August, 2005

Internship at HKCI - It Is So Good to Be Here

Phyllis Wong Mei-fung

(The author is a master of divinity student at Chung Chi Divinity School at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.)

Time flies! The two-month internship at the Hong Kong Christian Institute (HKCI) has ended with an uplifted heart and filled with the power of compassion. It was a blessing to have had such an opportunity as the summer internship at HKCI.

The area of concern of my internship dealt with the Sexual Orientation Discrimination Ordinance and homosexuality issues. My understanding of HKCI's position is to accept sexual minorities as human beings who have the right to enjoy dignity and equality, and thus, the organisation joins efforts to fight against discrimination against sexual minorities by supporting legislation and policy changes to bring equality and justice to this marginalised group.

I find that HKCI's participation in civil society in which it strives for human rights and social justice has demonstrated a good social witness in society in the name of the incarnated God, Jesus Christ. During the course of advocacy when I contacted some sexual minorities, I was touched by their heartfelt sharing of appreciation for the HKCI staff and their endeavours to seek justice on their behalf. An attitude of acceptance with respect is so important to heal the wounds of the oppressed and to build human relationships of mutuality with love and peace. I have begun to taste the richness of what social ministry means as a part of God's mission in the connection of the personal and the systems of society. God's redemption is never abstract; it involves the sharing of people's flesh and blood experience and loving relations of mutuality. I am grateful that I was given such an opportunity to be involved in the community of sexual minorities and to listen and learn from their struggles.

The participatory approach of learning at HKCI enabled me to reach out to the unreachable. The process could be threatening and heartbreaking as I needed to meet these "strangers " and listen to truly sad stories, but I have no regrets as such experiences are enriching and meaningful. Breaking through one's "comfort zone " is an important self-transforming process. After the heart-to-heart contacts, I find that these "strangers " are not as strange as I originally thought. They can be friends, and I discovered that we have many things in common. Differences — yes, there may be. Yet differences enabled me to appreciate diversity and God's miracle of creation. In addition, differences helped me to learn how to live peacefully with others in humility.

An HKCI internship that allows students to learn through participation is significant to students' growth and learning. Another asset is HKCI's extensive networks in both the secular world and Christian communities that facilitate students' external exposure. Students are given opportunities to participate in meetings and programmes that are related to one's area of concern and HKCI's work. We were thus able to meet people from different walks of life. For example, apart from my experience in reaching out to sexual minorities, I also appreciated participating in a meeting about globalisation that allowed me to know more about different organisations with both Christian and non-Christian backgrounds and how an ecumenical kind of cooperation can be realised and the difficulties it entails. I find such a huge opportunity and space very valuable to students as it helps us to widen the scope of our vision and understanding. A fellow intern from Lingnan University said that the learning outcome and benefit from the first month of the internship was more than her two years of study in the university. Indeed, personal encounters and meeting with people are important vehicles for us to develop and grow. Learning, in fact, begins with experience.

The rich external exposure above goes hand in hand with an internal facilitation that makes the learning process at HKCI complete. I treasure very much the freedom and space that is offered to students who are given autonomy to choose the area of concern for their internship according to their interests. Such an opportunity is deemed important because students will have more motivation to become involved as it is their choice. For young students who do not have any work experience in society, the space and trust given to us is a good learning process for students to learn how to be independent and take initiative as well as to build up a sense of responsibility during the course of work. In addition, I appreciate that HKCI gives students adequate space to try out things and focus on the learning process and the growth of students instead of just completing tasks. Moreover, the issues in which students are involved are usually socially and morally complicated, consisting of different layers of concern. As a result, we had great opportunities to think of our own position and reexamine our beliefs and values. This is a very important journey for Christians to develop our critical thinking and faith with maturity.

Students are also expected to participate in weekly staff meetings that can facilitate communication among colleagues and build up team spirit and team support. A highlight of the staff meeting for me though was the approximately 15 minutes devoted to spiritual sharing. Colleagues take turns to lead this part. Students are honoured to have this opportunity to lead too. Such an arrangement is good as it allows colleagues to reserve time and space for spiritual practice and reflection. It is so important to have space for self-reflection and to integrate work and spirituality.

I moreover found the work environment to be friendly and supportive. Colleagues were sincere and generously discussed and shared with us. Students may encounter moral struggles and confusion during the course of new discoveries and learning. I am impressed that there is such an open and receptive atmosphere that allows students to struggle and question as well as hold different points of view. Colleagues and students from different generations can share genuinely and freely. We somehow broke through many boundaries — age being apparently one of them. We learned from each other and appreciated each other's uniqueness and potential.

In closing, I want to say that colleagues at HKCI are committed to work for the poor and marginalised. They are dedicated to the goal of justice and love. I am touched by their hearts, encouraged by their persistence to dream for the impossible and energised by the power of faith and hope to work towards the Kingdom of God.