By Charley Ho

Kwan Kam has devoted his lifetime to empower students with disabilities.

Educator Kwan Kam has devoted his love and care to teaching children and shaping lives of children with disabilities for over 30 years.  

The former vice principal of Elaine Field School, now in his 70s, is still teaching. “I still tutor primary school kids in Tin Shui Wai as a part-timer. It makes me happy,” he shares. 

Before joining the school for physically challenged children, Kwan already had a decade of teaching experience in various schools, including private and secondary schools. 

Elaine Field School, founded in 1973 as the Sau Mau Ping Training Centre, became a registered institution in 1979 and relocated to a larger campus in Tai Po. It is now known as The Spastics Association of Hong Kong Jockey Club Elaine Field School.

“Our school admits students with physical disabilities – those in wheelchairs, suffering from serious burns, or experiencing seizures. We don’t admit students with only intellectual disabilities,”  he says.

“Back when I was still teaching in Sau Mau Ping, our school only offered classes for students up till Form Three. The school later expanded to teaching under the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination and the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination curriculum afterwards,” he says.

“The school was small back then, with around 10 students per class and only five classes in total. We had six to seven teachers and mixed classes that grouped students based on learning abilities. Professionals like physical therapists, occupational therapists, and teaching assistants worked with us to support the students,” Kwan recalls. 

“For example, during physical education (PE) lessons, the physical therapist led stretching exercises and trained their coordination skills. The students enjoyed these lessons,” he adds.

Kwan has formed many lifelong friendships with his students. One of them is Nikita Tam, who was born with brittle bone disease.

Kwan describes Tam as an outgoing person now but remembers how quiet she was when she first joined the class. “I was Tam’s class teacher and I taught her Chinese, Mathematics and PE. She didn’t say a word when she first joined my class,” he recalls.

“Once, we all gathered to play a game in which we passed around school bags. She suddenly burst into tears. Later, I learned that she cherished her school bag so much that she didn’t like it being passed around. At the time, I had no idea,” he says with a laugh.

“Tam is a resilient person. She can travel in Europe on her own, carrying luggage with a tiny body. It is worth learning from her,” he adds.

Kwan describes his teaching style as more flexible than the conventional approach. 

“I’m more free and relaxed. I’d arrange time for students without specific educational goals – just chatting, having fun, and engaging in free activities. The students were already tired from schoolwork. If we held strict educational goals, it would scare them away,” he explains.

Kwan stresses a positive mindset is a must to have. “Teaching in this environment is never easy, and having a solution-based mindset is the key,” the veteran teacher says.

“The school’s sewage system once broke, and we had to evacuate from the school. We hopped on a coach and brought everyone to a country park. Unlike now, when parents’ consent is required for outings, and teachers are held accountable for any incidents,” he adds.

Apart from sudden outings and games, the devoted educator recalls how the school introduced Apple II computers to students in the 1980s in hope of equipping students with skills needed in the labour market. 

“Back then, computerisation hadn’t even been introduced by the Education Bureau. We taught students the Cangjie input method for communication. Not many people knew how to use it, but my students did. Some even found typing jobs in factories afterward,” he explains. 

Kwan also shares a fully paralysed student who wrote a computer programme spanning dozens of pages. 

“He couldn’t type letters due to his condition, but he used his head and a scanning device to input the text. His logical thinking and determination were remarkable,”  the proud teacher recalls. 

Despite his devotion and commitment to teaching, handling students with disabilities was not without emotional challenges.  

“There are times when you can’t help the students and feel defeated. Some of the weaker ones may not live past 10 or 11 years old. We focus on bringing happiness into their lives and never assume we know their fears,” Kwan adds.

“It is important to establish trusted relationships with the students. Even if they perform poorly, I always compliment them instead of scolding them,” he says.

Giving up is never an option for Kwan. “You simply cannot just give up. You still have to make a living and do what you think is right,” he stresses.

Kwan shares that he applies the same teaching to his own son. “I treat my son professionally, just as I do with my students at school. It’s unprofessional to get angry when children can’t meet your expectations,” he says.

Sub-edited by Jen Lam

By Charley Ho

Born with brittle bone, Nikita Tam shares her extraordinary journey of resilience and persistence.

Born with brittle bones and being wheelchair bound since she was a baby, Nikita Tam leads a life as a free spirit which helps her turn the impossible possible. She is a fast-food shop owner, a driver, an insurance agent and a diver.

Under 1.2 meters tall, it is beyond imagination how Tam works where heavy boxes of drinks and goods pile up in her eatery in San Po Kong.

“I usually ask delivery guys to help me stack the goods I order. I have to carefully plan the sequence, I definitely don’t want to put the best-selling items at the bottom,” she says.

Opened the fast-food shop in 2019, Tam operated the business entirely on her own until a loyal customer became her boyfriend and worked together with her after a year. 

“My work used to be hellish. I stayed in my shop for more than 24 hours. I only slept on the kitchen counter at 5 or 6 a.m. when there weren’t many customers,” she recalls.

Though the business has not been profitable, Tam wins many friends.

“Instead of making money, I have made many heartfelt friends who are my customers. When I need help moving fridges, stacking boxes and filling bottles of  herbal tea, I call them over and offer free beers in exchange,” she says.

It is the very spirit that helps Tam overcome difficulties in life. She was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, commonly known as brittle bone disease. Her left arm is the only intact limb she has, while her legs and right arm remain fragile.

“When I was an infant, I couldn’t stop crying when  a nurse bathed me. Medical staff later found out my arm was broken. That’s when I was diagnosed with the disease,” she recalls.

 “I broke my legs and my arm every month when I was a kid. The worst case was when I got scared watching TV and ended up breaking my bones,” she shares.

 “My spine collapsed and turned into an S shape. The pain was so unbearable that I thought of committing suicide,” she adds.

Due to her condition, Tam lived with her relatives in mainland China and did not attend school until she was aged 10 or 11. 

“My bones were too fragile. My mother had to take care of my younger brother, and there weren’t many schools for disabled children at that time,” she explains.

Tam eventually joined SAHK Jockey Club Elaine Field School at the age of 11, a school for physically handicapped children, where she met her class teacher, Kwan Kam, whom she now refers to as Daddy.

Their bond has lasted nearly 30 years, and they still meet regularly.

Tam recalls she used to be quiet and she couldn’t understand why Kwan made students play a game about passing school bags around that she didn’t like his teaching at first. 

But she found out Kwan is a trustworthy and helpful teacher later.

“My parents divorced when I was 18. Kwan gave me his personal phone number and told me to call him whenever I needed help. One time, my father physically abused me. I called him for help. He comforted me and urged me to call the police,” she recalls.

“He just sat in silence and ate lunch with me to keep me company when I was upset about my parents’ divorce. He was never expressive, but I could feel his care. He is like the father figure in my life. He has taught me proper manners and shaped my personality which I couldn’t learn from my biological father ,” she says.

Beyond emotional support, Kwan encouraged Tam to learn swimming that became a turning point in her life.

“I didn’t want to learn swimming, but he forced me to. It took me three months to learn how to float in water. Everyone, including my mother, told me I couldn’t swim, but I proved them wrong,” she says.

Today, Tam can swim freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke.

“There are three important men in my life. Kwan, my class teacher, my swimming coach who didn’t give up on me, and my doctor who insisted on conducting my spinal surgery,” she says.

“I used to give up easily, but once I experienced the thrill of making everyone’s jaw drop, I have become addicted to that feeling of success. It’s true, success comes when you refuse to give in to failure,” she adds.

Tam didn’t stop there. She obtained two Professional Association of Diving Instructors licenses and earned a driving license in Hong Kong. “

Life is full of challenges to many, especially to Tam. She is forced to close her fast-food shop.

“The business now is worse than during the pandemic when most people were forced to stay home and order take-way food. It’s all very quiet now,” she says.

Tam has decided to shut her shop and shift gears. “I’m planning to work as a delivery courier with my boyfriend. But for now, I’ll take some time to rest before deciding my next steps,” she says.

“My dream is to enjoy diving in Palau and Australia one day,” she shares. 

Sub-edited by Jen Lam