Julia was diagnosed with Parkinson’s over 20 years ago. She feels a strong bond with the Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation(HKSR) after taking courses at our community rehabilitation centre, where she has made friends and connected with the community. She has volunteered as a tutor for a painting class at the Hong Kong Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, where she taught her fellows to manage their conditions through painting. As a motivational speaker at HKSR, she has also shared her knowledge and experiences with our members, changing her role from being helped to being a helper.

As a carer, Rita first learned about HKSR when she accompanied her mother to join our activities. She has also taken part in group classes offered by HKSR’s community rehabilitation network and hopes to contribute and give back to society.

Rita utilised Zentangle, a technique that uses structured lines to form different shapes, to design her art pieces. While painting, she feels like it is a brain yoga workout, in which she is relaxed and focused, giving her greater peace of mind.

As a diabetic, Siu-fung took part in activities at HKSR, and later became our volunteer. As a hardcore participant in our activities, he started volunteering as a tutor in our painting class in 2000. Upon receiving sponsorship, he formed a new painting class at HKSR. Aside from painting, he has also assisted HKSR in supporting many self-help organisations.

Siu-fung and members of his painting class created the red packets and spring couplets with ink wash painting skills and Chinese calligraphy. The yellow Fook character was designed by Ho Wai-ping. As a person with chronic illnesses, she joined HKSR’s Patient Empowerment Programme and has since been a part of the painting class. The purple Fook character with a bird which represents luck and joy was designed by Chung Mei-ling, who joined our health programme on doctor’s recommendation. She has since been an active participant in our activities and has joined our volunteer programme and painting class. They hope that their designs will bring us a year full of blessings.