Opening hearts and minds in Cambodia
In the summer of 2014, students from the School of Optometry at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University went to Phnom Penh to provide eye screening for HIV-infected orphans as part of the Service-Learning programme that has become a hallmark of PolyU education.
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According to UNAIDS, more than 5,000 children up to the age of 14 are living with HIV in Cambodia. Many of them are orphans, having survived parents who died of AIDS.
In the summer of 2014, students from the School of Optometry at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University went to Phnom Penh, the country’s capital, to provide eye screening for HIV-infected orphans. This was part of the Service-Learning programme that has become a hallmark of PolyU education.
PolyU is the first university in Hong Kong to introduce a credit-bearing Service-Learning requirement for all students regardless of discipline. Aiming to inspire students to become socially responsible citizens, Service-Learning connects professional education with societal needs.
The participating students took inspiration from the children they cared for. “Before the trip, we thought AIDS was very horrible and children with AIDS must feel desperate,” said computing student So Wai-yan. “We observed that AIDS is not horrible and the children are just like other people. They even know better how to cherish life.”
