Operation Santa Claus: the athlete helping Hongkongers overcome adversity through sports
Andrew Ng will launch project which will not only get inmates to work out, but also use the calories they burn to feed people in need
Seven years ago, an avid triathlete founded a charity to encourage Hongkongers facing adversity to foster a positive mindset and regain their self-confidence, but how can exercising help them find a way out of their predicaments?
Andrew Ng Kwok Chuen, CEO of the Hong Kong charity Sports Change Life Foundation, said working out had “everything” to do with reforming inmates, helping rehabilitated people give back to society, feeding the poor and elderly, and ensuring youth were on the right track.
So far, the charity has helped 3,000 people, including more than 200 former inmates.
Ng is now embracing the idea of John – a rehabilitated man who asked to use a pseudonym – and will launch a project next year, which will not only get those incarcerated to work out but also use the calories they burn to feed people in need.
“Many rehabilitated people want to give back to society because the government spent a lot of money on rehabilitating them,” said Ng, a long-time volunteer trainer in the Hong Kong Correctional Services Department’s Life Gym programme, which encourages inmates to exercise.
OSC is an annual fundraising initiative held by the South China Morning Post and public broadcaster RTHK since 1988.
