“Let me go! Don’t waste my time!” This was how I responded when people asked me to do voluntary service.
I hate doing voluntary services. I know there are people desperate for help in our society. But my capacity is limited…I only have a pair of hands, how can I be able to bring influential changes to the needy? It makes no difference whether I participate in volunteer works or not.
This was what I thought in the past. I didn’t know how I got this distorted mindset, but that was how I behaved in the old days. Upholding this idea, I seldom participated in social services. If I have to, I must tell you that I am FORCED!!!
I remembered in one summer vacation, my class had to attend a mandatory service to pick up the rubbish in Stanley Beach. “Oh my god!” my first reaction was. How come the school arranged such drudgery for us? The rubbish stinks and the weather was so hot…I would rather go spend my time playing video games with my friends in an air-conditioned room.
“But for the sake of my OLE record, I have no choice but to bite the bullet,” I told myself. As expected, the sun was blazing that day. Without an hour, we were already sweating like a pig. Just when I was moaning and grumbling, a friend of mine suddenly tapped my shoulder.
“Hey, Carlos! I got a plan! Since Ms Cheung didn’t bring her attendance record and we two are the only squad assigned to this secluded spot, we shouldn’t waste this opportunity! Let’s escape from here in the afternoon!” My friend suggested.
“Bravo brother. You are a genius!” I seconded his marvellous plan.
While others were laboriously picking up the rubbish, we spent a wonderful afternoon buying souvenirs and enjoying great delicacies in the Stanley market. Originally our evil plan was not discovered, yet the stark contrast between our classmates’ clammy clothes and our stainless and dry outfits ratted us out.
“How come you guys never sweat? You guys must have slipped away while we’re doing service. How irresponsible you guys are!” one of my classmates said.
Yet I didn’t feel any sense of guilt. “The rubbish on the beach was not thrown by me. Why do I need to shoulder the onus to pick them up? And doing voluntary service doesn’t let you pay! The smart ones must leave this nasty site, while you and those remain at their posts are obviously a bunch of idiots.” I mumbled to myself.
Having no good perception towards voluntary services, I avoided joining any volunteer teams and events in my secondary school. This was not until I joined the Macedonia trip.
At the end of my semester last year, my friend suddenly phoned me.
“Hey, Carlos! Let’s join the Macedonia House Building Service Trip organized by the Student Affairs Office. Aren’t you being the fan of Alexander the Great? I’m sure you will love it!”
“What? A trip to the kingdom founded by Alexander the Great? It’s a good opportunity for me to go for a pilgrimage!” As a result, I was persuaded and went on the trip with him.
In Macedonia, we were sent to a build site to build houses for the local Macedonians. With the guidance of the local construction workers, we performed reinforcement making by learning to tie the steels and bars with copper wires together.
“Knock, knock, knock…” Despite the fierce heat, my teammates worked hard with their hammers and clamps. While for me, continuing my reluctance on voluntary services, I didn’t treat the work seriously. “I wouldn’t have salary for the service! Why do I have to devote my full energy in it?” I thought. Hence, whenever there was a boiling sun upon my head, I would hide under the shelters. I also made myself with many water-breaks to save my energy.
“Stand fit! After these few days of torture, I can join the sight-seeing trips to visit the historical relics of Alexander the Great!” I told myself every day. Obviously, the building part was not the thing I was looking forward and thus, I performed my job with couldn't-care-less attitude.
However, I was later moved by the construction workers there.
At the last day of our building service, a worker named Gorvan invited us to visit his home. In his hut, we grabbed ourselves some tea and talked about many topics ranging from the housing, lifestyle and cultural differences between Macedonia and Hong Kong.
During the conversation, Gorvan told us the average monthly wage of the Macedonians was just a mere € 360. Receiving this pitiful amount of money, many of the Macedonians had to live from hand to mouth to maintain their living.
“Life is very difficult…sometimes we’ll just skip our lunch to save money. But there’s a way to earn a better income …that is to work in the big EU countries like France and Germany. Being a construction worker there is much more lucrative than in Macedonia! Due to the better salary…many of the workers here have migrated to foreign countries lately…” Gorvan sighed as he told us.
Knowing that they were forced to leave their homeland, we felt very sorry. Yet I was curious why Gorvan and the workers we met didn’t follow the pathways of their counterparts.
Being confused, I then challenged. “But you could have earned a higher salary in the European countries…and being a volunteer for the ‘Habitat for Humanity’ can only allow you to earn a much lower salary (say like €100/month) or even nought…You’re still happy with the job?”
I was deeply touched with Gorvan’s answers…
“Such jobs must be done by someone. This is our country…so our country’s work must be done by our people”.
Gorvan continued. “My house was once sabotaged in the Yugoslav war. I know the feeling of being homeless very well. Therefore, I swear to myself--if I have the capacity someday, I will do my best to offer a helping hand to my community. I’m just a lucky one benefitted from the government’s housing scheme. There are still many people living in poor living conditions and many refugees from Kosovo remain homeless.”
“Yes! Of course, I’m happy…when I saw the smiling faces of my counterparts…I know that I’m doing good for my country…doing good for the community here, then it’s already enough!” Gorvan added.
Though Gorvan’s English may not be very fluent, we could sincerely feel his words are from the bottom of his heart…
Looking around Gorvan’s hut interior, an immense sense of guilt and remorse surged up inside me. The timber on the floor was peeled off, the paint on the walls was flaked off and during our conversation, the lamp in the kitchen kept flashing and flickering due to electricity instability. To be honest, Gorvan’s living condition was not decent, he was even one of those in-need to be aided for renovation. However, he didn’t moan or blame for his misfortunes. Instead, he took the initiative to help his community regardless of the low pay.
Evidently, his attitude is a stark contrast when comparing to me and many Hong Kongers. In Hong Kong, people are so realistic and to a certain extent, maybe a little bit selfish. Seldom do people perform extra duties without financial rewards. Worse still, juveniles in Hong Kong are the people in the soup--deeply poisoned by utilitarianism ideas. In normal circumstances, many of my friends and the majority of the adolescents will prefer enrolling in some money-making part-time jobs rather than taking the initiative to care for the deprived, the underprivileged and the handicapped in our society. And as demonstrated by the “former me”, many don’t understand the essence of volunteering and opine it was not their responsibility to offer service to people they don’t know.
However, that’s not the ideology Gorvan and the construction workers who worked with us held! Instead of being petty-minded, they wouldn’t haggle over every ounce. For them, it was not how much their salary matters. What matters was whether their job could benefit their country and their community. When they felt they were able to do some good for their counterparts, they would deem it’s incumbent upon them to help. Do not take things for granted—that was the message Gorvan engraved in our hearts. When we have a higher ability and become more successful one day, don’t forget those who are still suffering. It is then our obligation to contribute back and foster a more joyous, satisfying and better living for others.
“Gorvan can make it and I should make it too!” This is what I always remind myself when I come back to Hong Kong. Thanks to the trip, my perception towards volunteering has totally changed. I later then become an active member of the university’s volunteering team and are always willing to share my experience in Macedonia with others.
“Hello, my name is Carlos!” I was invited to be the speaker in a school’s assembly.
“Today I would like to share a message with you guys: it is more blessed to give than to receive!”
“In the past, when people asked me to do volunteer service, I would react by saying—'Let me go! Don’t waste my time!’…but after I meet Gorvan and his workers in Macedonia, my thought entirely reversed…”
Thank you Gorvan and the Macedonians, you have provoked many of us to rethink the essence of volunteering and most importantly, your efforts have turned your ordinary country to become extraordinary.