Justin Fong, like many, was in the comfort of his own home
watching the news when he first heard about the widespread
devastation caused by the Dec. 26, 2004, earthquake and resultant
tsunami in South Asia that left at least 221,000 dead and thousands
more displaced.
But unlike most people, the UCLA alumnus, currently residing in
China, decided to put his life on hold in order to assist in the
relief efforts in the affected region.
He packed his bags, making sure to include a first aid kit and
tools, and took the first flight out of Beijing to Bangkok,
Thailand.
“We’re all watching TV, contributing money, and I
found out that I can contribute my own presence,” Fong said
in a telephone interview, eight hours before boarding a plane
headed for the disaster zone. “I can’t compare the
sacrifice of interrupting my life to the disruption that the
tsunami has caused.”
Fong, who served as a student regent on the UC Board of Regents
while he was a UCLA graduate student in public policy and who now
runs his own humanitarian nongovernmental organization, surprised
no one with his willingness to put the needs of others before his
own.
“When I read he was doing this, I thought, “˜Yup,
that’s Justin.’ He’s always wanting to help
others,” said VC Powe, the executive director of external
programs at the School of Public Affairs, who maintained a close
friendship with Fong during his tenure as a student regent.
“He put himself out there with the regents on behalf of
students and now he’s putting himself out there on behalf of
victims of a natural disaster.”
After stops in Bangkok and Phuket, Fong, along with his group of
friends, plans on travelling to the village of Khao Lak, two hours
north of Phuket, and remaining there for at least three weeks.
“I’m expecting to see large areas of rubble and a
lot of tired people,” Fong said. “Those affected and
those trying to help have been working around the clock and
they’re fatigued.”
In addition to the basic physical labor of cleaning up and
rebuilding, Fong plans on assisting in community need assessment, a
task requiring extensive experience in organizing both people and
resources ““ skills Fong is known for among those he worked
with.
“He’s going to help people organize to help
themselves,” Powe said, adding that Fong played a major role
in organizing students to oppose proposed measures that eventually
ended the practice of affirmative action on UC campuses.
“He’s always been a good organizer.”
After graduating from UCLA, Fong moved to China to start his own
NGO in Beijing named Moving Mountains, through which he set up a
Web site at www.thedonationcenter.org to collect donations from
friends and family. Currently, Fong has collected about $1,000 from
UCLA staff, students and alumni.
“Overall, our students seem to be very socially conscious
and idealistic, but overall he’s able to put his idealism in
action,” said Fong’s graduate adviser Maciek
Kolodziejczak.
Though Fong has dedicated most of the past year to development
projects at his NGO, he worries that once he arrives in the
affected regions, the emotional bonds that he’ll form between
the people he helps and the land he’ll call home will make
leaving a near-impossible task.
“I had to promise myself that at one point I need to come
back and deal with my responsibilities here,” Fong said.
“It’s going to be difficult for me to return because
we’re really trying to rebuild entire lives, and I know I
can’t do that in a few weeks.”
Other students interested in assisting relief efforts should
contact the UCLA Center for Public Health and Disaster.