We’re delighted to announce that our longtime YES Programme member David Liu has now joined r é n as our full-time Event Coordinator!

David has worked with us through the programme for close to a year, and having graduated from secondary school this summer, our founder Jo Soo Tang decided it was the right moment for him to progress and take on a full-time role here at r é n. He joined us at the end of August, and it’s now been a little more than a month.

“It’s been amazing so far,” David shares. “I’ve worked with r é n for a while now through the YES Programme, and at one point they were setting me up to join the Hong Kong Football Club as wait staff, but in the end, Jo asked if I wanted to join her charity full-time instead, and of course, I was delighted to. The whole process was very quick, and because I mostly handle events, I get to spend a lot of time with our community members and beneficiaries such as our current R21 cohort, whom I all love. My colleagues in the office are such nice people, and we already have a great relationship. On top of coordinating events, I also help with office work, which is something I’ve never done before. It’s a fantastic opportunity for me.”

When asked about his favourite memory or experience so far, he recounts the time he received his business cards from Jo. As a young adult, he’s never had them before, so getting them for the first time gave him a sense of accomplishment and maturity. “It also represented Jo’s approval of me,” he adds, “so it meant a lot.”

Since joining us full time, David has moved out of his dormitories and into his own apartment in Shenzhen, where he now lives with his new pet cat. His schedule with us means he has to commute to the office four days a week from across the border, but he says it’s all worth it.

“Sometimes I wonder why Jo, or anyone else really, would put in the effort to help others, but after spending time with her and my colleagues at r é n, I now understand kindness, generosity, empathy and compassion. It's very heartwarming to see the kids in our R21 and YES Programmes get the help they need and deserve.

“I joined r é n through the YES Programme myself, and r é n and I both grew together over the years. Jo has taught me a lot and showed me a lot, and I've learnt many new things through her. I really feel the love from Jo and r é n - a love that simply can't be put into words. I really look forward to coming to work every day now, because it just makes me so happy.”

The sentiment is echoed by Jo, who says she’s always wanted to bring David on as a full-time member. “I’ve always talked about David joining r é n,” Jo says of the decision. “He's been helping us through the YES Programme for quite some time now – actually about a year – and it just made perfect sense for him to join us full time because he knows our programmes, he knows some of our volunteers, and he knows the people within r é n very well. It was the natural next step for him, and I’m really happy with his progess so far.

After David completed secondary school this summer, Jo had to chance to meet his mother, who resides in mainland China. r é n managed to find her sponsorship to stay at the Mira Hotel, which allowed her to come visit David in Hong Kong and attend his graduation ceremony.

“Through that experience, I've gotten to know her, I've gotten to know their life story, and I feel that David's like a family member,” Jo recounts. “And after he joined, the energy's been really good. He's willing to learn and spend more time focusing on events, looking after the kids that join R21, as well as doing some office work. I can tell he really loves it here and you can just see his progress every day.”

It might’ve just been a month since David came onboard, but given our longstanding relationship together, it’s no surprise that Jo has high hopes for him. Looking ahead, she says her hopes are for him to learn more about office work and how to put different documents together, eventually specialising in events or even marketing.

“My hope for David is that he can learn more different skills at r é n, and I think he can excel even to become a social worker one day if he wants to,” Jo explains. “I really hope he can grow with us, because he can then help others like him and become a good role model, showing them that there are opportunities out there, even if your path has been quite difficult, like David’s since he was just a child.

“It's not easy, but he's shown that it’s possible if you work hard, have good spirit and are truly motivated. Those are the values we represent, and I think he's definitely a great example of them. We love David to bits.”