Tag: health

Community Health & Empowerment Project

Project Name Community Health & Empowerment Project  Project Location Nepal Project Natures Urban and Rural Development Health Livelihood Development Project Objectives Continue to improve disaster-resistant water systems, public sanitation and wastewater treatment facilities in poor communities, and improve community health and hygiene awareness, household income, and food security. Beneficiaries Young girls involved in health and hygiene campaigns Women benefiting from health literacy services and training Men and youth involved in WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) collaborative committees Minorities involved in WASH and wellness activities No. of Beneficiaries Approx. 2,414 people Key Activities Develop sustainable and flexible water supply plans and public sanitation facilities, and train local technicians in maintenance work. Promote health and hygiene awareness activities in support

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CONTINUALLY INSPIRED, UNCHANGING MISSION

Written by: Edward Lai  (Senior Communications Officer) A Haitian woman sits on the floor beside several circular mud cakes. She rubs pieces of dust off the mud cakes, and slowly puts the cakes into her mouth, chewing slowly. To her, and to many other Haitians living in poverty, these cakes – made by mixing mud with water and salt, kneading the mixture into the shape of a cake, and setting the cakes under the sun to dry – were their daily meals; their life-saving meals. Our founders, Mr and Mrs Oliver Mark, were deeply touched by the sight of women eating mud cakes. They were in the UK at the time; after returning to Hong Kong, they were

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The Invisible Victims of COVID-19 In India

When people in Hong Kong think of the pandemic, several terms come to mind: the safety of vaccines, the economic downturn, restricted gatherings and travel bubbles. To religious people, there are the added “religious gatherings”. Such events are undoubtedly the concerns of many of us in Hong Kong. However, for the poor living overseas, their main concern is not contracting the virus, but surviving. The safety of vaccines and travel restrictions are the least of their concerns. Take India as an example. In late April, tens of thousands of confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported daily. The number even rose to more than 400,000 confirmed cases in a day. News reports show civilians crying out in anguish in the

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‘Give You this Calf as a Mark of Reconciliation’ – Road to Reconciliation after the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda

Written by: Edward Lai  (Senior Communications Officer) “I give you this calf as a mark of reconciliation” says Innocent, a survivor in the genocide in Rwanda. He scrubbed the calf’s body with grass, held the rope tied to the neck, and handed it to the “new master” – the one who had tried to kill him with a machete along with other mobs. There are still many clearly visible scars on his face. Among them, there are two cross-shaped scars on the left cheek, one extending from the forehead down to the nostril, and the other from the cheekbones to the right side of the nose. When he lowered his head, there were also many scars come from

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“Do Gospel” with 16 HK’s Churches, Food Assistance Ministry Benefited over 3,500 People

“We are ‘doing gospel’, not only ‘spreading gospel’. Through our witness indeed, more people can receive the bread of life from the Lord through food assistance,” said by the representative of the Church on The Rock Yan Shing Church “Our church has only around 100 people and many of them are grassroots people, therefore we do not receive many donations. CEDAR’s ‘Journey through Pandemic Crisis – Short-term Food Assistance’ Funding Scheme has encouraged our church. After the completion of the food assistance project, we have allocated the same amount of fund (HK$60,000) previously funded by CEDAR to carry out the second phase of the project. In doing so, we have reached out to some disadvantaged groups that we have

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Hidden Crisis in the Pandemic: Human Trafficking

Written by: Clara Chiu (Head of Partnership Development) From July 20th to 23rd this year, several CEDAR staff participated in the “Asia Region Anti-Trafficking Conference” (hereinafter referred to as the conference). The conference was held for the first time three years ago, and this year is the third. It was changed to conduct online due to the pandemic. The purpose of the conference is to gather people from all parts of Asia who are concerned about human trafficking, and learn about it with other forms of modern slavery through various workshops, and know more about the latest anti-trafficking measures. During the meeting, representatives from different organisations mentioned that the situation of human trafficking has become worse under the

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How to Combat Child Trafficking under the ‘New Normal’?

Written by Edward Lai (Senior Communication Officer) As the pandemic is raging around the world, criminals do not only “hunt” civilians in a hidden way in poor villages, they also target their prey via the internet. By using their poor and fragile situation, they can easily force or lure the victims to work in sex industry, or engage in forced labour or any work that is obviously not commensurate with pay. Facing the “new normal” under the pandemic, Aashima Samuel, EFIC@R’s National Director, who has been engaged in anti-child trafficking for many years, shared her team’s coping strategies. Q: How does your team equip churches and local communities to fight child trafficking? A: In terms of preventive education,

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Rescue Girls from Red Light Area of India during COVID-19

Banner image: Ayesha [centre], coordinator of CEDAR’s Nepalese partner, Asha Nepal (Updated on 9 October 2020) Our Nepalese partner recently told us that they rescued two girls from a red light area of India. The situation of the girls was very vulnerable so our partner carried out rescue even under the threat of COVID-19 and closing of borders. These two girls, who were physically and mentally weak, had undergone different circumstances. One of the girls named Nagina (pseudonym, 11 years old) had been sold by her own mother to a relative as a servant, due to poverty. The other girl named Lola (pseudonym, 16 years old) had been harassed sexually by her own father, after the death of

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When the Pandemic Never Goes Away – Implications on Poverty Alleviation and Social Economic Lifestyles

MC: Lai Ka Chun Lai: What impacts do the pandemic will have on developing countries? Fung: Even before the pandemic, the economic situations in many developing countries were not good. Most of the population belonged to the lower-income group, their sanitary facilities were inadequate and many individuals already suffered from malnutrition. Therefore, the pandemic will have a very profound influence on them, and it will be very difficult for them to recover from the present predicament. Emergency relief from international organisations can only provide short-term help. When the countries’ economies are paralysed and the people are sick, it is very difficult for them to restart their economies. Chan: Most of the developed countries are struggling to fight the pandemic themselves. I

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An Overloaded Clinic in Lebanon

Written by: Edward Lai The pandemic makes us realise the importance of having a sound medical system, which does not only require sufficient medical personnel, but also a stable supply of medicine. Lebanon has been identified as a priority country in the United Nations’ COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan. As the country that has the highest per capita proportion of refugees in the world, Lebanon has taken in 1.5 million Syrian and 200,000 Palestinian refugees, who currently make up more than 30% of the country population. The exponential growth of refugees in Lebanon has put the already fragile medical system under pressure. The outbreak of COVID-19 further places enormous burden on its medical services, brining them to the

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