Archive

Support for children’s education

Jul 31st, 2021 | Advocacy | Comment

Hey World,

 

Our partners at Grassroots Futures are fundraising to bride school expenses for our refugee children. Please visit their website to support this challenging project

 

In Hong Kong refugee children must attend school by law until they turn 14 or graduate from high school. To cover expenses the families receive a government subsidy as mandated by the Security Bureau for which the Refugee Union campaigned in 2014.

 

The Education Bureau (EDB) waves monthly fees entirely and REFUNDS the cost of winter and summer uniforms, shoes (black and sport), school bag, curriculum books, some stationary, internet fees, lunch and school bus or public transportation for the child (not for the accompanying parent in the case of kindergarten and primary school) .

It is frankly a much welcomed and generous subsidy which does not compare with the inadequate assistance offered by the Social Welfare Department for general costs of living. See details here: https://refugeeunion.org/support/

 

However, the EDB disburses the education subsidy AFTER the start of the academic year by transferring it to the SWD contractor (ISS) which sits on the cash and rarely makes it available to refugee parents till December or January and even later in certain cases. Incidentally, this is an abuse of service that must be addressed, unless the objective is to cause distress in which case it is effective

 

In the past, the EDB agreed to transfer the subsidy to certain NGOs or helpful residents who would then advance the cash to refugee families on the back of such written guarantees. That practice appears to have stopped for new refugees, though it is maintained where it was established years ago. It should also be noted that some school principals issue “Credit Notes” to refugee parents of good standing allowing them to collect the material first and pay later

 

The delayed disbursement by ISS causes unnecessary financial stress on refugee parents who are pressured by school administrators to purchase all the necessary material in August before the start of the academic year in September.

The bridging finance refugees require varies from a couple thousand HKD in kindergarten to much more in high school. In other words, it is really a lot of money! You will appreciate it is a terrible situation for people not allowed to work, as the one desire that units all parents in the world is the education of our children

 

Please visit Grassroots Future social media to support, or you may donate through Refugee Union with tag “EDU”.

 

Thank you

Donate your government voucher

Jul 29th, 2021 | Advocacy | Comment

Dear Donors,

 

if you are considering a charitable use for the $5,000 Consumption Voucher Scheme, please support the Refugee Union

 

Refugees in Hong Kong struggle below the poverty line with insufficient government assistance while prohibited from working under threat of 22 months in jail

 

Your donation will be processed through the registered charity “Drink For Justice” whose team supports Refugee Union since our beginning in 2014

 

Thank you in advance

 

We have moved!

Jul 22nd, 2021 | Advocacy | Comment

June Roundup

Jul 6th, 2021 | Advocacy | Comment

The Refugee Union Hong Kong was founded in 2014 and is the city’s first refugee-led community organisation. With visions to safeguard refugee rights, we have been working with our community partners, donors and volunteers, organising diversified programmes to improve the status quo of asylum seekers and refugees stranded in Hong Kong.

New Centre Secured in Sheung Wan

We have enjoyed a free office space in Sai Ying Pun since our commencement of service. However, the pandemic struck and our fortune changed.

After a few months of fundraising, now we are thrilled to announce that we have secured a new centre in Sheung Wan. We are deeply grateful to our donors for their kind-hearted and generous support.

Giving is a blessing. We would greatly appreciate your small donations to support our basic needs and daily expenses for operating the new centre. The fundraising platform is available here.

Activities Happened in Our Centre

While we are planning to move, we continue to be the platform for asylum seekers and refugees to support each other and to engage with a wider community.

On 8 June, we were grateful to Grassroots Future for arranging us an art therapy class with Professor Bridget LIU from the University of Hong Kong. Professor LIU helped refugee mothers and children alleviate the stress they encounter in everyday lives. We all enjoyed the class, thank you very much for sparing the time with us in a packed work schedule.

On 19 June, we were honoured to co-organise the World Refugee Day celebration at the Hive Studios with Grassroots Future and Our Lives Matter. Panel discussions, art installation, and craft market were held. We have had great pleasure and inspiration with everyone in the event, thank you for supporting us. We would also like to extend our gratitude to the venue and event sponsors.

Good news never comes alone. We would like to show our special acknowledgements to the English Schools Foundation (ESF) for organising an art competition to raise the public awareness about refugee-related issues and fundraise for us. Thank you very much!

This month we received donations of wide-ranging items, which include but are not limited to food, baby’s items, furniture, digital devices, and other necessities.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to all donors for lending us a helping hand. Your support means a lot to us. As always, we promise to deliver all donations we received to our members who are in need.

Please stay tuned to our official website and social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) for the updates. You are also welcome to contact us by visiting our office or sending us an email at info@refugeeunion.org should you have any enquiry. We look forward to hearing from you.

May Roundup

Jun 3rd, 2021 | Advocacy | Comment

The Refugee Union (Hong Kong) was founded in 2014 and is the city’s first refugee-led community organisation. With visions to safeguard refugees’ rights, we have been working with our community partners (e.g., corporations, schools, other organisations, and individual donors and volunteers) and organising diversified programmes to improve the status quo of asylum seekers and refugees stranded in Hong Kong.

New Centre Secured in Sheung Wan

We have enjoyed a free office space in Sai Ying Pun since our commencement of service. However, the pandemic struck and our fortune changed.

After a few months of fundraising, now we are thrilled to announce that we have secured a new centre in Sheung Wan which will open in early August. We are deeply grateful to our donors for their kind-hearted and generous support. 

Giving is a blessing. We would greatly appreciate your small donations to support our basic needs and daily expenses for operating the new centre. The fundraising platform is available here.

Activities Happened in Our Centre

While we are planning to move, we continue to be the platform for asylum seekers and refugees to support each other and to engage with a wider community.

This month we received donations of wide-ranging items, which include but are not limited to food, books and stationary, baby’s items, furniture, and other necessities.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to all donors for lending us a helping hand. Your support means a lot to us. As always, we promise to deliver all donations we received to our members who are in need.

Please stay tuned to our official website and social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) for the updates. You are also welcome to contact us by visiting our office or sending us an email at info@refugeeunion.org should you have any enquiry. We look forward to hearing from you.

Why do refugees need cash?

May 30th, 2021 | Advocacy | Comment

Refugees need cash donations to meet daily costs that residents might take for granted. We prepared these four tables to illustrate how refugees might spend the cash they receive from the Refugee Union thanks to the generous support of residents like you!

Few realize that the government assistance is not “cash in pocket”. These amounts are disbursed to landlords and Park’n’Shop with the goal of preventing refugees from getting any money. In other words, landlords and Park’n’Shop collect the allowances to shelter and feed refugees who are not trusted to handle cash. 

Only the transportation allowance is disbursed in cash though it is calculated exactly for the official monthly appointments (i.e. Immigration, welfare, lawyers) by the cheapest bus route from their home. Admittedly, some refugees pocket the money by walking which is often impractical as they live in remove districts. 

Since January 2014 the government assistance consists of:  

– HK$ 1500 for RENT paid directly to landlords of subdivided rooms;
– HK$   300 for UTILITIES paid directly to landlords of subdivided rooms;
– HK$ 1200 for FOOD in prepaid cards from Park’n’Shop (not for cleaning/sanitary items);
– HK$   200 for TRANSPORTATION to official visits such as Immigration, welfare and legal.

Therefore refugees don’t receive any CASH for personal spending which makes it very hard to survive on a daily basis. Besides, refugees do not have the right to work under threat of 22.5 months in jail. How would you cope?

PLEASE DONATE TO HELP REFUGEES TODAY!
https://bit.ly/3HU18yH 

April Roundup

May 6th, 2021 | Advocacy | Comment

Refugee Union was founded in 2014 with visions to safeguard refugee rights. Since day one, we have been organising diversified programmes with our community partners to improve the well-being and prospect of our members who are asylum seekers and refugees stranded in Hong Kong.

Help Us Secure a New Centre

We have enjoyed a free office space in Sai Ying Pun since 2014 where many of you visited. However, the pandemic struck and our fortune changed. Soon we will be homeless …

We are now fundraising for a new centre in Lai Chi Kok and we humbly seek your help to spread the word and support our cause.

Activities Happened in Our Centre

While we are planning to move, we continue to serve the local refugee community. 

This month we were thrilled to host our friends from Watermark Community Church and students from Chinese International School. We look forward to collaborating with them soon.

Donations Keep Going

This month we received donations of wide-ranging items, which include but not limited to daily necessities and personal protective equipment.

We would like to take this opportunity expressing our heartfelt gratitude to all Donors for their kind-hearted and generous support. As always, we promise to deliver all donations we received to our members who are in need.

Please stay tuned to our official website and social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) for the updates. You are also welcome to contact us by visiting our office or sending us an email at info@refugeeunion.org should you have any enquiry.

Fundraise for basic needs at Refugee Union

May 5th, 2021 | Food, Fundraising, Health, Housing, RU updates, programs, events | Comment

Refugee Union is the only registered refugee-led society in Hong Kong. Our society receives no government, institutional or corporate support. We have 1000+ active members from 30 countries, including 200+ children and babies.

Our services are greatly limited by the donations we receive. For example, when we don’t have diapers for newborn babies, some mothers will not visit the centre as they must borrow money for transportation.

While we are thankful for our wonderful donor’s support, the welfare provided by the government is manifestly insufficient to meet the basic needs of refugees who have no money and are not allowed to work. You might have read about them before, but the statistics are worth repeating: HK$ 1500 for rent, HK$ 1200 for food, HK$ 300 for utilities and HK$ 200 for public transportation monthly. (https://bit.ly/2PJ8zDp)

We are entirely dependent on your generosity to fill gaps in welfare implemented by the government with the aim “not to create a magnet effect which could have serious implication on … immigration control” – as if local refugees must suffer as a warning to others not to seek asylum in Hong Kong. (https://bit.ly/3egREBH)

We are banned from working under Section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance. We sign a document agreeing to this restriction when released from detention and it includes any work, paid or unpaid. The High Court case setting the sentencing tariff is “Usman Butt HCMA 70/2010” wherein the starting point is 22.5 months after trial, with 15 months for guilty pleas. These are typically followed by weeks/months in immigration detention. (https://bit.ly/336OwBX)

We plead for your financial support to:

1. Pay transportation fees to collect donations at our centre;
2. Pay for emergency shelter when members are occasionally homeless;
3. Purchase diapers and baby milk formula (donations are limited, i.e. only stage 3 formula);
4. Purchase food staples like rice, milk and canned food to supplement diets;
5. Pay for school supplies and costs not covered by the Education Bureau;
6. Supplement rent and electricity for families who do not receive enough assistance;
7. Purchase rice-cookers and portable gas stoves not supplied by the government;
8. Buy clothes and shoes required by members who need specific sizes;
9. Purchase surgical masks and sanitizers necessary under the pandemic.
10. Pay for medicines that are not supplied by hospital emergency rooms (our only option);

The fact is that our needs should be met by the government as we are left to live in the city without the right to work, but the reality is that refugees are turned into full-time beggars resigned to ask for help everywhere we go. Churches and NGOs do their best to assist with available resources, but nobody can help everyone all the time. Many of our members have been here for over a decade.

For these reasons we humbly appeal for your financial help!

We would be most grateful if you could contribute to this crowdfunding so that we can support more members and show that many Hongkongers understand our predicament and are willing to assist us in our hour of need.

SHAREABLE LINK:  https://go.sparkraise.com/fundraise-basic-needs-refugee-union

March Roundup

Apr 4th, 2021 | Advocacy | Comment

Refugee Union was founded in 2014 with visions to safeguard refugee rights. Since day one, we have been organising diversified programmes with our community partners to improve the well-being and prospect of our members who are asylum seekers and refugees stranded in Hong Kong.

Help Us Secure a New Centre

We have enjoyed a free office space in Sai Ying Pun since 2014 where many of you visited. However, the pandemic struck and our fortune changed. Soon we will be homeless …

We are now fundraising for a new centre in Lai Chi Kok and we humbly seek your help to spread the word and support our cause. Please lend us a helping hand.

Activities Happened in Our Centre

While we are planning to move, we continue to serve the local refugee community. This month we were thrilled to host groups of students from Hong Kong’s universities. We enjoyed having intellectual discussion with these bright-minded young people and look forward to collaborating with them soon.

Donations Keep Going

Apart from activities, this month we also received donations of wide-ranging items, which include but not limited to daily necessities (e.g. food, clothes and shoes) and personal protective equipment (e.g. surgical masks and hand sanitisers).

We would like to take this opportunity expressing our heartfelt gratitude to all Donors for their kind-hearted and generous support. As always, we promise to deliver all donations we received to our members who are in need.

Please stay tuned to our official website and social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) for the updates. You are also welcome to contact us by visiting our office or sending us an email at info@refugeeunion.org should you have any enquiry.

Unique services offered by the Refugee Union

Mar 26th, 2021 | Refugee Community, RU updates, programs, events | Comment

These are the unique services Refugee Union provides to its members and Hong Kong residents:

1. We offer refugees accurate information on seeking asylum and practical guidance on surviving day-to-day despite the 99% immigration rejection rate and insufficient welfare assistance;
    
2. We provide a welcoming “community centre” where refugees share experiences, support and learn from each other without being judged, observed or otherwise influenced;
    
3. We receive donations from residents, schools and universities, companies and restaurants as well as NGOs that fill gaps in the government assistance that does not include clothes, shoes, sufficient food, baby products, telecom equipment and toiletries (i.e.. shaving cream and pads);
    
4. We are a “home away from home” where refugees freely hang-out and enjoy some comfort away from the small, subdivided often windowless rooms that we rent and often share with others;
    
5. We are a collection, sorting and storage location for donation drives which are often voluminous and cannot be delivered to individual homes. Here we collect what we need, when we need it;
    
6. We are a place for residents and volunteers to connect directly with refugees, learn first hand about the challenges of seeking asylum and explore ways to support our society and community;
    
7. After the pandemic, we will resume weekly classes that enhance our lives, such as: Cantonese, English, homework support, arts and crafts, breastfeeding as well as programs offered by other organizations and volunteers;
    
8. At the new centre, we will expand food services with a canteen where refugees can have a meal before collecting donations or after attending classes;
    
9. At the new centre, we will create a “marketplace” to sell donations we do not need but have value, such as small items like lamps, car seats, decorative items, books and toys;
    
10. At the new centre, we can manage corporate donations from food distributors, baby and health products wholesalers and restaurants which we currently cannot manage;