Love the Whole Person of Our Neighbors

Group 4 (Tai Kok Tsui)

　　Thanks to the Spiritual Formation Day, I have the chance to join a community guided tour organized by Mission to New Arrivals in Tai Kok Tsui. This organization encourages participants to actually go into the community in person and learn what the poor really need so that they know how to respond to their needs in an appropriate manner.

　　Our tour guide pointed out that a lot of churches are aware only of the need to save people’s soul but not their practical, day-to-day needs, like clothing, food, housing, jobs, etc. The guide told us they call their impoverished clients “neighbor” (“gaai fong”) instead of “the poor,” because by calling them “the poor” we would be labelling them as belonging to the lowest strata in society, waiting for help. To call them “neighbor” means approaching them as a neighbor. As their neighbor, one has to know the characteristics and culture of the neighborhood by heart so as to understand what the clients need. Otherwise we risk doing more harm than good.

　　When our guide showed us where the street sleepers stay, we were told that it is legal to sleep on the streets in Hong Kong but illegal to “obstruct the street.” Government officials often remove street sleepers’ tents, citing “removal of street obstruction” as justification. When they do so, is it the objects blocking the street or the people sleeping on the street that get more care?

　　Through the community guided tour, our guide wanted us to understand that when we help others, we should look at things from their viewpoint rather than our own. It dawned on me that very often we try our best to help our clients when what we do might not be what the clients actually need. As we serve others with love, we should not only do our best but also learn about the background of our clients in order to give them what they really need. Only by putting ourselves in their shoes can we provide service that better suits their needs.

　　Jesus came not only to save our souls but also to restore “human identity” for mankind; we should therefore take care of the whole person. While reconciling the relationship between God and humanity, we should not neglect their material and spiritual needs as well as their dignity so that their whole life may be transformed by Jesus. We must do a lot more than providing material aid and passing on the knowledge of salvation.