Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong
Service Trip in Greece, 2-12 / 01 / 2020
From the 2nd to the 12th of January 2020, we had the privilege to host 16 young people from Chinese YMCA of Honk Kong in Athens and in Thessaloniki YMCA, for their service strip. The aim of this program was to raise cultural awareness in social issues among the participants.
The young people had the opportunity to participate in this Intercultural Service trip that was focused on all things mentioned below.
- In-depth cultural awareness and understanding of the impact of cultural differences.
- The necessary foundation and tools to become culturally competent.
- A better understanding of the cultural and social challenges facing multicultural workplaces and refugee related projects.
- The opportunity to enhance cultural sensitivity and competence
- Practical tools to reduce cross-cultural misunderstanding and encourage positive cross-cultural working relationships.
Please read some of the thoughts that our friends from Hong Kong have shared with us after they returned back home;
“…[…]… It was such a blast to meet the volunteers in the YMCA of Thessaloniki. They’re so friendly and lovely. The cultural night is definitely one of the best nights I spent in Greece. I had so much fun dancing and doing goofy moves with the volunteers in the music. …[…]…” – Yeung Ho Suet, Zoe
“…[…]… I really enjoyed my time spent in YMCA Thessaloniki. Thanks to the great hospitality and support from Emma, and other volunteers, we got to know more about other people’s culture, the current situation of refugee and the services they are receiving right now. We also had the precious chance to visit refugee camp and the two programmes organized by YMCA Thessaloniki – REACT, REACT for life and DIADRASIS. Despite the short period of time, we could already have a taste of how the refugees are spending their time in Greece and the obstacles they are facing. …[…]…” – Chan Ying, Kaitlin
“…[…]… Pure happiness can last forever inside the heart of the refugee kids. This sentence can definitely conclude my reflection upon this service trip to Thessaloniki. …[…]…” – Pang Hoi Ching Karen
“…[…]… Last but not least, I am glad to meet all the volunteer in Thessaloniki, all of them are so nice and easy-going. I enjoyed the cultural night a lot, with the exciting just dance session, doing all these traditional dances and movew. And of course, thank you Emma for taking care of us these days, giving us the greatest support. I really had a great time in Thessaloniki YMCA. Thank you so much. …[…]…” – Chu Pui Lam, Polly
“…[…]… After having services in Thessaloniki, I finally understood what the teenagers and kids really need. Instead of giving materialistic support, offering love is more and more important. Despite the fact that when we initially met them, they would try to hug and have physical contact with us. The possible reason is that they lack care and love during their childhood, while some of them lost their family members. Hence, when we came to refugee camp, they would try to seek love from us. The general public may perceive the kids or teenagers need money or food, nevertheless, love and care are more indispensable at their childhood, so I realized that being a volunteer to provide service to them is more practical and useful than donating money. …[…]…” – Hui Wai Ho Ivan