Ho Man grows up from a dysfunctional family. Because of knowing God, his life is changed. Because he is loved, he learns to care for others. Adversity tempers and equips him to the career path of outreaching social work.
Re-adaptation
Ho Man’s father is an addict; his mother is also unable to take care of him because of illness. He was arranged to live in different children homes and foster families. Since year 3 in primary school, he moved to live in Evangel Children’s Home (ECH). He had been getting along with people from different backgrounds since he was a child. Ho Man understood that everyone would protect oneself in different ways. At the early stage, he was not good at interpersonal skills but gradually he understood others’ needs.
Ho Man said that he was very uncomfortable with the move at the early stage. At that time, the children in primary and secondary school levels in a large age gap had to live together. When he was just a little child, he found it difficult to get along with others, and his emotional behavior had been poor. He especially thanked “Sheung”, the house parent, for her patience and tolerance. She patiently taught him how to get along in a group. He began to care about the feelings of others, learn to understand emotional management, and with the help from his religion that he found love, he had the peace of mind spiritually.
Transition to live independently
Due to the lack of family support, Ho Man had to plan for his own living when he was at his young stage preparing for DSE in 2020. He was really helpless. Thanks to the assistance from social workers, he applied for accommodation in youth home. With transitional stay arrangement, he was relieved that he could advance his studies.
At youth home, he is required to manage his own finances: such as tuition and living expenses; every day after school, he has to buy food, cook, take homework and housework, and is exhausted. But Ho Man does not complain about his background. Grateful for the youth home’s offering of different workshops such as interview skills, grooming, social interaction training and personality test or else, he can understand better himself, learn about the requirements and career direction in the workplace. The life coaches give him personal guidance based on “Life Path” to explore for life. These help add value for his transition to live independently.
Setting a Goal
As a slow-type person, Ho Man pinpointed that he is not good at interacting with people. But because of knowing God, his life is changed. Getting out of the shadow of a negative past, and believing that God will open up the way for him, he has a different level of self-confidence. He also keeps on being grateful. He has been cared for and encouraged by social workers and house parents since he was a child. With them as role models, he has set a goal to be an outreach social worker that he could take advantage of his own experience to help others.
