SPCCAA 25
blessed to have received generous donations from individuals and
corporate sponsors such as HSBC, who kindly put their faith in
what we do.”
Apart from sponsoring students in need, FOTH is also a pioneer
in introducing harp to the public. FOTH organised the First
Hong Kong Harp Festival in 2006, when there were only about
200 active harp students in Hong Kong. The Fifth Harp Fest co-
sponsored by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council was
hosted in the Piazza of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in 2014 – an
open-air display of live harp music from local amateurs, professional
harpists and international guests. It was also the largest public
showcase of harp display ever in Hong Kong. “With a series of
concerts and seminars that lasted for more than a week, the Hong
Kong Harp Festival increases the public awareness of harp and
promotes passion towards harp among Hong Kong people. It also
provides a platform for harp enthusiasts from all over the world to
have intellectual exchange.”
In 2010-2012, the Home Affairs Department of the HKSAR
government offered an opportunity to FOTH to establish a social
enterprise specialising in training the first-generation of local harp
technicians. “We aimed to bring up harp service skills in Hong
Kong so that our harp community can be served not only by
overseas regulators when they come to Hong Kong, but also by
local technicians who could provide more timely and attentive
service. The training included overseas harp-making factory visits,
personal coaching by harp makers or regulators from overseas and
seasoned professional harpists,” says Michelle.
In addition to FOTH, Michelle is also an avid philanthropist and
has won the Law Society of
Hong Kong's Distinguished
C ommu n i t y S e r v i c e
Award in three consecutive
years. She is currently
serving on the WiseGive
steering committee at the
Hong Kong Council of
Social Service. She is also
serving as a member of
the Hospital Governing
Committee of the Alice
Ho Miu Ling Nethersole
Hospital, an acute hospital
u n d e r t h e Ho s p i t a l
Authority serving the
general population in Tai
Po. “My father, Chow Kun Chee Roland (1955) who is also a
lawyer, is my role model. He is the one who inspired me to take the
path of giving and philanthropy for the benefit of humanity,” says
Michelle.
Michelle noted that some SAHK
*
service users are persons with
disabilities. They are talented but are unable to secure employment.
FOTH designed a flexible programme to allow them to work
while continue with their medical and therapeutic appointments.
“We believe it is a win-win situation. They are highly qualified and
experienced before they became physically disabled due to illness.
They are keen and eager to work again. They do a good job for
us while they can re-integrate into society. I would not hesitate
recommending employers to consider SAHK’s service users.”
As an avid philanthropist, Michelle (front row, first from left) also serves as a member of the Hospital Governing Committee of the Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital in
Tai Po.
The Fourth Hong Kong Harp Festival in
Harbour City.
*SAHK (
香港耀能協會
), featured in the 2015 Autumn issue of our newsletter, is another charity group with long-term partnership with SPCCAA.
