‘Holding on to hope’: Hong Kong fire survivors make New Year wish for a home
Fire-hit residents wish for long-term resettlement, saying they ‘are more concerned about having a roof over their head’
Retired Hong Kong civil servant Ng Kook-yiu takes a shuttle bus every day from his transitional housing flat to the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po.
“I long to see my home, where I spent four decades of my life. It breaks my heart to see it each time, but it is still my home,” the 76-year-old said.
Like other residents who were offered temporary accommodation, Ng moved into a flat of just more than 100 sq ft at the Good House transitional housing site after the inferno.
He said he had since travelled back to the estate daily to check on it and to collect free items, including daily necessities and clothes distributed by charities to affected residents.
He also receives free lunches at a dim sum shop in the nearby Kwong Fuk Commercial Centre during his trips home. The eatery offers complimentary meals to Wang Fuk Court residents in the aftermath of the tragedy.