Making friends may not be an easy task for most people with intellectual disabilities, so students from Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU) warmly extended a hand of friendship and brought laughter and care to them by becoming their “Best Buddies”. Recently, the University's Student Affairs Office and the Fu Hong Society co-hosted the “HKMU Best Buddies Ceremony and Carnival” on campus, marking the establishment of a long-term partnership between the two parties to promote care for people with intellectual disabilities and social inclusion in the community.

A total of 18 people with intellectual disabilities from residential care homes of the Fu Hong Society and 30 HKMU student volunteers joined the carnival. In addition to designing games and game booths for the carnival, the students played and built friendships with their “buddies” during the event, resulting in a great time for everyone.

HKMU is committed to encouraging students to achieve self-enhancement and apply what they learned to serve the community through service learning projects such as the “HKMU Best Buddies Programme – Arts with Intellectual Disability Scheme”, organised by the Student Affairs Office with the Fu Hong Society. The Scheme provides students with the opportunity to become “Best Buddies” of and build lasting friendships with people with intellectual disabilities, and encourages people with intellectual disabilities to express themselves, share their feelings, and show their talent and potential through various expressive art activities, thus helping them to build up their self-confidence and broaden their social circle. The Programme also aims to encourage HKMU students to motivate themselves and others to bring positive change to society and promote inclusion.

In addition to the carnival, a series of activities was organised under the Programme. For example, in February this year, HKMU students visited the Fu Hong Society Ngai Shun Home to co-create handprint art and portraits with people with intellectual disabilities; and in March, they visited the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden and played Bingo together.

Tsang Yi-man, a Year 4 student in the School of Arts and Social Sciences, said she gained a better understanding of the needs of people with intellectual disabilities through the Scheme. “They have their own thoughts and interests just like us, and we just need to be more patient and caring when communicating with them,” she said. “What makes the Scheme special is that we can build one-to-one friendships and lasting relationships with them. I will be meeting up with one of my “buddies” in June, and we may even go out for karaoke afterwards.”

Kwan Chun-kit, a Year 2 student in the School of Nursing and Health Studies, said he did not have much knowledge about the needs of people with intellectual disabilities in the past. “But through participating in the Scheme, I realise that they are not so different from us,” he said. “They may be weak at communicating, but with patience, we can still communicate well with each other.”