By John Cairns

LAMMA ISLAND, Hong Kong -- No matter where anyone wanders, strong roots reach all the way back to a birthplace. A seven-year-old boy named Lucas reacted accordingly after a devastating earthquake on January 12 delivered death and destruction to Haiti, his homeland.

Believed to be the only Haitian living on Lamma Island and one of just a few in Hong Kong, gregarious Lucas has a knack to befriend nearly everyone he meets. Now he has stepped forward to assist folks in the troubled place he left as toddler.

“Lucas wanted to participate in raising funds for the earthquake appeal,” said Susanne, his mother. “He’s fully aware of his adoption story and proud of his Haitian roots. He knows he still has family there. Well, we hope he still does.”

Since the quake, Lucas has collected money to “help Haiti” from folks along the Main Street in Lamma’s largest village. “Last Saturday, he did an amazing job of shaking his collection box and asking people for donations,” Susanne said. “Few people made it past him without digging deep into their pockets. He collected more than HK$3,000, not bad for a little guy. We’re very proud of him.”

Lucas also left donation boxes in prominent places. Leading businesses -- Green Cottage, The Island Bar, The Waterfront, Banyan Bay Cafe, Deli Lamma and Diesels -- agreed to place boxes on their premises. “We won’t leave the boxes out for long because we want to get the money to Haiti as soon as possible,” said Susanne, who also mentioned the effort to her son’s teacher at Kennedy School on Hong Kong Island. The school’s staff then donated HK$7,000.

Years ago after Susanne, from Britain, and Flavio, her Brazilian spouse, decided to adopt a child, they chose Lucas from an orphanage in Port-Au-Prince, the Haitian capital. For a time, young Lucas lived on Lamma. Then the family moved to Brazil, but later returned here.

Lucas will forward all the proceeds to SOS Children’s Villages Haiti, a charity (www.sos-childrensvillages.org) struggling to provide quake victims with food, water and medical supplies. Strong in Haiti since 1978, this global organization takes a special interest in orphaned or abandoned children.

Thanks to Lucas, the people he encounters, even if they’ve never been to Haiti, can take a certain satisfaction in contributing to good deeds there. In that sense, this big-hearted boy does a favor for his present-day neighbors too.



Well-known on Lamma, Lucas has a knack
to befriend nearly everyone he meets there.



Yet another giving person gains a certain
satisfaction by contributing to 'help Haiti'.


ARCHIVES