Venus Hung Yat-yiu used to receive multiple calls a day from her grandmother. But the Form Five student at United Christian College (Kowloon East) often ignored them, explaining that she was busy with homework.
She would soon come to regret not answering her phone. A few months after these calls stopped, Venus’s grandmother was diagnosed with dementia. The condition can affect a person’s memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities.
“Now, she hardly recognises me,” said the 16-year-old, recalling how her grandma’s health deteriorated quickly after the diagnosis last November.
After Venus joined a youth entrepreneurial programme at her school last year, her regret inspired a game designed to foster communication between teenagers and their grandparents.
In Lost and Found, elderly and teenage players collaborate to guide a child to a competition venue after the child misses the bus. The game requires players to tap into their knowledge of Hong Kong’s past and present to win.
“The purpose of our whole journey is to add fun into connection because most teenagers think that connecting with [the] elderly is boring,” Venus said.
Learning from professionals
The HSBC x JA Company Programme, run by HSBC and Junior Achievement Hong Kong, helps students build entrepreneurial skills over seven months by running a business under the guidance of industry professionals.
After a few months of research and brainstorming, the team of 19 students, with Venus as CEO, decided to focus on a product that could help the elderly.
They had narrowed their ideas down to two: an escape-room experience at Hong Kong landmarks and a communication-based card game. So they merged the ideas to create Lost and Found.
Inside the game box are five sealed envelopes, which players must open in order, revealing story cards for each level. Players must decode clues to unlock the next stage.
“To progress faster and be more efficient in the puzzle-solving process, they need to incorporate elders’ knowledge,” Venus said. For example, players must match old Hong Kong landmarks with their modern functions.
These elements were inspired by the team’s Chinese teacher, who runs the popular Instagram page @oldhkphoto, and elderly people’s memories.
“When they talk about the past, they will keep talking. They are very willing to communicate,” Venus said.
A website, coded by the team, provides a timer, hints and reflective questions after each level is complete.
“Some elderly may be left out by the digital world, so it’s important to incorporate new technologies,” Venus said.
Inspiring connections
Prudence Chung Sin-man, 16, the team’s operations director, tested the prototype with her grandfather.
“I mainly observed him to see if he would understand ... the game rules,” the Form Five student said. “We tried to make sure the words were big and easy to understand.”
One level features an old system of Chinese numerals, hua ma, that were once common in wet markets and old restaurants.
“At first, we weren’t sure whether to include them as we didn’t know if all elderly people would recognise them,” Prudence said.
After seeing the characters, her grandfather started sharing stories from the past.
“He told me how prices used to be cheap, what he used to buy, and how people even wrote phone numbers using those characters,” Prudence said.
When her whole family played together, the conversations kept flowing. Prudence’s mother later told her she had never heard her grandfather talk so much about his past.
After collecting feedback, Prudence and the team made the game more elderly-friendly by enlarging the font and simplifying the instructions.
Lessons about entrepreneurship
For secondary students without entrepreneurial experience, turning their idea into a real product was far from easy. The team revised the game repeatedly based on feedback. The frequent changes led to conflicts with their original manufacturer.
“The factory owner became very angry. He asked why we didn’t finalise everything before contacting him,” Prudence recalled.
The team’s production deadline was approaching. With a teacher’s assistance, the team switched to other manufacturers and assembled the game themselves.
“The biggest lesson was [learning to stay] calm to deal with a problem,” Prudence said.
“There are many different things that you really have to experience first before you can learn them,” Venus explained. She added that the programme had sparked her interest in pursuing a business major, as she appreciated the freedom that entrepreneurship allowed.
Chang Yu-hsiang, the faculty head of business at United Christian College (Kowloon East), guided the team through all stages of the programme. He said he was moved by the team’s passion.
“They truly went through their personal journey and experience with their families,” he shared.
Venus’ team won the Best Offering and Digital Entrepreneurship awards from the HSBC JA Company Programme. But for Venus, the real success was creating something that helps families talk before it is too late.
“I hope that playing this game can let teenagers realise that the existence of elders isn’t going to slow them down, but the opposite,” she said.
Prudence added that making a phone call to show your grandparents you care about them might seem trivial, “[but it] could be the happiest thing for [your grandparents] in an entire week.”
