariKIDZ" was one of the new projects of the Hong Kong Outstanding Students' Association that year. The word "SamariKIDZ" is a merge from the words "Samaritan" and "Kids". The Good Samaritan is a Biblical character well-known for his charity and compassion for others, while "Kids" refers to our Primary 4 to 6 participants in this scheme. For the previous 4 years, we had geared our Volunteer Training Scheme projects towards students from Form 3 to 5, but that year, we have decided to aim the "SamariKIDZ" project towards younger students in Hong Kong, in order to develop a sense of awareness in serving the needy at a young age. Our goal was to promote the importance of helping others through doing social service. Apart from introducing the fundamental practical skills in organizing social service projects to the participants, we aspired to nurture and embed in the participants the heart and vision to serve the community, by strengthening their personal qualities that are most essential when doing voluntary services. It was our hope that the participants can learn to acquire such virtues and become truly Good Samaritans through participating in the Volunteer Training Scheme 2002-2003 – "SamariKIDZ". Primary 4 to 6 students from approximately 20 primary schools in Hong Kong were invited for this project.
#2 Hong Kong Youth Summit 2003
Hong Kong had faced many challenges in recent years, from the bursting of the bubble economy in 1997 to the SARS outbreak early that year, making all of us realised we could no longer afford to be complacent. It was vital for teenagers, on whose shoulders the future rests on, to be socially awared and to have a sense of belonging towards Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Youth Summit was a simulation of the General Assembly of the United Nations: through a series of discussions, participants analysed problems from different perspectives to make realistic proposals for improvement to the Government. This project would enable our youth to think deeply about social issues and realise that they have the ability to contribute to the betterment of our society. Two hundred Forms 4 to 6 students from over fifty-three local and international schools throughout Hong Kong were invited for this project.
#3 Interflow Camp 2003
The theme of the Interflow Camp 2003, "World Peace — Let's sPArK it UP!", was to spread the message of World Peace, teamwork and co-operation among participants. We had incorporated a number of challenging Mass Games, which require participants not only to work as a team, but also form coalitions with other groups in order to "survive". Our aim was to stress on promoting Peace among the groups, as well as the importance of working together as a whole. One hundred students ranging from Form 3 to Form 5, from over thirty secondary schools throughout Hong Kong were invited for this project. This camp took place in a Cultural Chinese setting thousands of years ago, where those with strong martial arts skills ruled China. Once upon a time, there were ten Wulin tribes in China who were just as strong as each other, each having its own distinct strengths and qualities and believed that they were better than one another. As a result, the tribes fought to become the strongest and most powerful of them all. Each tribe sends ten of their top leaders to the 3-day Martial Conference to represent their people. They must fulfil many tasks which require not only physical endurance, speed, agility and perseverance but also quick decision-making skills, logical thinking, creativity, grace and intellect. This conference slowly transforms into a war among the ten tribes, forcing them to form allies with other tribes until they reach the ultimate understanding that Peace and Cooperation will be the only way the tribes can utilize their qualities to the fullest. Although the words War and Peace seem to contradict each other, the 3-day Conference (our camp) aims to allow the leaders (our participants) to explore the real meaning of War and Peace, eventually leading them to the conception that progress will only be made amongst groups through cooperation.