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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

You could really help us by:

1. Transferring cash to “Drink For Justice”

2. Buying Octopus cards

3. Buying diapers and baby formula

4. Donating supermarket coupons

5. Donating cash at our centre

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

Name: Drink For Justice

Bank: HSBC

Account: 741-200323-838

Thank you in advance

We have moved!

Jul 22nd, 2021 | Advocacy | Comment

Hi there, today is the FIRST DAY at the new centre in Sheung Wan! You are most welcome to visit and it’s lovely the sun is out again to help celebrate this important day ????

The new address is: Unit E, 2 Floor, Lee Fung Building, 315-319 Queen’s Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong.

Believe it or not … Refugee Union finally has a lift … two actually!

Yesterday we were riding them up and down just for fun ????

Please help us if you can ????

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

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.

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

Please click the image to read comments added to the Facebook post

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.

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Donations Keep Going

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

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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.

March Roundup

Apr 4th, 2021 | Advocacy | Comment

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.

Fundraising

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.

HKU Students

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).

Donation

February Roundup

Mar 1st, 2021 | Advocacy | Comment

Activities Happened in Our Centre

It is Lunar New Year this February. We wish everyone happiness, prosperity and success in the Year of Ox.

Cover Photo

This month we had a number of activities organised in our centre.

On 1 February, we were thrilled to have HandsOn Hong Kong visiting us and delivering Lunar New Year care packages to refugee families. Thank you very much for your continued support!

HandsOnHK

On 8 February, we were honoured to have Ms. Heather Li holding a breastfeeding consultation session for refugee mothers. Thank you for the useful information and we have learned a lot from you.

Heather Li

On 24 February, we were delighted to have volunteers from Grassroots Future teaching our members crochet and craft. Thank you for bringing us these interesting and educational activities. We all had a fun afternoon.

Grassroots

On 28 February, we were thankful to a group of Hong Kong alumni from The Bishop Strachan School at Toronto, Canada for doing a charity walk for our centre. Your care and support mean a lot to us.

Charity Walk

This month we also hosted students from The University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Baptist University. We enjoyed having intellectual discussion with all these bright minded young people. We look forward to collaborating with you soon.

Uni

Donations Keep Going

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

End

My family needs your help

Feb 24th, 2021 | Advocacy, Personal Experiences, Refugee Community, RU updates, programs, events, Welfare | Comment

“When the choice of escaping to Hong Kong came along, it seemed like a dream” recalls Sharon. But several years later she is bitterly disappointed. The mother fled her country due to unspeakable violence suffered by one of her children. A professional, but also a widow, the authorities failed to protect her from powerful abusers determined to shut her mouth – one way or another.

Over the past years Sharon learned that asylum protection in Hong Kong is granted to less than 1% of claimants, the few who meet unrealistically high standards of proof. But the ways of the world are complex and its wicked currents sweep away many unable to document their plunge.

With an inhumane pincer movement, HK government oppresses refugees with insufficient welfare as well as stiff jail terms with the stated goal of “avoiding a magnet effect” as if slapping every student in class will prevent scoundrels from joining! Frankly that turns refugees into beggars. We don’t have enough money for rent and food. We are provide no clothes, shoes, hygiene products (shaving cream, sanitary pads and diapers for example), glasses, household items and phones. We are given one roll of toilet paper a month…

We need your help not because we are unfit to make a living or lazy, but because we sought asylum in #hongkong and are condemned to live in poverty with one hand tied behind our back.

We have been unable to open a society’s bank account, so donations are channeled through “Drink For Justice”, a registered charity that disburses financial aid to refugee families.

You donation will make a tangible difference in our life. You are welcome to visit our centre to learn more and perhaps sponsor a refugee family to learn what is needed and how money is spent.

Please WhatsApp 98287176 and share with your friends. Thank you

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