South African kids and officers
break down cultural, racial barriers
During the recent Rugby Sevens week, officers of Sham Shui Po Division met 10 aspiring young rugby players from Soweto, South Africa.
According to Acting District Commander Sham Shui Po District, Mr David Grant, most of the kids are orphans or from broken families. They live in shacks without water and electricity in crime-ridden cities. One of them, ironically called Lucky, recently lost his father and uncle in a shooting incident. During an experience sharing session, it was discovered that at least six out of 10 had experienced being the victims in a gun-related incident. One of them had been robbed four times, twice in his own home at gunpoint, whilst another, Sessi, had been robbed of his trainers by four robbers with guns.
"Against this tragic backdrop, they risk the gangs, the guns and the drugs to go to school. They are also keen on sports and as part of the Laureus Foundation sponsored Soweto Schools Programme, they joined a rugby programme for about 500 underprivileged Soweto kids and were specially selected to visit Hong Kong during the Rugby Sevens week with their visit being co-hosted by our own Operation Breakthrough. Only one of them had ever been on an aircraft before so for them to have the opportunity to come to Hong Kong is a wonderful and very valuable opportunity," Mr Grant said.
"In their own community," Mr Grant continued, "the kids have to deal with crime as best they can, often resorting to 'mob justice'. To see how we operate and how we interact with the public gives them a better understanding of authority and it also gave our officers a chance to break down cultural and racial barriers and perhaps better appreciate our own situations and our huge contribution to making Hong Kong a safe city."
"I have no doubt the kids were left with a very favourable impression of the Hong Kong Police and the question they asked me several times, 'what can we do to get rid of the guns', was, very sadly, one I could not answer easily," said Mr Grant.
At the conclusion of the visit, each of the kids and their escorts personally expressed their heartfelt thanks to Mr Grant for what he and his officers had done for them.
Many Force members are actively involved with Operation Breakthrough as helpers in keeping with the Force's strategic objectives of Engaging the Community and Promoting Social Responsibility. Like Operation Breakthrough in Hong Kong, the Laureus Foundation is a worldwide body that seeks to give underprivileged children opportunities through sports. More information on both can be found at their websites: http://www.breakthrough.hk/ and http://www.laureus.com/foundation/about.
The
Soweto
kids
together with Operation Breakthrough rugby kids and players
from different countries