The Awardee of The Third Hong Kong Humanity Award - Professor Edward NG

Professor Edward Ng has involved himself in humanitarian work since his study in 1980s. Professor Ng manages his professional skills as an architect to improve the life of rural and poor Chinese. Professor Ng started his humanitarian work in rural China in 2005, while he initiated a joint-university bridge building project called “A Bridge Too Far, A Dream Comes True” in a twin village, Maosi in Gansu province of Northwest China. The village is separated into two by Po River which connected by a primitive and unstable foot-bridge made simply of mud, straw and tree branches over the waters while villagers had been killed by the floods. Thus, Professor Ng gathered over 60 volunteers from both Hong Kong and the mainland university students and professionals in erecting a permanent bridge “Wu Zhi Qiao” with their bare hands in six days. The humane bridge turned a new leaf of life of Maosi people and contributed a safer and better long-term development of the whole village. Adopted the idea in delivering love and care to enable the sustainable development of poverty-sticken and disadvantaged areas, the “Wu Zhi Qiao” Charitable Foundation has developed into an inter-university cooperation initiative of Hong Kong and the ainland university students. It has mobilized over 330 volunteers and completed 11 bridge projects in Shanxi, Sichuan, Gansu, Guizhou and Yunnan etc, benefiting over ten thousands villagers since its inauguration in 2007 under the leadership of Professor Ng. Besides the bridge building project, Professor Ng helped the affected people in 5.12 Sichuan Earthquake 2008 rebuilding houses ruined during the earthquake and built a safe pedestrian crossing in place of the traditional but unstable one as the only way of reaching the outside world. His works have not only contributed an important long-term impact towards life, health and development of remote and rural population, but also provides a role modelling impact in affecting the future development of involving university students to carry out humanitarian actions to the world. “To the academics and professionals, every bridge is a piece of research that requires innovation. To the students, every bridge is a piece of learning of the world around them, and beyond them. To the volunteers and supporters, every bridge extends their love to those in need. And to the villagers, every bridge is a life saver that improves their living. More importantly, they come to know there is a group of young people from Hong Kong who care about them. This invisible bridge of hearts is the true spirit of Wu Zhi Qiao,” said Professor Ng.