Humanitarian Deeds of Chivalrous Doctor

Dr Chiu Hon-ching moved to Hong Kong from mainland China when he was at Form 4. Undeterred by language barrier, he worked hard and has become a dentist upon graduating from The University of Hong Kong in 2009. Back in his university days, he had joined voluntary teaching in Guangxi. The experience bred his aspiration of setting up a voluntary group in his expertise.

 

Since childhood, he has learnt from the chivalrous deeds of his mother - also a doctor, who treasures helping patients as a doctor's divine duty. "The society nowadays is far too commercialized, making human relationship too complicated. Helping the needy without considering any gains has enabled me to recapture the meaning and spirit of being a doctor", said Dr Chiu.

 

Perseverance with Strength

After graduation, he started his voluntary dental services in Qinghai, Sichuan and the Philippines. The invitation to join his voluntary deeds was cold-shouldered by his peer-dentists in the beginning, but gradually paid dividends. In 2004, a few friends joined force with him to set up the Hong Kong Young Dentist Federation to run voluntary dental services regularly. The Federation is now pending for government approval of its application as a non-profit-making organization.

 

In Hong Kong, the Federation runs oral health talks and free dental treatment every month, mainly for deprived children, elderly and the disabled. In overseas, it runs voluntary services mainly in South East Asia, such as Thailand, Myanmar and Nepal.

The self-financed Federation often uses the dental equipment from Dr Chiu's clinic for the voluntary work and he also funds the Federation with part of his income. He always encourages his friends and colleagues to take part in humanitarian work, and hopes to recruit more like-minds from dentists and dental students for the Federation. At present, it has about 30 regular volunteers, including about 20 dentists and nursing personnel. Since its establishment, over 200 volunteers have provided services and benefited over 2,500 people.

At present, there are about 2,000 dentists in Hong Kong. Dr Chiu hopes that in future, every one of them will participate in the Federation's voluntary work. He also aspires to extend its overseas services to more South East Asian countries, as well as to Africa and South America; and to start its services in schools. "for a 60-year-old dental patient, the best you can do are patch-up jobs. That's why I hope to impart oral health knowledge to the youngsters."