Forging bonds

Tiffany Shum Sze-tung was among the first batch of GX Foundation volunteers. In 2019, the then medical student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, traveled to Cambodia with doctors and medical workers from the Chinese mainland.

During her time volunteering, Shum was deeply impressed by the "people-to-people bond" between the Chinese volunteers and the Cambodians.

Doctors from the Chinese mainland had also left behind their families and put their work on pause for several months to participate in one regional aid program.

Engaging in humanitarian aid overseas gave the young doctors opportunities to see Belt and Road Initiative projects under construction, as well as the people and efforts involved, Shum said. Chinese engineers working on BRI infrastructure projects in Cambodia stayed in their posts for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic and did not go home, she said.

"I could see their determination, and feel their joy when they saw that we are all Chinese," said Shum, who is now a medical doctor. "There is a lot of hard work behind the tall buildings we see in these countries."

Volunteering in underdeveloped areas has also made Shum appreciate the joy of living in Hong Kong. The city has sufficient resources and a well-developed medical system, which are both important to spur young people to go out in the world and help promote exchanges with less-fortunate people.