Category: Letter From CEDAR

THE LETTER FROM CEDAR | JUL 2023

Dear Supporters, For Dragon Boat Festival this year, Hong Kong resumed the dragon boat race after three years of suspension. As shown on TV and reported through various media channels, participating citizens, organisations and companies were very enthusiastic, and everyone was excited. Whether we deem it as a sport or a festival tradition, dragon boat appeals to many of us. My church had also formed a team to participate in a dragon boat race before, so I had personally experienced the team spirit that comes with it – with a mutual goal and a clear division of work, team members must work together and be in sync to follow the instructions while paddling furiously to reach the finish

THE LETTER FROM CEDAR | APR 2023

Dear Supporters, In all of the previous alleviation work that I did, plenty of the projects were around fundamental medical and hygiene health, for these are the starting points for all alleviation work. However, if I compare it with the importance of education, I would think that education is even more critical to solving the problem of poverty. While the importance of education has been recognised, the implementation remains a challenge, because unlike other health and hygiene projects, it does not have measurable indicators such as the morbidity or mortality rate. As Immanuel Kant said, education is the journey that enlightens reason and understanding, it helps us develop learning abilities and helps us find our place in the

THE LETTER FROM CEDAR | JAN 2023

Dear Supporters, Just last month in December, I went to Nepal for project monitoring, not only to review the local projects, but more importantly, to meet up with our local partners. The situations that they faced were easily beyond what I could imagine or comprehend by being in Hong Kong. The hard work they have put in to serve the local people often brings me great encouragement and touch. I am always encouraged by the pleasing results of what our Nepalese partners have achieved over the years, and there are many successful examples of community transformation, such as transforming women in grass-roots communities to have more opportunities to get more choices in life or to be educated; enabling

THE LETTER FROM CEDAR | OCT 2022

Dear Supporters, Let me ask you, which infrastructure or building do you find most important in your community and will make you feel devastated without it? It could be the school that is the place children receive education, or it could also be the hospital because going to check-ups elsewhere is a hassle. It could also be the bus station because commuting during peak hours is crucial for work. With all the possible answers, is church one of them? If not, it means that the church and the community are not closely knit enough to care. I once heard a sharing by a pastor from mainland China. When the cross was forcefully removed from the church, it

THE LETTER FROM CEDAR | Jul 2022

Dear supporters, The statistic shows that more than 6 million people in Hong Kong have a smartphone. With the COVID-19 pandemic as a catalyst, people of all ages are accustomed to addressing daily needs using online tools. With advanced technology, many activities have switched out of a physical form: classes, bill payment, meetings, trading, making reservations and more. Technology has indeed made life a lot easier! However, as the old saying goes, ‘the water that bears the boat is the same that swallows it’, the advancement of technology has exposed the world to more crimes – during the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in cybercrimes. Amongst all the criminal activities, human trafficking is known for low

THE LETTER FROM CEDAR | APR 2022

Dear supporters, A new film is being widely discussed called ‘Don’t Look Up’, in which human beings, for various reasons, regard a crisis of the earth’s destruction as a rumour and thus do nothing to save it, and everybody ends up dying together. The story is, of course, fictional, but it also gives me something to reflect upon – there are many things that we know in our hearts. Still, because of our sinful nature (unwilling to make changes and reluctant to tackle our problems), we often end up having to eat the bitter fruit of living our own ways. When the Lord created the heavens and the earth, He saw that everything was good. As God’s stewards,

THE LETTER FROM CEDAR | JAN 2022

Dear supporters, Year 2021 has gone, but we are still living under the influence of COVID-19. Life in the pandemic hasn’t yet changed. Additionally, the world is still very volatile in economy, society, and governance. We ought to keep changing our mentality to face daily challenges at different degrees, so that we can live positively with people around. One of my family members passed away last year. I understand how helpless and painful families could be when they can’t stay with and care for their loved ones in quarantine. By the time of writing this letter, over 5.2 million people died of COVID-19. We can imagine the enormous pain and regret their families are bearing. The COVID-19 tragedy

THE LETTER FROM CEDAR | OCT 2021

Dear supporters, The ten poorest countries in the world today mainly lie in Africa. They have been suffering from civil wars, political instability, or internecine strife and hatred for many years. All these undermined their capacities to develop societies sustainably. As a result, despite years of international aid, these countries and their economies remain fragile. Some of the CEDAR’s projects are located in conflict regions, such as Afghanistan and Myanmar. CEDAR Fund supports local partners and church organisations to run development projects in these regions, hoping that the residents can acquire essential skills and knowledge to find resources for their basic needs regardless of any circumstances. For example, we have been implementing peace and reconciliation projects in Lebanon,

THE LETTER FROM CEDAR | JUL 2021

Dear supporters, In just a year, I went from being the Acting Chief Executive of CEDAR to officially becoming the Chief Executive. Thanks to the trust of my colleagues and the board members, I have the opportunity to continue to assume the leadership role of the team. I am also grateful for the team’s concerted efforts. Even in the middle of COVID-19, we have been able to continue with our poverty alleviation project supervision and evaluation, as well as local fundraising, education and a series of activities and promotion work for the CEDAR’s 30th anniversary. We have also received the support and dedication we hoped for, so the projects and ministries supported by CEDAR have not been greatly

The Letter from CEDAR | Apr 2021

Dear supporters, In early February this year, a military coup took place in Myanmar, capturing international attention. Even before the coup, CEDAR has been conducting relief work when conflict broke out in the Karen State. The relief activities were carried out in collaboration with the youth who had grown up, supported by CEDAR’s development projects. My heart is broken for those youngsters, imagining they are going through the same tumultuous experience they had in their childhood. When they were small kids, they fled to live in jungles. After years of recovery and growing up in our partner’s children home, they responded to the calling to head back to their home villages to rebuild and serve their communities. Yet