First Steps

Worldwide, there is more awareness today than ever before of the plight of ethnic minorities. That is why Christian Action has been providing humanitarian support services for these marginalised people since 2003. They are people with hopes and dreams, just like you and me.

On Saturday October 13th, Christian Action held a ground-breaking conference that was attended by over 250 of our city's ethnic minorities. The conference created a platform where people could discuss access to basic services, including access to education.  The conference also provided the opportunity to establish a consortium of Ethnic Minority groups, identify gaps in service provisions, and brainstorm about possible solutions.

The No. 1 priority for everyone who attended the conference was to find ways of ensuring a better future for their children. Almost every family present has a similar story: Parents work long hours, mothers often washing dishes on 16 hour shifts in restaurants, and fathers working long days as menial labourers on construction sites. The schools that are attended by their children have been specially designated for ethnic minorities, but the students lack the additional support they need to excel in Chinese. Parents, who are exhausted from long hours of hard physical labour are only able to give their children minimum support. The children struggle academically and many drop out of school after Year 9, when education is no longer free in Hong Kong.

To combat the high rate of school dropouts among ethnic minorities, Christian Action teaches children from ethnic minority groups that their lives are valuable; that their contribution to our society can be valuable, and that they do have the intellectual ability to continue with an education which will improve their lives.

Believing in themselves offers hope and a vision for a better future. But we don’t just leave it there! Christian Action has implemented an after school homework tutorial programme, which includes Chinese language tutorial classes. Our team provides the guidance and assistance that parents cannot give.  Our aim and our dream is that all ethnic minority students will be inspired to complete their high school education and graduate from university!  We want them to believe that their hopes and dreams can become a reality!