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that matters, but the attitude and les- The shop has been a great success, plan ahead before travelling instead of
sons learnt.” attracting over 6,000 followers on leaving without any preparation.”
Instagram. But Siuming says she has Siuming is ready to start a new
A Bowl of Compassion never thought of expanding the busi- phase of life. She will soon embark on
By coincidence, Siuming met the ness. “I prefer doing it on my own and another journey in South America,
founder of “A Bowl of Compassion”, I don’t want to put too much pressure where she plans to stay for around
a charity which builds schools in In- on myself,” she says. three months. Siuming’s travelling
dia, during her journey. The school A portion of the revenue from the story… to be continued.
built by the charity is located next to online shop is shared between two
a hostel where backpackers drop by schools in India – “A Bowl of Compas-
to teach students voluntarily. She was sion” and “The Flowers of Lakshmi”,
one of those enthusiastic volunteers. for their development and renovation.
Siuming did not think of leaving the “I think that what I am doing now Edited by Sam Kwong
students behind until she decided to celebrates the value of sharing which & Valerie Wan
head back to Hong Kong. is also relevant to social services,”
After her year-long journey, she she says. Her work has made impact
decided to return to Hong Kong to on the vulnerable ones by provid-
find a job. She chose not to become ing them education. With the help
a social worker, though she was a so- of Siuming, the two schools in India
cial work major graduate. She believes are now well-developed. She is now
that it is not what she really wants. planning to share some of her revenue
Instead, she brought another with an orphanage in Nepal.
HK$20,000 with her and flew back to As an experienced wanderer, Siu-
India. She purchased some traditional ming encourages teenagers who like
handmade scarves from some Indian travelling to be brave and give it a try.
suppliers and sold them in her online “However, we have to strike a bal-
shop called “Wish You Were Here”. ance between expectations and real-
Her shop now also sells goods made ity,” she says. She acknowledges that
by people in other developing coun- some people may need to take care
tries such as Nepal. of their families. “We actually need to

I prefer doing it

on my own and I

don’t want to put

too much pressure

on myself

Siuming travelled to Pakistan last year