This week on Orange Ribbon

This week we will be presenting an interview that Allan recorded in Hong Kong three weeks ago, with Chung To, the Founder and CEO of the Chi Heng Foundation. Complete details and background to this interview can be found in Allan's earlier post to this blog dated March 6th, 2009.

Chung To is a most interesting, yet quietly-spoken, person, with a passion to provide living and education expenses for poor children in China who have been affected by the Aids epidemic. His organization now provides financial support for around 7,000 children in China, and the fundraising required for this support is substantial. Chung has given up his banking career for the past 5 years in order to provide volunteer support for his Foundation, and the children it supports.

Listen in to Orange Ribbon at 7pm on JOY 94.9 (Melbourne, Australia) this coming Wednesday evening (25th March) to hear this amazing story of a very dedicated and passionate human being.

Allan reports from Hong Kong (again...)

Yes, I know that I seem to have spent a lot of time up here in Hong Kong, but I do love the place, and I have many great friends up here as well. My partner, Pete, and I flew up here just two weeks ago for our umpteenth visit. However, Pete flew out of Hong Kong earlier this morning on his way back home to Melbourne, in order to attend the Daylesford Chill-Out Festival this coming weekend, and then he is off to Sydney and then Brisbane for a few days. In the meantime, I will remain on here in Hong Kong for the next 10 days. We will both meet up back at home (in Melbourne) gain on Monday 16th when I return from Hong Kong.

I have lost count of my visits here to Hong Kong, in particular over the past two years, but it is proba

bly 10-11 visits, totaling probably 6-7 months. Goodness...! I suddenly realized that this means I have spent upwards of 25% of my time here in just the last two years, ignoring various other visits I made here prior to the last two years.

Regular listeners to Orange Ribbon will know that we occasionally chat with Reggie Ho here in Hong Kong, and who gives us an update on what's been happening for the gay & lesbian scene here. Reggie was last on Orange Ribbon on 17th January. (If you missed it, you can click on the "Podcasts" tab on the JOY website, search for "Orange Ribbon" program, click on "Previous episodes...", then search for the program edition for 17th January.) Well, I hope to catch up with Reggie next week sometime for lunch/dinner and no doubt I will get some more local news I can report on when I return.

However, last Monday I caught up with Chung To, the Founder and Chairperson of the Chi Heng Foundation (www.chihengfoundation.com). Although born in Hong Kong, Chung moved with his family to the U.S.A. when he was 15. He subsequently went to college (university), obtained a Graduate and Masters degree in business finance, and then worked in merchant banking in New York for several years. At the age of 27 years he was then transferred to Hong Kong with his banking employer to take up a senior role here. But as will be revealed in an upcoming interview, Chung got involved in helping Aids-affected children in Hong Kong, and more extensively in mainland China. He started the Chi Heng Foundation which (among many other activities) now provides financial support for living and schooling expenses for around 7,000 Aids-affected children in Mainland China.

His work with Chi Heng Foundation became a full-time role, and so a few years ago he gave up his banking career and now works full-time as the volunteer Chairperson for his Chi Heng Foundation. But he hopes to be able to get back to some (personal) income-producing activities at some stage as he can't live forever with no income to support himself.

Chung To is an amazing Chinese gay and Aids activist, with a deep concern and interest in the welfare of mainland Chinese children who have been affected in some way by Aids... either by having parents or siblings living with (or have died of) Aids, or who themselves are living with HIV.

Chung is a very busy man, and travels a lot through mainland China keeping touch with the work that the Chi Heng Foundation undertakes. However, he set aside an hour for me last Monday afternoon to record an interview which I will be presenting on Orange Ribbon after I return to Melbourne... most probably it will be the program for 25th March.

So please stay tuned for updates, and the most likely date of 25th March when I will present to you my interview with this deeply driven and concerned local who has set aside his own career (and stable income...) in order to start the Chi Heng Foundation and to assist so many children in mainland China.

I will be returning to Melbourne on 16th March, almost immediately to the Melbourne Queer Film Festival which I shall be attending for most sessions, so I probably won't be on Orange Ribbon until the 25th March when I will present to you my recent chat with Chung To. Looking forward to talking to you all then.

Allan Smales in Hong Kong

An interesting guest on tonight's program

Earlier this evening, Hugh and Allan had a very interesting discussion with Geoffrey. He is traditional Anglo/Australian, born in the western suburbs of Melbourne, then a family property in Gippsland, and finally back to the western suburbs again. Geoffrey outlined how he later got involved in self-funded support work in India, which grew out of his attendance at the AIDS Conference held in Melbourne in year 200. As a consequence of that conference, and discussions he had with attendees from places like India, he felt the urge to try and help out with training and education in India, on a totally self-funded basis.

So for several years in a row, each year, Geoffery spent time in India helping with AIDS support, training, advice, assistance etc.

More latterly his current involvement is running accomodation and support facilities in the western suburbs of Melbourne, providing fatherly guidance, support, and accomodation for up to eight overseas students here in Melbourne... particularly those who come from difficult and/or poor circumstances in their home country. The objective being to provide them an academic foundation that will set them up for life in the future, and create a path out of poverty. Most of those he supports are younbg gay men, but he also helps and supports some straight students as well, and they all apparently get on very well. Again, all of this primarily provided using Geoffrey's own resources.

Geoffrey also briefly discussed his marriage, his children, coming out, and some difficult family issues that have affected his life.

If you missed the program, then please check out the podcast version of this interview available from the JOY website.