Use As Needed...

In the early 90's, when I started working as Executive Director of Hong Kong Christian Aid to Refugees (as we were known then), I thought I was going to gently lay the organisation to rest, because after all, the Vietnamese refugees were leaving Hong Kong and our services were no longer needed, right? Wrong!

Within a short space of time God showed me people who were sleeping on the streets right here - in one of the wealthiest cities in Asia! They were mostly asylum seekers from south Asia and Africa. Another group was migrant domestic workers who had been mistreated. They had nowhere to turn for help because the language barrier prevented them from accessing our justice system, which is meant to be available to all.

Dame Rosanna Yik Ming Wong is
famous for her contribution to social work

All these needs led us to establish the Chung King Mansions Service Centre and the Jordan Paralegal Service Centre for Domestic Helpers and Migrant Workers.

Any support services who offer aid to either of these two groups are not funded by the government, the major funding bodies such as Community Chest, or the Jockey Club, so Christian Action is heavily dependent on the generosity of individuals and private organizations for funding. Since the needs of the poor in Hong Kong are great (and growing every day) competition for limited funds is tough! This is why we were so pleasantly surprised when Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation offered us what they describe as `a moderate donation of HK$100 000’ to use as needed!

Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation forms the charitable arm of Sino Group, one of the leading property developers in Hong Kong. They had consulted with Dame Rosanna Wong Yick-ming, DBE, JP, who is famous for her contribution to social work.  They then followed her advice to seek out small to medium sized NGO’s who struggle to raise funds, particularly to cover their operational and administration costs. Dr. Wong assured the Foundation that the recipient charities could be trusted to spend the money well, so the Foundation agreed to make donations without stipulating conditions. Christian Action has split this gift between operation costs of our migrant workers and asylum seekers programmes.

The donation may be moderate, but the gesture is huge, and for that I am extremely grateful! I’d like to say thank you very much to Ng Teng Fong Foundation for this wonderful show of generosity, and we also thank Dr. Wong for trusting us and recommending Christian Action!

We appreciate every gift, no matter how small, and we deeply respect every condition attached to gifts. Would you also consider donating funds to support our work with migrant workers and asylum seekers?