"In the world of music, communication needs no language; this is the power of music, the power of the soul," said former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Lin Kaihui, founder and chairman of the Hong Kong Voice of Hope Children's Charity Foundation, is the best practitioner of this adage.
For over two decades, Lin Kaihui has remained focused on helping grassroots children and even youth grow through music education. By providing them with free instruments and choral music training and resources, he nurtures their interest in music, cultivates good character, and allows them to improve their personal qualities and confidence through different performance platforms, experiencing the joy of success and spiritual fulfillment.◆ Text: Chen Tong
Striving for Development, Lend a Hand to Help Youth
Since 2000, Lin Kaihui has served as a Southern District Councillor in Hong Kong for twenty years. During this period, he deeply understood and focused on the living conditions of grassroots citizens in the Southern District, forming a strong desire to help them. Particularly after learning that many grassroots youths have musical dreams but cannot realize them, he founded the Hong Kong Youth Philharmonic Orchestra in 2012, aiming to provide opportunities and fulfill the musical dreams of young people in Hong Kong who love orchestral music.
Over 12 years, this non-professional orchestra, considered to consist of middle and grassroots youth, has grown from a small scale of more than 20 people to the now renowned Hong Kong Southern District Orchestra with over 150 members. The orchestra has performed more than 50 concerts, been invited twice to hold special concerts at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in China, and traveled from Hong Kong to the world, winning crowns in European international music festivals. These achievements are thanks to Lin Kaihui and his team's persistence and efforts.
The fragrance of peach and plum, unspoken, attracts its own path. What makes Lin Kaihui most proud is that the Hong Kong Youth Philharmonic Orchestra has become a cradle for nurturing new-generation musicians, with many orchestra members becoming key members of university orchestras in Hong Kong and abroad, and many choosing music as their career goal.
A Councillor's Career for People's Livelihood, The Heart of Benevolence Creates Orchestras
Founding is not easy, and managing is even harder. Lin Kaihui admits that the journey of the Hong Kong Youth Philharmonic Orchestra was not easy, but difficulties could not deter his strong will to support the grassroots deeply. In 2014, he resolutely established the Hong Kong Voice of Hope Children's Charity Foundation and related children's string and choir groups, focusing on providing free music education and training for grassroots children in the Southern District, using music to nurture artistic interest and build good character, hence the name "Voice of Hope."
Since its establishment, the Hong Kong Voice of Hope Children's Charity Foundation has been committed to promoting the "Music · Character · Care · Integration" seedling program through music education to help grassroots family children, providing free music training for local grassroots children aged 6 to 14. Lin Kaihui expressed: "Even if many grassroots children want to learn music, they lose the opportunity to cultivate their temperament due to family poverty. I hope through the foundation and related plans, grassroots children can feel 'if others have this opportunity, so do I.' As the saying goes, there's always a way out; poverty is not without hope, as long as you work hard, you can change your destiny."
Indeed, this is true. So far, over 200 grassroots children have gained free music training resources in the Voice of Hope Children's Choir and String Orchestra. Their appearances are not only on the stage of Hong Kong's 7.1 Return Celebration event but also surprising the audience at the CCTV "Direct to Spring Festival Gala" competition. Excellent choir members have been invited to Salzburg, Austria, for European music exchange activities.
"As long as people have hope, they can walk their own life path, achieving both material and spiritual abundance," as Lin Kaihui says. The Hong Kong Voice of Hope Children's Charity Foundation and related children's string and choir groups provide quality music education and free music resources for grassroots children, discovering their potential and nurturing their temperament. For the past twenty years, Lin Kaihui, with a benevolent heart, has been consistently devoted to nurturing the grassroots children.