The Biggest Challenge Yet!

It's been 18 years since Christian Action first signed a contract with the Xining Civil Affairs Bureau to co-manage the Xining Children's Home, a place for orphaned and abandoned children. Back then, I couldn't begin to imagine how my dream about saving an abandoned baby would, in reality, grow and grow... and still continues to grow to very surprising proportions!

Next came the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Qinghai Provincial Government re co-managing seven more children's homes in Qinghai.

Recently, we signed a new 10-year Co-operation Agreement with the Qinghai Civil Affairs Department which names Christian Action as their formal 'Strategic Partner' and gives me the honour of being the 'Charity Ambassador of Qinghai Province'. We will be helping the government care for 36,000 at-risk children; developing a new training programme for child welfare workers in Qinghai; enhancing the quality of local NGOs' development, and supporting elderly and disabled services.

This is a big challenge for us at Christian Action!

It was the Qinghai Delegation’s desire to learn from the Hong Kong welfare sector, so we arranged for them to visit a home for the elderly and a day care centre for the elderly. There were also opportunities for them to learn more about various services provided to children and youth in Hong Kong. After their visit to Christian Action and the directors of our operations, they asked us to help them develop the management and operation transparency of local NGOs in Qinghai, using Christian Action as their model.

One of the highlights of their trip to Hong Kong was the visit to The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Social Work Department where we were received by their chair professor and three other professors. CUHK Social Work Department will work with Christian Action to develop training curriculum for child welfare workers and social workers in Qinghai.

After 18 years of work in Qinghai, it was an honour for us to host four very senior Qinghai Civil Affairs Department officials in Hong Kong. In their own words the officials said, “It was a long overdue visit to Christian Action Hong Kong and this was an opportunity for us to say thank you!"

Challenges will certainly lie ahead as our services expand, but over the years God has led us step by step as we first helped a few children to now potentially aiding a staggering 36,000 children in need. There is no doubt that our relationship with the government continues to thrive because of the incredible work God is doing through us in Qinghai, and I celebrate the opportunity we have to continue to serve under the banner of Christian Action in the years to come!

Thank you for praying for and financially supporting this work - may God bless you!