Good News For Hong Kong → Capturing Language and Photos

Between political unrest, Covid 19, lots of people leaving and the recent Tai Po fire, Hong Kong people have been through a lot. Sometimes when you get stuck, you need help from the outside because you can’t see your way through the problems you are facing. In this article, I hope to focus our attention on the impact that an outsider can have. I have heard both locals and foreigners describe life in Hong Kong as a pressure cooker. People are constantly busy and when they do have time to rest, many of them want to retreat to the safety of their phones or gadgets. Unfortunately, too many of us have lost connection with each other, with God and even with ourselves. The good news for Hong Kong is the cycle of negative thoughts and pain doesn’t have to dominate our lives.

We Often Turn to Things

Practically speaking it’s hard to spend quality time with family and friends when you are working overtime so much of the time. We are really busy here and we have money to spend on consumer gadgets, but not necessarily time to spend with those we love. Hong Kong used to be the world’s largest marketplace for electronics. Now China holds that title, but you can still find everything tech here. Smartphones, cameras, watches, computers and so much more. Hong Kongers love their gadgets and spend a significant amount of their time and money on their gadgets. Gadgets can serve as a distraction from the pain we feel. They can offer us temporary relief, but they can’t heal our pain.

Looking for Help in Times of Need

It stands to reason that Hong Kong people would also turn to close friends for help in their time of need and not to their electronic gadgets. Unfortunately, with the cities constant push for efficiency and productivity, relationships are often neglected. A 2025 Mind HK survey involving 1000 participants 18 years old or older found that nearly 46% of those living in Hong Kong show, “mild to severe symptoms of depression or anxiety.” That’s an overwhelming number of people who need help. Mind HK also points out that 72 percent of the people surveyed were not able to find adequate support during their times of need. Relationships take time to maintain and most of us think we don’t have the time to spend chatting with others. As one Reddit contributor points out, “Everyone here is busy with their own stuff. No one has time for your bull _ _ _ _.” In a sense, I think he is right. Helping another person through the crap in their life takes time. Blessed are those who have been fortunate enough to have had others really mentor or invest in them. It’s becoming less and less common. There’s an old saying that says, “What goes around comes around.” If we turn to gadgets in our time of need and not to people it reinforces a destructive pattern and contribute to a culture of others doing the same thing. In addition, many times our problems remain unresolved so we lack the readiness to help others with their problems. As a society we become less and less connected to each other and more and more connected to our gadgets. Meanwhile we wonder why we are feeling so lonely.

An Example of Help From Uganda Africa

Where can Hong Kongers turn for help. Of course, there are many possibilities and there is no one single solution. Uganda Africa seems like a very unlikely place to find help. How could people from a poor country half way around the world help support Hong Kongers’ emotional health? If money were the answer to Hong Kong’s problems, they couldn’t. According to one study 60 percent of the people in Uganda make less than 2 dollars USD a day. If being born into the perfect family or having it all together were the answer to Hong Kong’s problems, they wouldn’t be able to help either. Yet for years now, Watoto Children’s Choir has been offering hope and positivity. The choir is comprised of orphans, but they don’t see themselves as orphans and they don’t call their home’s orphanages. They come from loving supportive communities. Yet they have been traveling the world singing and dancing and offering hope through Jesus Christ for 31 years now, and they have a message Hong Kong needs to hear. If you talk to these kids and talk to Hong Kong kids you will see a huge difference in their perspective on life.

Watoto Children’s Choir

My wife, Tracy and I have been hosting Watoto for 3 years now. From the first concert we went to we were impressed. Their joy is contagious and faith building. They really believe in God, and time and time again God has shown up for them. They shared stories of how God healed, restored and gave them a sense of purpose. Some of you might be saying, yeah well given enough time and training kids can look good on stage, but that doesn’t speak of their lives off the stage. Well after hosting different adults and kids for 3 years, I can tell you they have something special. First they have faith in God. Second they have a work ethic. Thirdly they have loving community. Fourthly they have regular accountability. Fiftly I am guessing they don’t have social media, but that’s a whole other area. It doesn’t matter what you or I are going through, others have been through it and much worse. There is nothing new under the son. We should take courage. If God can come through for them, then why not for us?

Interview with John

This year, I asked John, one of the singers, to do an interview with me. I really appreciate his boldness in sharing about Watoto’s purpose. Watoto is having a big impact. Take a listen to the interview. If you want to hear part of concert, check out these previous posts –Watoto’s Better Day’s Tour or from the year before Watoto’s Children’s Choir Sing From Their Hearts

Hanging Out Together