Hong Kong’s ethnic minority seniors find their voice through art

Difficulty: Challenger (Level 3)

Housewife Ash Maya Limbu moved to Hong Kong with her husband and four children from Nepal in 2014. Daily life in the city was a challenge because of language barriers.

Cultural differences make it difficult for older people from ethnic minority groups. It can be tough for them to describe their feelings or look for mental health support.

But since May this year, Limbu has found a way to express herself through clay art, playing the drums and painting.

She joined a project started by the Hong Kong Expressive Arts Therapy Service Centre a year ago. The project teaches 300 older people from ethnic minority communities and their carers. Most are Nepalis, and some are from the Indian and Pakistani communities.

The project works with eight social service organisations to provide expressive arts treatments for emotional relief, carer stress relief, and life and death education. The message is spread through activities such as dancing and visual arts.

According to Hong Kong’s 2021 census, 301,344 people from ethnic minority groups, aside from domestic helpers, lived in the city. Many of them come from countries like the Philippines, India and Nepal.

Quiz time

1. Why did Ash Maya Limbu struggle to fit in when she first moved to Hong Kong?

2. How does Limbu express her feelings?

3. How does the Hong Kong Expressive Arts Therapy Service Centre provide arts treatments?

4. Where do many of Hong Kong’s ethnic minority residents come from?

A new project uses expressive arts therapy to help older people from ethnic minority communities find emotional relief and connect with their cultural heritage. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Suggested answers

1. because of language barriers

2. through clay art, playing the drums and painting

3. through activities like dancing and visual arts

4. The Philippines, Nepal, and India