As We Run, We Become

Sometimes in life we look but we don’t see, and listen, but not hear. I believe that the American marathoner Amby Burfoot, was thinking along those lines when she said: “As we run, we become. Winning is about struggle and effort and optimism and never, ever, ever giving up.” The act of running is indeed physical, but the practice begets changes on a far deeper level.

Late last year our Christian Action Centre of Refugees (CFR) co-organized a three month long community running event for Hong Kong residents and refugees. Jeffrey Andrews, who heads up CFR, saw it as a tremendous opportunity for new friendships to be made and for local runners to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges refugees face. Running would not resolve their on-going legal procedures, or resolve their fear of deportation, or the policies that prevent them from working, or help increase the meagre living allowance they receive from the government, but it could improve mental and physical health!

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Local Charity Box of Hope Blesses Our Kids!

Box of Hope is a fabulous local charity with a wonderful mission. For the last several years they have blessed each of the underprivileged children in our programmes with a box of gifts. What makes these boxes of gifts so wonderful, is that they are purchased and donated by other, more fortunate HK school children who are in turn learning about poverty and the joy of giving!

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The Life-changing Power of Scholarships

Scholarships change lives. They give educational opportunities that would otherwise be impossible. At Christian Action, we believe that a family’s poverty cycle can be broken with a quality education. For this reason, we provide high school students from our service centres, with tertiary education opportunities.

Three weeks ago I attended the Christian Action Scholarship for Excellence (CASE) Award Presentation at our Headquarters and heard the story of one of our amazing students.

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Join This Year’s 3-Legged Charity Walk To Save At Risk Children.

Chui’s life, and her relationship with her daughter, is a success story born of struggle; but it could so easily have gone the other way. Chui knew that for her daughter to succeed in life she needed to excel academically. She did everything possible to help her, but the harder she tried the more her daughter stone-walled her and their relationship disintegrated.

When her daughter was diagnosed as having learning disabilities, Chui sought help. Unfortunately, the government clinics were of no assistance and private clinics were too costly.

Chui was eventually sent to Christian Action's social worker in a desperate state. We accepted her daughter into the After-School care programme, in addition to establishing her detailed family circumstances and providing counselling.

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Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year! Today is the first day of the New Year. It is traditionally spent visiting the homes of friends and families to wish them a Happy New Year. This practice is known as "bai leen" in Cantonese (or "bai nian" in Putonghua). Simply put, the phrase means to "wish someone a Happy New Year" or to "exchange New Year's greetings”.

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