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Life influences life

Raymond Chan: “I am grateful to my wife and our three kids. They have always accompanied and supported me.”

Back in the 1990s, physiotherapy was a fairly unfamiliar occupation to the public. Raymond was in secondary school at that time, but had a sound impression of it. “There are many types of sickness and pain like stroke or physical disability that are incurable,” he realised. When his grandma was sent to an elderly home, Raymond realised the vulnerability of the human body. Sometimes when medicine fails to cure the problem, patients may lose all hope and even the advice by doctors became unhelpful and negative. He thinks that physiotherapy, on the other hand, can help to alleviate part of the pain and negative effects, by helping patients improve their bodily functions to restore a better quality of life. “We cannot change the illness, but we can improve the quality of life,” he thought.

Raymond believes he was born to help others. When still in Form three, he was already eager to organise and participate in volunteer programmes. Having set physiotherapy as his goal and purpose in life, he completed his studies at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and succeeded in getting his dream job, living out the mission of physiotherapists – which is to change others’ lives through his own.

As an inaugural recipient of the Undergraduate Scholarship in 1999, he co-founded the Jockey Club Scholars Alumni Association (JCSAA) three years later to gather fellow Scholars from different fields and backgrounds. Making good use of their different professions and talents, they organised various volunteer activities and offered free tuition to the needy in society.

On one occasion, JCSAA organised a kite-flying activity with a Boys’ Home, with an aim to set 100 kites to the sky. Unfortunately, a typhoon hit Hong Kong on the big day and the kites all got wet and broken – but nobody gave up. They restored the kites within a week before the end of summer vacation and this time, they succeeded. Raymond always remembers the bright smiles on the teenagers’ faces as the kites flew high into the sky. At that moment, they were all overwhelmed by their achievement and regained confidence. To Raymond this was an inspiring experience, encouraging him to always stay true to himself, whether in work or life.

Did you know?

Established in 1998, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarships are one of the Club’s programmes to nurture local talent. To date, some HK$870 million in scholarships have been approved, supporting more than 1,000 students. Apart from undergraduate students, the scheme was expanded in 2015 to include students with special educational needs and those in vocational education. It also supports postgraduate students to pursue further studies at top notch universities in the world. The Club has extended the Scholarships to two further schemes in 2023 to support outstanding students with top scores in the public examinations and students who have achieved excellence while demonstrating resilience and strength of mind to overcome adversities in life to pursue their studies in Hong Kong. The Club also provides JC Scholars with opportunities for further learning, personal development and social service.

Information updated to Nov 2023

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