Going Somewhere

Most children enjoy an outing, and going away on holiday once a year can be one of the highlights of a child's life. Yet going away and re-locating in a new place where the language and culture is different to everything the child has known is often traumatic.

There are literally thousands of such children in Hong Kong, but as a supporter of the work of Christian Action, you are helping to ease the trauma of some of these children. The lives of children like 9 year old Ying are being changed, thanks to you!

When he had been in Hong Kong for less than a month, Ying brought home a very worrying report. His teacher was deeply concerned because she felt she could not provide the support he needed: Ying needed personal tutorial classes.  He was very upset. He was unable to rationalize his situation, so his fear translated itself into anger. His mother was doubly distressed as she had no idea where she would find the money to pay for extra classes. 

Imagine her joy when Christian Action enrolled Ying into tutorial classes, and arranged counseling. Our tutorial classes include a developmental programme which helps children to adapt to Hong Kong, and so make friends faster. Ying immediately began to improve academically. His relationship with his mother and teachers also improved. Thankfully, he is no longer the sad, withdrawn and angry little boy he was when he first came to us.  

There are many mainland Chinese women who have relocated here, usually because they have married a Hong Kong resident. Often the marriage ends prematurely and they find themselves struggling to survive. These women have very few marketable skills, and therefore work long hours for minimum wages. They are barely able to feed their children, so fees for tutorial classes are out of the question.  Taking a holiday is only ever a dream!

At Christian Action we are able to provide these children with much needed tutorial classes, and it costs just a quarter of the market rate. With generous sponsorship from willing donors we also include outings and extra curricular activities, especially on weekends.  Ying can now go somewhere, not only for fun, but for the rest of his life!