CA Blessing Story Series: Helping Young Dreams Come True

Our Christian Action youth journey began in 1999 with the start of our Youth Pre-employment Training Programme. In 2009, it was renamed Youth Employment Training Programme. It has enabled over 10,900 young people to enter the workplace, not only with the necessary skills, but also with the confidence they needed to thrive in the marketplace. The programme has continued to grow: the Child Development Fund.

We recently met Siu Tin, one of the young people from our programme, to tell us how Christian Action has helped her pursue her dream as a musician. This is her story.

In 2005, Siu Tin was 10 years old, and her dream was to become a singer and artist. Almost every day after school, Siu Tin would pick up her microphone and start singing. She sang until dinner time. Due to her family's financial situation, she couldn't afford proper training. The turning point came in 2009 when Siu Tin's mother picked up a pamphlet that opened the world of music to her daughter.

Siu Tin joined Christian Action's Child Development Fund Programme. She met Ivy who began to guide her. Sui Tin said, "The most profound moment in the two-year programme was when Ivy took us to an opera. I was blown away by the artists!" Siu Tin then discovered that the opera company was looking for talent for the upcoming operetta, La Vie Parisienne. She auditioned and was chosen! After a year of voice training, Siu Tin went on stage and performed. She used her savings to have singing and piano lessons.

Her life-long dream was coming true, but Siu Tin knew that life was not just about gaining but about giving. She said, "Previously, I was more focused on my personal development, but now I want to do something that will help people in need, just as Christian Action helped me. In fact, it was Christian Action who gave me my second-hand piano." Siu Tin is just one of many of the youth we have been blessed to serve, and it brings me such joy as I imagine the legacy these young men and women will leave in the years to come. I pray all these young people will see the importance to strive to live their lives using their gifts, not only to make an impact, but to serve those in need. Amen.