The Year of Hope

It will be Chinese New Year in a few days! Apart from the delicious food, I always look forward to our family gatherings. There are always fantastic stories to be shared by relatives and friends. What piques my interest most is how they look forward to the coming year. Hope is the essence of the festivities!

Hope encourages us to be positive about the new things that are yet to happen. Hope includes the knowledge that despite the adversities, we still persevere. At this festive time, I have some good news for you:

Recruit Magazine recently invited me to be their guest columnist for the year 2020. This new partnership excites me! It will allow me to reach out to more people and tell them true stories of how CA has helped vulnerable groups. In my first article, I have shared the inspiring story of how a refugee face many difficulties when he first arrived in Hong Kong, but finally landed a job at one of the top five hotel chains. We were grateful that we were able to help him reach his full potential! I encourage you to read this article and also stay tuned for my other true stories in the magazine. They will be published every third Friday of the month.

My other good news is the testimony that I recently received from the newly adoptive parents, William and Thelma. They couldn't contain their joy because they have finalised the adoption process of their beautiful daughter Catherine. She was one of the lovely children in Xining Children's Home. Here new parents' words to me are below. I am deeply touched and can't wait to hear more about the wonderful updates they will have for us as a family.

"It is now a little past 1:00am, 12 Dec 2019, which is the date that Thelma and I finalised the adoption of our beautiful daughter… It is our honour and privilege to share Cat's life; she is a caring and warm person, so full of life and laughter, our daughter is destined to become an amazing young woman.

"There is a vast network of people who have loved and cared for her, from the caregivers at the orphanage; to the parents who fostered her for many months; to the leaders and employees of Christian Action, Siew Mei Cheung-Ang, Marlon Cheung, and many others. Please accept my deepest and most sincere appreciation of everything you have done to nurture and support Cat in her life to date!"

Although the world situation over the last few months has been challenging, I am confident that 2020 will be a year full of hope! As you celebrate Chinese New Year with your loved ones, I pray that you will be brimming with a hope that will bless everyone around you!

祝心想事成! Happy Chinese New Year!

Siew Mei