Giving disaster relief that shows the bright side of humanity

Ms Carol Tse Ka-yee is an operating theatre nurse. She has been actively participating in volunteer work since she was young. She found helping people in need can bring her the greatest satisfaction. “As long as I can help, I will go for it. I hope everyone around me is happy and I love seeing their smiling faces.”  

In 2007, Carol went to Xinjiang with a volunteer team to support the operations for children with congenital foot deformities. “I always work in the operating room in Hong Kong. During the voluntary service there, I could witness their recovery progress and see their smiling faces after the recovery.” The smiling faces have been motivating Carol’s long-term support in emergency relief operations over the last 15 years. To offer medical support to the vulnerable groups affected by disasters, she was deployed to China, Haiti, the Philippines, Nepal and Bangladesh by the Hong Kong Red Cross. 

Although there are many challenges in disaster-prone areas, Carol has never thought about giving up. “There was a senior team member for whom I have great respect who passed away during a mission. I was deeply saddened by the news and took a long time to recover. Later I was told that he had stayed committed to his work till the very end of his life. This has inspired me to keep going no matter what kinds of difficulties encountered.”   

Apart from emergency relief operations, Carol endeavours to enhance the disaster preparedness works in disaster-prone regions, hoping to minimise the negative impacts brought by disasters in the long term. She joined the “Health In Action” and assisted in disaster preparedness projects in the slums of the Philippines and the mountain regions of Nepal. Natural hazards are inevitable, but Carol believes that with mutual support we can overcome all difficulties. “I am thankful for the opportunities given to me over the years, which inspire me and allow me to grow. Every smile I see in the disaster-affected areas is a sign of strength, which in turn gives me courage. I hope I can become stronger so that I can serve more people in need.” 

Humanity is to do our best to safeguard others’ happiness with a caring heart