Media

Website ENABLE – Hong Kong First Ever On-Line Platform on Life Planning & Bereavement Support

23 Sep 2009

 

While we often bury ourselves in future planning, we nonetheless omit the fact that death is part of the life cycle which requires our careful thought. This takes a toll when facing death of our beloved ones and of our own lives. 

Funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, An Empowerment Network for Adjustment to Bereavement and Loss in End-of-life (ENABLE) established by the Centre on Behavioral Health, HKU, is launching Website ENABLE- the first interactive online platform on life and death education in Hong Kong (www.enable.hk ) during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Feature of the website includes the two distinctive ENABLE Journeys on Life and Death and Bereavement, which are both tailor-made for general public to learn about death, dying and bereavement in an interactive way.  (Please see the details below)

The Centre on Behavioral Health will be introducing the interactive online platform, with our honorable interviewee, Dr. Catherine Chong, sharing her experience of overcoming her grief with the help of the Website ENABLE at the press conference. In August 2008, Dr. Catherine Chong lost her beloved sister in the Stanley collapsing tree incident. She then wrote a book about her loss and advocates life and death education. She will also share with us how to handle the sorrow and reminiscence when Mid-Autumn Festival and anniversary since her loss is around the corner. Other professional advice in how to deal with grief arise during festivals will also be delivered.

Media are cordially invited to cover the event, details are:

Date: September 25, 2009 (Friday)  
Time: 11:30am
Venue:  Room 218, Convocation Room, Main Building, HKU

About the ENABLE Journeys:

Life and Death is a journey that provides information on death preparation. Funeral and cremation arrangement, living will (advanced directives and advanced care planning) and last will are explained in details. People are guided to choose and plan in advance. Specifically, the function of Family Tree is a system that allows the user to organize family history as a living proof of time, while Web-biography allows user to record and organize one's own life history chronologically. Both systems offer an opportunity of life review for the general public, thus finding meaning of life through death.

Bereavement is a self-healing journey tailor-made for people who lost their beloved ones as well as those who helped bereavement survivors. It provides knowledge and coping tips to deal with grief reactions and process. People facing death and bereavement can then have the effective support so as to adapt to their grief while focusing on their transformation in life. In addition, it also provides insights and resources to people who handle and work with bereaved persons.

About the Project ENABLE:

The Centre on Behavioral Health (CBH) of the University of Hong Kong has established an Empowerment Network for Adjustment to Bereavement and Loss in End-of-life (ENABLE), a project funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. Through a societal-wide campaign which serves to educate the general public on effective death preparation as well as to promote enhanced adjustment to bereavement and loss, we believe that life can become much more beautiful and fulfilling and death can be peaceful and at the same time manifest a blissful sense of life completion.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Ms Trinni Choy (Assistant Director (Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office) tel: 2859 2606 email: pychoy@hku.hk or Ms Melanie Wan (Manager (Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office) tel: 2859 2600 email: melwkwan@hku.hk.