Ming Gor's second restaurant "Pei Ho Counterparts"
63-year-old Chan Cheuk-ming, better known as “Brother Ming” or “Ming Gor”, is the owner of Pei Ho Restaurant in Sham Shui Po. Since 2008, he willingly distributed 500 free meal coupons (including 2 meat dishes, 1 vegetable and rice) the needy, the ill and elderly in Hong Kong’s Kowloon district so that they can have a hot meal. Now he together with other volunteers distribute 400 free meals every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in Sham Shui Po where he has stayed for more than 30 years after he came to Hong Kong in 1979.
Last year he opened his second eatery operated in the pattern of social enterprises. The name of the new restaurant is Pei Ho Counterparts (北河同行), autographed by the famous gourmet Cai Lan, through which Ming Gor wants to express the meaning of “hoping people with different political views or religion beliefs can put aside divergence, walk together and help each other. He has earned a reputation for being a friend to anyone who needs a helping hand.
Ming Gor is holding the sharing session after volunteers finish distributing free meals
Ming Gor holds a sharing session each time after the volunteer distributing activity, telling people about how and why his charity is able to develope from a small restaurant to today’s career with increasing influence. He also answers some questions raised by anyone interested in his action.
Below are edited transcripts of Ming Gor’s sharing session and interview:
Ming Gor: I took over running the Pei Ho Restaurant since 1995, and started to distribute free meal boxes to the homeless every weekend since 2011. That means we send out about 50,000 lunch boxes each year. Gradually, we work with some non-profit organizations to buy some diapers, towels and cakes and send these daily supplies to the elderly in rest homes and single elderly people living in the public housing.
We have been doing the free meal distributing for more than six years, but before, young people just come to take part in the volunteering activity, then leave and go back to their own daily life. It seems like nothing has changed. No communication or sharing between each other. That’s why we have sharing session after each time’s distributing. I hope that the idea of sharing can go with people. For example, a young college student comes to join us. After he graduates and enter all kinds of organizations to start his working life, he might be able to share our or his stories to others in this society.
Literally I share free meals with those who need them in this city. But actually what I want to share with this society is kindness, from the of every person’s heart.
Q: How do you see the sharing spirit now in Hong Kong?
Ming Gor: What I understand about sharing is doing the good, and always willing and ready to give. So I think in Hong Kong, there have been people trying to help others all the time. I remember there was once a lady coming to buy lunch boxes for one year, and tell me to distribute to the homeless. Once a gentleman from England came to my restaurant to buy the free meal coupons with his wife. What surprised me was that next year, I saw him again. He brought his daughter to buy more coupons than first time. Too many lovely stories to tell. By the way, because we can cooperate with other organizations, they can weekly help us to find volunteers online to help us do the distributing work. So it’s not that difficult now.
Q: How do you manage your financial sourcing?
Ming Gor: We have been doing this for almost ten years, so we have gained some reputations and more people are getting to know us. Therefore, more foundations and financial groups are now willing to subsidizing us compared to the single source of personal donations within our initiators at the first beginning.
In Sham Shui Po, half of people here are my friends. They are all very supportive to my work. Sometimes, we will distribute the extra vegetables in our baskets to the elderly living in the public housing. And some shopkeepers will provide grocery close to expiration to us, because they know we will use it in a very short time. These are all material and sources of our charity work.
Q: You mention the idea of sharing, so do you have any words to the younger generations now in Hong Kong society?
Ming Gor: At this moment, many gaps exist between the younger and older generations, materially or spiritually. Young people is seen as much easier to be impulsive with less social experience. So I think they should give themselves more exposure to the grassroots and our elderly. The most important thing for young people is they are willing to continue this kind of sharing, keeping doing good, helping others in this society.
