Isabelle Wei | The Monarch Ranger
HONG KONG — At the Canadian International School of Hong Kong, backpacks cling to cafeteria walls like a cluster of grapes, bright and glistening. On the table by the entrance is a mini bread house, and around the house are stacks of iron-on patches. A poster by the door reads, “Activity: Paint Your Patch.” Neighboring it is a jar of markers, pencils, and fruit-colored paints.
Students build a snowed-in “bread house” with cafeteria treats to raise awareness for those living in substandard housing.
Photo: Isabelle Wei
Last month, students from grades 1 to 6 cluttered the school’s cafeteria streets, where they spent the afternoon decorating house-shaped patches to participate in an art-based fundraiser hosted by a group of high school students.
The volunteer activity was a slice of the school’s 14-year-long support for Habitat for Humanity, a multinational organization that seeks to “bring people together to build homes, communities, and hope” and create “a world where everyone has a decent place to live.”
Since 2009, high school students at the Canadian International School of Hong Kong have organized a myriad of events to promote adequate housing through fundraising and active advocacy campaigns. This year’s event involved 2-hour painting sessions spanning from January 16 to 20. Students dabbled with markers and fine liners, a bed of newspapers soaking up the excess. Here a rainbow, there a deep sea. Walls were purple, grass blue. Glitter was often involved, parents reported.
On top of donating money to Habitat for Humanity, high school students also volunteered their time — sitting down with children to discuss the importance of providing safe, sustainable homes for all.
“This opportunity has sparked my passion for equity in housing, as I believe equal access to adequate, affordable shelter helps foster positive social change — a catalyst for a fairer, more stable world,” Grade 11 volunteer Yuha Masuda told reporters.
One of the organizers, Ananya Desai, along with her friend Ella Middleton, said they had managed to raise their target of HK$50,000 (US$6,375) for Habitat for Humanity. The yearly event, which helped to support the school’s Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter since its inception in 2009, was an annual highlight that enabled students to take initiative and raise funds for a good cause, Ananya said. It marked the annual culmination of months of workshops to share Habitat’s message of taking responsibility for shaping future cities, Ella added.
Paint Your Patch was established to tackle the housing issues that plague our society. With the belief that all homes are gifts — full of joys and afflictions and profound experiences that ought to be shared — this event was created to educate, engage, and reinforce students’ understanding of the significance of a home and what it means to them.
For the final session on January 20, students from all across the school sat bundled near the hot chocolate stations and began painting the last house-shaped patches.
“Everyone seems really excited here, especially since after the pandemic, the opportunity for gatherings like this has been rare and uncommon,” said Sophie Chong, a Grade 5 student participating in the event for the first time.
“It’s so nice to come in and paint for a few hours. Every couple of minutes, a student comes and we get to chat about housing in Hong Kong. I’ve learned a lot about subdivided apartments and cage homes. That’s why I’m painting a big, colorful villa on my patch for everyone to live in.”
After the patches were dressed in coruscating colors and paint, Ananya Desai said: “We sincerely thank the school community for their generous support of our annual Paint Your Patch event. Donations have been incredible and will be used in the renovation of two flats in public housing estates, along with a build trip to Cambodia in the coming summer.”
Romina Lecher, a high school volunteer guiding the younger students, said the patches could be ironed on clothes, backpacks, and hats.
“They did an amazing job,” Lecher said of the young students. “Everyone loved the patches and were highly engaged in discussions regarding the global housing crisis. Especially with the recent pandemic — which has forced us all to stay at home — many students empathized with the billions of people in need of safe, affordable housing.”
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This article won 1st place in our Good Samaritan Writing Competition! Learn more about Isabelle Wei and our other senior staff writers here.
The activity that you guys did for find raising was amazing. It was a great effort, a way forward for development and prosperity of down trodden. This is a great idea.