CCOUC Trip to Xishuangbanna, Yunnan
Name: LAU, Dawnie Ho Hei
Attachment: CCOUC Trip to Xishuangbanna, Yunnan
Period: March 2016
The first step to my medical humanitarian journey ~ Yunnan
This CCOUC trip to Xishuangbanna has truly been an eye opening, inspirational and motivational experience for me. Not only did it “purify my passion” for humanitarian work (as Professor Vincent Mok perfectly puts it), but it has also allowed me to find my way amidst the heavy fog that kept me in the dark for the past few months.
Honestly speaking, I was very lost when I started medical school last September. Adjusting to a new university lifestyle proved to be a challenge, and I was also overwhelmed by the tightly packed curriculum and dense content of the medical course. In the very beginning, I managed to cope via my escape of running, but after getting injured, the heavy workload began taking its toll on me, and I gradually lost the burning fire of determination and passion within me. In the back of my mind, I knew that I loved humanitarian work, but with the impeding doom of mock exams, I had no idea where, when and how I could start off on this path.
Out of the blue came this golden opportunity, and I am extremely grateful to Carol, Sida and Clare for giving me the chance to be a part of such a marvellous and diverse CCOUC team. Thank you very much for letting me gain exposure to the field public health, and for giving me this opportunity to gain insight to the prospect of humanitarian work. Although I know this is just the tip of the iceberg, it is great to have a starting point and a compass to guide me towards what could possibly be my future.
「讀萬卷書不如行萬里路」
Through the series of pre-trip training sessions, Yunnan University empowerment training programme and master classes, I learnt about some of the fundamental principles underlying public health. I realised the importance of having cultural sensitivity and showing respect to others on field, and became aware of how humanitarian work is closely tied with both SDGs and the global efforts of public health. Additionally, I discovered the meaning of conducting public health fieldwork - the point being that one should not do public health work for the sake of witnessing a direct outcome, but rather, do something that you believe is worthwhile and correct: 做，未必會有成果；不做，必定不會有成果。(Professor Jiao Feng)
Nonetheless, it was through my experience in conducting the evaluation fieldwork, and the process of planning, preparing and executing the health intervention (as both a group member of disaster preparedness and an emcee) where I took away many important life lessons and skills. I came to realise that public health is an extremely challenging field, which deals with populations at large, and aims to shift paradigms to clear up misconceptions in target communities. I also discovered that being an emcee and organising even a small intervention event in a rural village is not an easy task, which would not have been possible without the collaborative efforts of the entire team. Not only are there logistical and security concerns, but the long list of uncertainties also makes fieldwork unpredictable and difficult to plan for. This has shown me the importance of being observant, flexible and adaptive to different circumstances, which are important skills I will carry away with me in the future.
I would like to extend my thanks to Professor Emily Chan and Professor Sian Griffins for providing me with such a wonderful learning opportunity and for being such inspirational figures to all of us. I would also like to thank CCOUC, the staff team (Tony, Carol, Sida, Clare, Gloria, Kelvin, Carman, Professor Bill Goggins, Pong, Guily, John, Eric and Joyce) for organising the trip and keeping us safe, as well as our wonderful team (Felix, Grace, Marco, Belle, Rainbow, David, Jane, Jeremy, Eric, Nancy, Dianne, Han, Sherman, Tobi, Zero, Irene, Emily, Stephanie, Christina and Aaron) for supporting me and accompanying me as I begin my journey in the humanitarian field
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It has truly been an honour meeting such experienced and passionate individuals from CUHK, HKU and Harvard, and I am glad to have had this opportunity to work with and learn from all of them. Now that my passion has been reignited, I hope to seize more chances to work with CCOUC and also take part in other voluntary humanitarian service trips, to broaden my vision and increase my exposure to the field, so I can gain more experience, skills and knowledge in preparation for my future.
