Responding to society’s needs with flexibility

Publish Date: 11-Jun-2020

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many social service organizations suspended their activities, and HKSKH St Joseph Church’s Social Service Unit’s Friendly Market was one of the organizations.

Since 2017, the social service unit of the church holds a Friendly Market three times a year, namely, during the Lunar New Year, May, and November. It offers residents and small business owners a chance to showcase and sell their unique products and artwork, and for people outside the area to learn about Kam Tin and Pat Heung in the New Territories.

Ms Kwok Ho-ching, manager of the social service unit, said: “We had planned to cancel the market because we were worried that crowds might increase the risks of spreading or contracting the pandemic, but this might cause residents and small business owners to lose a chance at earning some income and affect their livelihoods. The market has been one of our special activities since we started a few years ago. It would be a shame if it was cancelled. Therefore the team at our centre racked their brains to find a way to go forward.” After discussions, the team at the centre decided to move the market from offline to online.