(Hong Kong, May 29, 2016) Hang Lung volunteers and a group of 40 underprivileged elderly people visited The Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre (JCCAC) yesterday (May 28) to have a hands-on experience in making handmade leather items. Joining them was Akina Fong, a former television anchor who is also fond of crafting leather accessories. Being the celebrity tutor, Akina was on site to teach the elderly people to create their own unique leather pouches. With the help from Hang Lung volunteers, the elderly participants set to work cutting and folding the leather into pouches, fastening them with buttons, and adding color to complete their creations. The participants all of a sudden became skilled craftsmen who were all eager to show off their completed products to one another. 

Eighty-year-old Auntie Kiu, who is experienced in making accessories and decorations with plastic beads, gave her first attempt in making leather items. Besides exchanging tips in making handicrafts with Akina, Auntie Kiu also presented Akina with a plastic-bead rabbit decoration made by herself.

The leather workshop was the finale of the “Be An Arty Youth” series of events that the Hang Lung As One volunteer team introduced last year. The program engaged nearly 200 elderly people from underprivileged backgrounds in activities that young people of today enjoy, including tea brewing, coffee art, picnicking, art jamming and crafting leather accessories, bringing moments of joy to so many senior citizens and helped them to recall the happy moments from their own youthful days, while encouraging them to try new things and to enjoy their retirement.