RESPONDING TO THE FIFTH WAVE WITH THE YMCA SPIRIT

Last Updated (Wednesday, 04 May 2022 13:05)

With the unprecedented rise of COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong, our city’s underprivileged are facing even harder times than ever before. Hong Kong is a city populated with over 7.6 million people where over-crowdedness is a social problem, especially in the district of Sham Shui Po. Elderlies living alone, the unemployed, new immigrants, low-income families living in subdivided flats and scavengers concentrate in this area. Under normal circumstances, they already encounter lots of challenges in living and working, and now they have to face substantially more hardships under the fifth wave of COVID-19.

Under the dire epidemic situation in Hong Kong, people have to cope with the stress of quarantine and social distancing, especially the isolation of families who tested positive. Subsequently, there comes the return of panic buying of basic necessities such as food and sanitizing products. Facing the urgent needs arose in the society, NGOs in Hong Kong stepped up to fill the gaps in providing rapid antigen test kits, masks, food, and other necessities to the community.

Being an NGO, serving the community is one of YMCA’s prime missions. Our two community centres, situated at the heart of Sham Shui Po and Tung Chung districts, stand at the frontline to connect and support the neighborhoods. To help people cope with the stress, we have joined the fight in ramping up our efforts to meet the needs of our communities. Through the generous donations and partnerships of like-minded organizations such as Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel, HKEX Foundation, churches and individuals, YMCA of Hong Kong has rallied volunteers and staff to provide necessities and shelters for the people in need.

Thanks to the generous partnerships, we were able to distribute 450 blessing bags filled with personal hygiene items, food, and basic necessities to the low-income families living in subdivided flats and elderlies living alone, through our Cheung Sha Wan Centre and Tung Chung Community Centre. In addition, through the connection of one of our voting members, we received a most-welcomed sponsorship of 1,000 bags of 5-kg rice to be distributed to those in need.

Indebted to the generosity of Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel, our “Lunch Box Giveaway” project is able to distribute 400 hot meals daily, between 9th March to 30th April, through our two community centres.

Last but not the least, through the substantial sponsorship of HKEX Foundation, twenty rooms at The Salisbury are now opened to provide temporary shelter to foreign domestic helpers who were displaced and had nowhere to go. Up till now, a total 53 domestic helpers and one baby have benefitted from this sponsorship and stayed at our hostel. Sixteen of them have returned to their home countries, the Philippines and Indonesia, with the help of our staff.

Serving the community is a core value at the YMCA of Hong Kong. We hope that through providing basic necessities, lunch boxes and shelters, the receivers will experience faith, hope and love which we uphold. We will continue to embrace the YMCA spirit in making a difference in the lives of the underprivileged at these trying times.

by Cynthia Lau
Administrative Officer
Member & Community Services
YMCA of Hong Kong