LO 7: Recognise and consider the ethics implications of choices and actions

For Chinese New Year in service, we conducted in activity with our clients which involved them making paper lantern cutouts. The paper lantern cutouts were colour-less, and though the plan was to have them colour the lanterns, we would have had them leave the lanterns white in case of a shortage of colour pencils or time. However, during a free block on the day of service, my Chinese friend exclaimed in shock after I showed him a white lantern cutout I’d done. He told me that while red lanterns signify the New Year and prosperity, white lanterns are used at funerals and embody death. I received a similar reaction from a staff member at our service, who repeatedly warned me not to give the elderly white lanterns. We then made sure that no lantern was left uncoloured, since that would have had disastrous moral consequences. This episode highlighted how even the tiniest of things have ethical repercussions, and that we must carefully consider our actions, especially when it comes to dealing with cultures and situations we are unfamiliar with.