As street vendors in Sham Shui Po pack up for the evening, Ng Wai-tung is just starting on his rounds. The social worker wanders through rain-drenched streets, keeping an eye out for street sleepers. Sometimes Ng hands out blankets and shower gel, but mostly he offers friendly conversation.
'Giving them daily necessities can only ease their problems temporarily. What's more important is to restore their hope and motivation in life,' he says.
Ng has been working for the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO), an NGO that promotes social justice for grassroots communities, for 19 years. The past nine, however, have been devoted to helping people who have been forced to sleep rough.
Ng's efforts to help the homeless take control of their lives, in particular his bid to organise a street sleepers' soccer team in 2004, is acknowledged in an upcoming film, Team of Miracle: We Will Rock You. The film stars pop singer Eric Suen Yiu-wai and is due for release early next month. Directed by Adrian Kwan Shun-fai, it retraces Ng's struggles to recruit players among the homeless and build the kind of team spirit that will help them return to the workforce and to their families.
The filmmaker learned about Ng's work from a television programme about the soccer team, and was impressed after accompanying Ng on his rounds.
'Through Ng's story, I want to share a positive message about never giving up,' Kwan says.
