Sharing on Health in Mind Programme
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As the HIM programme for the academic year 2006/07 drew to a close on 7th July 2007, the student advocates shared their learning experiences in the past year and recounted how they had gone through an attitude change through interacting with mental patients and rehabilitated people through the activities.
Now in its fifth year, the HIM programme has proved to be effective in promoting mental health to students, their families and friends, thus reducing stigma of mental illness in the community.
Aiming to increase knowledge of mental health issues and improve mental well-being among young people, the HIM programme comprises workshops on mental health related topics such as drug abuse, causes of mental illnesses and managing relationships, and volunteer activities including visits to mentally ill senior citizens in hospitals and airport tour for rehabilitated people.
In the 'City Orienteering' activity, Mau Shun-wang and the students took rehabilitated people to a special excursion around the territory. Accompanied by teachers and Jardine Ambassadors (JA), student advocates and rehabilitated people formed into teams to accomplish tasks which may be challenging to ex-mentally ill people with a long institutional history. These may include traveling to designated checkpoints such as a Wellcome supermarket, doing grocery or gift shopping, and taking photos at certain spots. The idea is to provide patients with an opportunity to come out of an institutional environment and rejoin the community.
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Doubts and misunderstandings were removed after direct interactions with the patients. "Rehabilitated individuals are just ordinary people. If you smile at them, they will smile back," said Yung Ka-yu of TWGHs SC Gaw Memorial College.
Students also said that during their conversations with rehabilitated people, they had learnt how to listen and be gentle to them. They found such interpersonal skills immensely useful in their daily lives.
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Tam Cheung Kit-man, a teacher from Belilios Public School, agreed that students had benefited enormously from the HIM programme. "I am glad to see that students who used to be shy and uneasy in front of strangers have become more mature after taking up the role as 'advocates'. The change I have seen has been out of my expectations."
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Students also developed organizational skills during the process. "Sometimes we are too idealistic when planning the activities. Under the guidance of our teachers and the JAs, we realized how to implement our plans in more practical ways," said Lam Pui-yee of Pooi To Middle School.
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"The JAs have taught us a lot of things, including presentation skills, which are useful in school as well as for our future career development," added Margarette Sze of Belilios Public School.
The JAs played an important role in coordinating and implementing the HIM programme. Chris Wong, a JA from Jardine Shipping, remarked, "I find it very meaningful to participate in educational activities with the students, while taking a break from our daily business environment."
George Wei of Zung Fu, who has been a JA for the second year, added, "Besides generating profits, companies nowadays put increasing importance to corporate social responsibility and community initiatives. The HIM programme deserves our continuous support."
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香港培道中學思健大使繆洵弘憶述第一次參與「Teen使行動－青少年思健推廣計劃」（「Teen使行動」）活動時，感到顫顫驚驚：「我一直以為精神病患者不會和別人交談，只會自言自語，就像我們在電影看到那樣。但在『城市追蹤』活動期間，我的隊友不但表現積極，主動自我介紹－原來他是個室內設計師呢！我真的感到很驚訝！當天其中一個任務是到不同地方找景點拍照，由於我對港島區的道路完全不熟悉，所以反而是他在我迷路時指出正確的方向。」
二零零六至零七學年的「Teen使行動」於今年七月七日圓滿結束，幾位思健大使回顧過去一年的學習經驗，分享他們在參加活動時，如何透過與精神病患者及復康人士的接觸，加深對他們了解，甚至對他們的態度有所改變。
「Teen使行動」旨在向學生及透過他們向其同學、家人以至大眾宣揚精神健康知識，藉以減少社會對精神病的偏見與歧視。這計劃至今已推行了五年，成效顯著。
為了提升青少年對精神問題的認識，「Teen使行動」亦舉辦了很多相關的工作坊，探討濫藥的禍害、精神病的成因及人際關係管理等。思健大使亦參予多項義工活動，包括到醫院探訪患病的長者，以及帶領復康人士參觀香港國際機場等。
在「城市追蹤」活動中，繆洵弘和其他思健大使帶同復康人士遊覽香港多個地點。聯同老師及怡和親善大使，思健大使及復康人士分組完成多項任務，包括前往指定地點，例如惠康超級市場，購買雜貨或禮品，以及到一些特定地方拍照留念。對於曾長期住院的精神病康服者來說，這些任務具有一定挑戰性。這活動旨在為院友提供戶外活動的機會，助他們適應院舍以外的環境，重投社會。
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親身的接觸令學生消除對精神病患者的疑慮和偏見。「復康人士和一般人並沒有分別。你對他們笑多些，他們也會對你笑多些。」東華三院吳祥川紀念中學的翁嘉澦說。
同學們更指出，透過與復康人士的交談，學會了耐心聆聽及關懷別人的重要性，這些溝通技巧對日常待人接物亦大有幫助。
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庇理羅士女子中學的譚張潔文老師坦言「Teen使行動」令同學獲益良多：「有些同學原本性格內向，在陌生人前表現缺乏自信。一些同學以往沒有膽量在眾人面前說話。當我向她發問時，她會害羞得臉紅。但成為思健大使後，透過參加及組織各種活動，同學與其他人接觸的機會多了，漸漸變得開朗起來。當中轉變之大，實在令我難以相信，同時亦令我感到十分欣慰。」
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學生們在參與計劃期間亦鍛鍊出良好的組織能力。「於籌辦活動的過程中，我們有時會過於理想化。但在老師和怡和親善大使的指導下，我們學到如何落實執行計劃。例如：我們要負責設計攤位遊戲，介紹有關精神健康的主題。但我們的構思有時會太過天馬行空，根本不可能完成。於是，老師和怡和親善大使便透過討論，引導我們從多方面思考，例如資源分配、財政預算等，這些都是在書本上不能學到的知識。」培道中學的林佩儀說。
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庇理羅士女子中學的施婉儀補充：「我們從怡和親善大使身上學到不少知識，例如演講技巧，這一點對學習方面以至未來工作都非常有用。」
在籌劃及推行「Teen使行動」中，怡和親善大使扮演著非常重要的角色。「在日常工作以外，能與學生共同參與教育活動，我覺得很有意義。」來自怡和船務的怡和親善大使王凱傑說。
仁孚行的韋明智已第二年擔任怡和親善大使，他說：「除了爭取業績，企業亦越趨重視社會責任及公益活動。『Teen使行動』絕對值得我們繼續支持。」