By Father Paul Kam Po-wai
The Light Up Fundraising Programme set up by the diocese has been running for more than a year, serving more than 500 young people, sponsoring more than 400 young inmates to pursue continuing education, and organising a total of nine sessions in two groups, on family re-construction and career planning at the Tong Fuk Correctional Institution and Sha Tsui Detention Centre. Each group has held four to five sessions for a total of 80 young people.
In addition, the fund has supported 50 young people who have re-entered the society, with support services such as individual interviews, emotional counselling, etc., and assisted them in seeking employment and pursuing further studies. On the other hand, the fund has liaised with more than 40 employers in various job categories including tertiary institutions, social welfare organisations, advertising or multi-media production, social innovation, coffee roasting, etc. It has provided more than 50 job opportunities, and has successfully done 34 job placements.
The foundation also supports young people to participate in a variety of further education programmes, including IELTS preparation courses, expressive arts experience courses, barista certificate courses, adventure coaching certificate courses and other certificate courses. At the same time, various partners have joined hands to provide professional psychological service referrals and support participants’ basic living expenses, including living allowance, emergency rent assistance, family funeral expenses, etc.
Apart from young people, the fund also supported 14 families by organising parent support groups, arranging home visits and providing emotional counselling interviews.
We thank God for his blessings and favour, and all the co-workers, participants, brothers and sisters who have donated and prayed for this project, so that the fund has developed very smoothly, and the love shown has always warmed our hearts.
Thanks to the generosity of a group of kind-hearted people, a business will be set up in cooperation with the fund to provide career development opportunities for these young people.
At this stage, they have started to co-operate with Caritas. Through Caritas and some religious congregations [like the Jesuits], coffee beans are purchased from charity organisations in different countries, which will then be roasted by women from the grassroots in Hong Kong trained by Caritas.
Afterwards, some service users of Caritas are responsible for the packaging, and then the young people participating in the fund are responsible for the promotion and marketing of the coffee. Apart from letting their customers taste the high quality coffee, they also tell them the story behind the beans, letting them know that the beans they buy are supporting many grassroots people.
In order to support the young people who start this business, the fund has bought a coffee cart and some equipment, and two coffee machines were donated to them. Participants taking the barista certificate course have gone to different places to practise coffee brewing and promotion.
Recently, they went to Saint Francis University and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Wan Chai. During the promotion in Wan Chai, apart from these young participants, friends who set up this business, Caritas social workers and women who were responsible for roasting coffee beans also joined.
They all worked very hard and happily to make coffee for the parishioners who showed their appreciation for the quality of the coffee brewed by the young people, and the sharing was happy and vibrant.
May God continue to bless this programme so that more people will participate in it, benefit from it, and ignite love.
“Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” Matthew 5:15
