Support for a Songbird!

As a teenager I won several school singing competitions, but my parents couldn't afford to pay for music lessons. When I was offered an interview at a recording company, I had to turn it down because I was leaving Malaysia to study in England. I know what it's like to say goodbye to the dream of becoming a singer - so now I'm thrilled to see the dream of another young singer from a poor family being fulfilled.

Let me introduce you to Siu Tin, who came here with her large family three years ago from mainland China.

Siu Tin’s family receive social welfare, so she had little hope of developing her talent as a singer until she joined Christian Action’s Child Development Fund (CDF) programme in 2010. The programme supports underprivileged teens in Hong Kong, and includes a mentoring scheme. Ivy, Siu Tin’s mentor, supported her academically and also encouraged her to pursue her goal of becoming a singer. Ivy taught Siu Tin to manage the resources she had at her disposal and get into the habit of saving. One of the ways Siu Tin saved money was to walk to school and save her bus fare.

After Christian Action arranged for Siu Tin and other students in the CDF programme to attend the opera, she was so inspired by the singing, that Siu Tin wrote to the opera company about her desire to be a singer, and successfully secured an audition to take an opera training course! The excitement of getting an audition became unbounded when she was accepted for the course! With Christian Action’s assistance, Siu Tin was given a subsidized rate, and was able to pay for her training with her savings from the CDF programme. I consider it a great privilege that we were able to help this talented girl fulfill her dream!

We are continuing to count on you to support this valuable work which is such an encouragement to children and youth from low-income families. Please join us for a concert on the Marina Lawn at the Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club on October 19th. No, Siu Tin won’t be one of the performing artists, but we are hoping to include artists such as Ivana Wong, Grace Wong, Corinna Chamblain, Hiromi, Karene Mak, Peco Chui and Chan Hong-kin, ToNIck, Killersoap, Matchbox, Blaster & Kevin Kaho Tsui and Watoto.

See you there!