How a group in Sham Shui Po is helping poor Hong Kong stall owners make ends meet
Idle Market, an NGO started by a woman who grew up in the area, collects household items for less fortunate to sell
Once a month, Shirley Lam Cheuk-wing and her six partners from Idle Market, a non-profit organisation, will hold a charity drive in Sham Shui Po to collect reusable items to give away to street stalls in the area.
Having grown up in the district, the 24-year-old Lam always had a strong sense of empathy for the less fortunate in the neighbourhood.
She found the long-established night market culture in the area very appealing and was partly inspired by it to start the NGO last year.
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“I know the harsh living conditions of residents around here. Every night, I see the owners of mobile stalls push their carts to Boundary Street or Pei Ho Street, where the night markets are.
There they would try to sell whatever second-hand items they have, from electronics, household appliances and clothes to daily essentials.”
After observing them for a while, Lam realised that the stall owners are mostly elderly people who barely have the strength to push their carts.
I know the harsh living conditions of residents around here. Every night, I see the owners of mobile stalls push their carts
