Local bodies have organized trips to these countries to experience the lives of the urban and rural poor.
Among them is a student organization, the Student Christian Movement of Hong Kong.
Many young people have joined its exposure to Asian developing countries like India, Korea, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
The most recent destination was the Philippines.
Miss Wong Kit Ling, a participant from the University of Hong Kong, witnessed the struggle of people living in both rural and urban areas in Manila.
"We had stayed with the Aetas in their community for several days," she said.
The Aetas are the indigenous people of the Philippines and were forced to migrate to the mountains in Manalia during urbanization.
"They lack things we take for granted, like water and electricity," she said.
Another participant and student from the same university, Mr. Yeung Sik Chung, said, "Because of urban development, the Aetas lost their land, which is necessary for survival.
"They are forced to hunt and collect wild vegetation in the mountains for a living, where farming is impossible," he said.
While the Aetas are struggling in the mountainous area, people in the urban slums in Manila are in no way better off.
"We visited the notorious Smokey Mountain, where rubbish is burnt and abandoned. Squatter huts are built around this gigantic rubbish hill," Mr. Yeung said.
"The residents, elders and children alike search through the mess for "useful" materials, like metal containers, and sell them for limited income.
"It is hard to imagine when the people of Hong Kong have habits of abandoning unused resources," he added.
The encounter with the rural and urban poor opens the eyes of the participants, according to one of the organizers of the trip.
Miss Yuen Yuet Hing, also a student at the University of Hong Kong, said, "University students always confine their understanding of the world through their narrow visions which only care about Hong Kong.
"We believe that by exposing them to other Asian countries, participants would become more sensitive to social problems, thus driving them to participate and contribute to our society."
Other voluntary agencies like Oxfam Hong Kong organize similar trips. They, too, value their meaning.
Said Mr. Steven Tsui Kwok Wai, outreach coordinator of Oxfam Hong Kong: "In a trip to Bangladesh, participants had a chance to visit the local bodies and the peasants.
"We seldom go to the village leaders. We are afraid that they cannot give us a complete view.
"We then visited the poorest households and listened to the rural problems presented directly by the locals.
"By visiting local organizations, participants could have some idea of the poor from different perspectives," he said.
In another trip to the Philippines, participants like those from the Student Christian Movement were able to spend a night with the peasants.
"It is a good chance to understand the realities there, things like what they eat and when they wake up in the morning," Mr. Tsui said.
"However, be careful, for what you see may not be the true picture. People tend to serve you with the best they have.
"For example, they may give you water to wash hands ," he said, adding that water is scarce in some rural areas in the Philippines.
Sharing the view that the problem of poverty is sometimes hidden deliberately, Miss Cheng Siu Lai, assistant manager of the donor services department of World Vision has this opinion:
"In New Delhi, India, the government cleans up the capital by driving away all the beggars and homeless children in order to maintain the image of the nation and attract tourists," he said.
Some programs mainly offer donors a chance to see how the poor are benefited from the donations, like those organized by World Vision. Participants can as well explore the reasons for poverty.
For the trips organized by Oxfam Hong Kong, participants include media workers, legislators, celebrities and secondary students.
Their contributions raise public attention and thus achieve the aim of public education.
Mr. Tsui said, "It is the most efficient way to educate the public. People feel distant from the developing world when my colleagues present them with the problems there. If people are told by public figures, they become more convinced."
Motivated by different purposes, the participants come back with different reflections.
Mr. Yeung of the Student Christian Movement learned a new side of poverty.
He said, "Materialistic poverty is not the most important. It is how people value themselves that matters.
"The Aetas are extremely poor, but they do not consider themselves worse than the others.
"They do not beg. I find self-esteem, self-confidence and satisfaction in them.
"On the other hand, people in the urban slums always feel helpless and hopeless. Their self-image is deteriorating.
"Thus, when we are showing concern to the poorer people, we should not assume ourselves to be in a superior position."
Added Miss Yuen: "When we spend our vacation in other countries and enjoy the sunshine and beaches, we seldom realize the effect of these actions have on the residents.
"In order to attract tourists or develop the urban areas, the natural environment is often damaged while opposition from the people, like the Aetas, is suppressed."
Most people in Hong Kong are too busy to realize that they have an influence on those countries, according to Miss Cheng of World Vision.
"What they concern themselves with are politics, lifestyles and career prospects.
"They are living in a different social class from that of the people in the developing countries," she said.
People's attitudes do change a little, however, after returning from the trips.
"Participants generally show great sympathy to the people. They may change their daily habits. Some of them teach their children not to waste resources, and some participate in children sponsorship programs," she said.
Mr. Tsui of Oxfam Hong Kong said his experiences helped him in promoting the situation in the developing countries.
"I have a better understanding of the rural problems and the causes of poverty. I know better the different approaches to the same problem."
No matter whether it is rational analysis or emotional sentiments, participants in these trips seem to have gained deeper understanding of their world. However, they have yet to do more if they want to improve it.