HK youngsters, some with physical disabilities and others challenging living conditions, have defied all odds in pursuing their goals and have come out with flying colors. Kathy Zhang takes a look at some of the splendid examples set by these aspiring teenagers.

'Sound" is the ironical and unlikely name for a youthful group of dancers who cannot hear. Their will to succeed can be measured in the group's mission statement, "make the impossible possible".

The team founder Heidi Wong Suet-ying is an 18-year-old dancer, one of 10 local youngsters between 11 and 18 who received honors in this year's Hong Kong Outstanding Teens Election.

Wong's dream to become a dancer goes back to when she was 3 - at the moment she saw a pink ballet skirt. "I dreamed of becoming an elegant dancer, and that started me on my way," she said with a smile. Against all odds, she pursued her goal and now she rightfully may call herself a dancer.

"Sound" comprises seven youthful dancers, all hearing-impaired. Since the team was founded in August 2017, the five girls and two boys who make up the team have performed at more than 20 events. They danced at graduation ceremonies for primary school students, weddings and charity events.

Wong has made it a personal mission to help other young people through their difficulties. She had plenty of her own difficulties before realizing her dream.

Many times she could not hear the beat or feel its vibration. She was unable to compete with other dancers who had no hearing impediments. Wong considered giving up the dream that inspired her since the age of 3, and dropping out of dancing class.

"She sometimes complained to me at home," Wong's mother Choi Tsz-wan said, "but she did not give up."

"I knew I would regret it if I gave up," said Wong.

Wong overcame her challenges by spending many hours after class, working with a teacher who cared about the girl's dream. Her teacher would stand in front of a mirror, while Wong practiced her step.

Teachers helped her to see and feel the beats she could not hear, by applying special techniques.

"They would count the beats with their fingers, giving me direct and clear instructions. Sometimes, they'd pat my shoulders in time with the beats to help me 'feel' the music," she said.

Being part of classes among a group of kids with normal hearing lifted her confidence. "I felt I wasn't so different from the others," Wong said.

Wong became a member of the primary school's dancing team. She and her partners won top place at Hong Kong's school dance festival. "These accomplishments and my feeling of making progress inspired me to carry on."

When she rose to accept her award at this year's ceremony, Wong said she felt excited, receiving the award from Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung.

Wong's dream is to be a teacher for hearing-impaired people. She feels lucky for the chances she had and wants to encourage others to get out there and keep trying.

Defeating inner cowardice

The Outstanding Teens Awards are given to young people who are innovators or have overcome challenges while demonstrating good character, and performed community service in their extracurricular activities. The awards are a biennial affair.

Another of this year's honorees was Cheng Ching-wing. The girl, 15, from a single parent family, has an elder brother, a younger brother, both with specific learning disabilities, and an elder sister.

When Cheng was 10, her teacher pulled her aside one day. "My teacher told me my brother's performance at school was poor and asked me to help take care of him," Cheng said.

The little boy needed prodding to do his homework, not to forget his textbooks and his full tableware to school. It became part of Cheng's daily routine. If her brother forgot, or had other mishaps, Cheng always lent a helping hand.

Both of her brothers were subject to outbursts of temper. Cheng had to play "tutor" and sometimes mediator when her brothers got into fights.

About three years ago, her brothers had a fierce battle over who could use the computer first. The argument ended up with the two grappling with each other on the floor. Cheng tried to separate them, to calm them down. Her efforts failed. Cheng shouted at the boys and started to cry. Then she went and locked herself in her room.

"On one hand, I felt so exhausted that I thought about giving up on them. On the other hand, I felt guilty that I had shouted at my brothers." Cheng recalled.

Cheng took some comfort after the brothers knocked on her door and told her they were sorry for misbehaving.

"It is inevitable to have some temporary unpleasant moments, but I believe it will be rewarding in long term," Cheng said.

The younger brother passed his exams and now attends a mainstream middle school. The elder brother is pursuing further studies, after graduation from secondary school.

Cheng regards challenges and burdens as good "fortune".

Last year, she participated in the Hong Kong Secondary School Students Mini-movie Competition with a group of her schoolmates. Cheng, a quiet girl, was appointed director of the film. "I didn't even dare to shout 'action' or 'cut' during shooting on the first day," Cheng smiled, "our tutor had to help me do that."

The tutor couldn't take over the whole process. Cheng kept encouraging herself. After she shouted out her first instruction on the following day, things seemed to go in the right direction.

The project proved rewarding, when the mini-movie won first prize in the competition. Hearing the news, Cheng said she was exhilarated, "I had defeated my inner cowardice."

In the interview section of Hong Kong Outstanding Teens Election, when asked what kind of animal she would like to be, Cheng's answer - a gecko - impressed the judges.

"A gecko can lose its tail and quickly regenerate the lost body part," Cheng explained. Cheng said when facing the setbacks, she wants to be tough and then get over it. "Sometimes, when I get hurt, I hope to be positive and heal in the least amount of time," she said.

Luzern Chow, 17, won the prize for his performance in volunteer works. He recalls his amazement at the end of Form 4, when he learned he had been named president of the Other Learning Experiences Student Executive Committee at his school. "I felt pleased but my mind went blank," Chow said. He had no idea how to carry out the responsibility placed on him.

He delved into community organizations, trying to get a grip on volunteer work. He decided that would be his mission as president of the Other Learning Experiences program.

Rounding up student volunteers for his first community organizing effort wasn't all that easy. He had devised a program for student volunteers to tutor primary school students at a community center in Kennedy Town.

He had meeting with staff at the community center. He arranged class times, set the student quota and mapped out the course content. His peers at school gave Chow's plan a cool reception. "Secondary school students have homework piled on top of extracurricular activities. It is understandable that the willingness among them to spend time and do volunteer work is low," Chow said.

He managed, in the end, to put a team together, by making a promise to his team that each would be called upon to tutor primary kids only once a month.

Some of their primary charges were rowdy kids and disrupted the tutoring session. Others sat staring blankly. "I felt I was talking to the air, facing about 40 Primary 4 to 6 kids," Chow recalled.

He met with his team members. Soon a consensus was reached. They would make the sessions more interactive. The youthful tutors reached out to their younger peers, communicated with them and tried to make friends.

"When they learned to trust us, they cooperated with us and shared what they were thinking and feeling in class," Chow said.

Chow's experience as a coordinator and organizer for volunteer projects got an additional boost in a school community service project for the elderly.

Just before this year's Dragon Boat Festival, Chow was working on the project with volunteers from other three middle schools in Central and Western district.

The volunteers made rice dumplings to serve to 40 elderly people on Chow's campus.

Chow has his most satisfying moment when one of the elderly people told Chow that he felt young again, like a teenager back in school.

"This is what we can do for our community. As students, we also were given opportunities to learn how two generations relate," Chow said.

Now in Form 6, Chow spends more time on school work and preparing for secondary school graduation exam. Talking about the volunteer projects, Chow hopes he can continue to contribute to the community and help make volunteer activity his school's long-term project.

Chow wants to create his own social enterprise in future. He reckoned every volunteer activity he proposed and organized was like a "mini startup".

He wants to apply what he's learned to the real world, off campus.

Contact the writer at

kathyzhang@chinadailyhk.com

From top: Cheng Ching-wing (second left) in a group photo during a summer exchange tour in Kazakhstan this year. Luzern Chow (left) receives his award in the Hong Kong Outstanding Teens Election 2018 presented by Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung. Heidi Wong Suet-ying (center) and other dancers of “Sound” perform at an event.

(HK Edition 12/14/2018 page7)