James lives his boundless passion for books by integrating reading into everyday life.
James once ran a bookstore in Causeway Bay which sold arts and culture titles and hosted concerts and discussion sessions regularly. He founded the group “Run of Page” which combined sports with reading to encourage more people to take up healthy interests. During his work on poverty alleviation with an NGO, he found that children from grassroots families did not develop an interest in reading because they lacked a pleasant experience with books. This inspired him to launch “Rolling Books” which aims to bring a reading culture to communities and schools.
James tours schools and communities with a van or a wooden cart, both beautifully decorated and loaded with thoughtfully selected books under a specific theme. Knowing that conventional methods like reading seminars cannot thrill the kids, James conveys his message by combining literature with interactive elements such as dramas and sketching classes.
As a social entrepreneur, James always thinks about the best way to achieve a balance between revenue and services for the grassroots. Eventually, a “You buy, I give” model was adopted. For every certain number of paid participants, children from low-income families would be invited through community organisations to join the workshop free of charge. James considers this to be a more preferred operation model besides running school activities and selling books.
Looking ahead, James hopes to promote reading to children from South Asian families and families seeking refuge in Hong Kong, to provide them with more opportunities to learn Chinese, acquire knowledge and pursue a better prospect.
- The SIE Fund had provided funding support to the prototype project of Rolling Books. More details can be found here.
Profession
otherScope of Services
education and trainingBeneficiaries
youth and childrenRead more
(To be updated)