Today is Father’s Day, I would like to start by wishing all fathers a Happy Father’s Day! This time, I would like to introduce to you a colleague who is also a good father – Inspector of Works of the Drainage Services Department (DSD), Mr CHUI Wai-yiu. When he is at work, he is responsible for the management of drainage matters and has to be on call at any time. In his spare time, he participates actively in voluntary work and has distributed face masks to the elderly during the epidemic. Apart from sharing with us his work, he would also talk to us about his relationship with his daughter. Being her mentor and her friend, he hopes that she can inspire others with her life experiences, encourage people to offer helping hands and contribute to the society.

Heavy workload on drainage matters

Hong Kong is on the common track of tropical cyclones and can experience very heavy rainstorms at times, causing flooding to occur in some areas. Due to the dense population and some aged drainage facilities , it is not surprising that the workload on drainage matters in Wan Chai is rather heavy. Mr CHUI Wai-yiu joined the DSD as an Assistant Inspector of Works in 2006, after shortly deployed to other works department, he returned to the DSD in 2016. At present, he is an Inspector of Works responsible for the management of drainage matters in Wan Chai District, his duty includes handling of public requests for assistance, responding to enquiries from members of the District Councils and owners' committees of buildings, and commissioning of newly completed drainage projects.

Livelihood issues are by no means trivial

It is said that “livelihood issues are by no means trivial”. Despite the heavy workload at the DSD, Mr CHUI Wai-yiu takes every public request seriously. He recalled that the department received a request for assistance from a member of the public who had accidentally dropped his wireless bluetooth headphones into a gully. In view of the unstable weather and chance of heavy rainstorm, Mr CHUI immediately contacted the contractor to arrange the workers to handle the matter. While a child near them jokingly said that they were having a treasure hunt, they were in fact handling the request very seriously. Finally the headphones were retrieved and returned to the owner. Although this is just a minor case, he hopes to show the public that the department is devoted to serve the public.

Addressing the needs of the people

Besides daily work, Mr CHUI says that they must be prepared to serve the community at any time. For example, in the past month, the Observatory issued the amber and the red rainstorm warning signals and the typhoon signals in succession, Mr CHUI and his colleagues worked on shifts to handle the emergency cases. Furthermore, in line with the spirit of the DSD in “ready for the rainy days”, he and his colleagues take the initiative to keep an eye on the social media and district groups to learn more about the concerns and views of local residents in order to handle the issues properly and swiftly. Having worked for the DSD for more than 10 years, Mr CHUI is very proud of being part of the big family.

Impressive experience in voluntary work

I always encourage our colleagues to serve as volunteers in their spare time. I know Mr CHUI has been proactively participating in the voluntary work of the department, which includes visiting elderly homes, nurseries, etc. Under the Coronavirus Disease 2019 epidemic, he joined the volunteer team in response to the Government’s appeal to help making phone calls to people under home isolation. Besides, he also provided assistance in packing masks with volunteers of the Construction Industry Council and distributing anti-epidemic bags in remote villages on Lamma Island. During the distribution of the anti-epidemic bags, he met many singleton elders and deeply felt that they are in need of more care, and so he encourages everyone to be more proactive in helping those in need.

Getting along with daughter like a friend

Despite his busy work schedule, Mr CHUI treasures the time with his family. His daughter, Marble, graduated from the university a few years ago and has started her career. Since Marble’s childhood, Mr CHUI has been getting along with her like a friend to prevent her from considering him an authoritative and strict father. He hopes that she will share her feelings and ideas with him at ease. He still remembers that Marble was interested in learning diving when she was on vacation in the United States at the age of 16. Although he was a bit worried, he did not stop her from learning diving, instead, he shared his diving experience with her. At last, Marble learnt diving, and together with Mr CHUI, obtained the diving licence in Hong Kong.

One life influencing another

As regards the expectation for his daughter, Mr CHUI hopes that she will be content with what she possesses, maintain a heart of gratitude and contribute to the society with all her efforts. He believes that one life influences another, just as how people will be influenced to help others after receiving the help from his daughter in voluntary work, thus shaping a better world. However, he emphasized that every child is an individual, and he believes his daughter will be able to choose the road suitable for her future. As long as she is happy, he will be happy too.

After sharing Mr CHUI’s story, I hope that the public will get a better grasp of our colleagues’ work. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all fathers who shoulder the responsibility to take care of their families. They are absolutely worthy of our applause, encouragement and support.