June 2015
Members of Pathfinder at the site of Prek Reang Primary School, where they built a platform to prevent the school from flooding during the rainy season.
Max Ng Tsz-Man (BEng(CivE), Year 3) was awarded the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund Scholarship this year for his academic excellence and contributions to the community.
Max is a member of the engineering team of Pathfinder, a student organisation that endeavours to contribute to developing countries and make changes to underprivileged conditions there. In the summer of 2014, members of Pathfinder took their first voluntary service trip to Cambodia. With their dedication and knowledge learnt during their studies at the University, they successfully designed and built a water and sanitation facility for a primary school in Kampong Chhnang Province.
“Many people in Cambodia do not have access to clean water or toilet facilities. Neither do they have any concept of proper hygienic. They thought the taps we built were for drinking water and did not know that they have to wash their hands after going to the toilet. And therefore our project not only includes construction of facilities but also a health education programme. This made me realise that it is an engineer’s responsibility to understand the needs of the people we were building for. The six weeks we spent there allowed us to put theories into practice, and to apply what we learnt at school to real-life situations while bringing benefits to the community,” said Max.
Apart from receiving a Sir Edward Youde Memorial Scholarship, Max is also a recipient of the Chui’s Student Excellence Scheme (徐氏卓越學生計劃), which was established in 2013 to encourage and enable outstanding HKU students to fulfil their potential and excel through engaging in international competitions and conferences, and initiating service-learning projects.
Max attended the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund Awards Presentation Ceremony 2015.
Max (1st left) having meeting with the local partner organisation, Clear Cambodia, which enhances the sustainability of the project by helping to maintain facilities operation and visit the school regularly for hygienic practice.
