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Last month, three 11-year-olds set off on a hike in Cheung Chau, an outlying island of Hong Kong, hoping to clear their minds before their looming exams. Instead, they found themselves in the middle of a real-life emergency.
On February 20, the children were heading towards the North Lookout Pavilion on the Cheung Chau Family Walk when they spotted a hiker slumped against a staircase near a narrow, less-travelled path.
The man had fallen, and his chin was cut and bleeding heavily.
The children, who are Primary Six pupils at Cheung Chau Sacred Heart School, did not panic. Instead, they divided the work of helping the injured stranger.
“At that moment, I didn’t think about being afraid at all. I just thought we should go down and save him first. There was no way we could just watch him lying there and then leave,” Kasey Cheng Hei-tung recalled.
“We had previously learned some first aid knowledge in general studies, so we knew how to help.”
As the kids spoke with the injured man, they learned that he had hurt his left arm and sprained his ankles.
Kenji Chan King-hei immediately called the police, while Ocean Ip Hing-shing checked a map to pinpoint their exact location.
After emergency services were dispatched, Ocean ran downhill to guide rescuers through the winding paths. Meanwhile, Kasey stayed with the injured hiker, offering him a pack of seaweed for energy while using wipes to clean his wound.
“At first, I thought he might have low blood sugar, so I gave him some chocolate. But he refused it. In the end, I gave him a pack of seaweed,” she said.
The trio remained at the scene until they confirmed the man had boarded the ambulance.
Calm and composed
A few days later, the hiker, named Gordon Li, took to the social media platform, Threads, to thank the trio publicly, praising their quick thinking and kindness.
“On the day of the incident, I was accidentally injured near the North Lookout Pavilion. There were no other people around at the time. Fortunately, I met three brave children. Instead of just standing by and watching, they immediately stepped forward to help me,” Li wrote in the post.
“What moved me the most was how calm they were while handling the situation. In a very short time, they clearly reported the coordinates on the mountain to the firefighters, allowing the rescue team to quickly locate me and arrive as fast as possible to save me.”
Li’s post noted how impressed he was with the pupils’ composure.
“This kind of calm response in a critical situation is something even many adults may not be able to do,” he wrote.
Real-world lessons
Kenji explained that the hike began just as a way to take a break from studying after they had finished their tutorial classes.
“Since none of us had anything to do and exams were coming in a few days, we went hiking to relax and reduce stress,” he said.
“Because we were on holiday, we went hiking together. Even before that, we ... went hiking together occasionally.”
Through their experience, the students said they hoped more people in Hong Kong would step forward to help others in need.
“We hope people won’t turn a blind eye to incidents like this and will choose to help,” they said.
Kenji, Kasey and Ocean received a merit from their school in recognition of their actions.
Principal Wong Leung-hoi from Cheung Chau Sacred Heart School said that the students were not seeking recognition when they shared their story with school staff.
“They simply told their teachers about it. They weren’t thinking about receiving compliments or rewards,” he said.
Wong appreciated the children’s heroic efforts and connected this to what they were learning in school.
“The injury happened in a place that wasn’t very obvious, [but] they were able to spot it. After noticing it, they took the initiative to help – calling the police, taking care of the injured person, and so on,” he said.
“We can see that the children truly applied what they learned in real life. We often teach them that they should help others and learn how to do so properly.”
