Without a doubt, the Covid-19 coronavirus [SARS-CoV-2] pandemic has had a devastating effect on society and impacted the lives of many people. Some have lost jobs and, unable to afford to pay rent, have lost their homes. They have been forced to live on the street under bridges and in pedestrian tunnels.
The Social Concern Group of the parish of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception seeks to encounter and care for the needs of the disadvantaged in society. The group organises bi-weekly outreaches to the homeless, the elderly and the cleaning workers in different areas of the city. Volunteers prepare food and provision packages for distribution. These usually include materials like facemasks, hand sanitisers, snacks and food coupons.
We usually ask for volunteers from various parish groups and have them assemble at the parish hall on a Saturday evening. After a briefing on that day’s grouping and routing, we will then have a group prayer in front ofg the grotto and receive blessing from the deacon before heading to our designated locations.
The volunteer work usually lasts from one to two hours.
The key of the movement is not only to provide food and materials to the needy, but to connect with them on a personal level, chat with them and show that people do care about them
When we first started, we distributed packages on Saturday mornings. However, we later realised that a lot of the homeless were not around their resting areas during the day so we adjusted the time in order to try to get to meet them in person.
The key of the movement is not only to provide food and materials to the needy, but to connect with them on a personal level, chat with them and show that people do care about them.
Catholic social teaching clearly outlines the important four principles of Human Dignity, Common Good, Solidarity and Subsidiarity. Embracing the vulnerable and those in extreme poverty is indeed the realisation of the teaching of the Church. Our dialog with these people helps them realise they are also part of society and can live with dignity.
I personally was able to chat with a few of these homeless people and understand their stories. One of the young gentlemen I met was actually a cook but lost his job when restaurants were forced to shut down or operate under strict time constraints due too the pandemic. When our group connected with him, he was very grateful for our movement and showed a lot of appreciation.
Every now and then, our team does receive materials from donors ranging from facemasks to coupons. Last month, we received a donation from the parish marriage and family group to sponsor some of the packages for the homeless
In a recent encounter with an Indian couple living in a pedestrian tunnel on Hong Kong Island, I asked them what they needed and they told me that with summer approaching, small handheld fans would be useful.
Furthermore, there were a lot of mosquitos in the tunnel so mosquito repellent coil or ointment for bites would also be useful. I quickly informed the deacon and the volunteers who are in charge of buying supplies and two weeks later, the team responded and was able to include handheld, battery-powered fans, extra batteries, mosquito repellent coils and mosquito nets in our packages!
Every now and then, our team does receive materials from donors ranging from facemasks to coupons. Last month, we received a donation from the parish marriage and family group to sponsor some of the packages for the homeless.
In the past, the marriage and family group had a tradition of distributing small gifts after Sunday Mass to mothers on mother’s day and fathers on father’s day. However, because of the pandemic, the group has converted this tradition into a charity movement.
They asked parishioners to sponsor the charity by purchasing vouchers. The money raised is then used to procure food and provision packages for the elderly and the homeless.
The Social Concern Group is also a beneficiary as we receive some of the sponsored packages that we can distributed during our visits with the homeless.
In order to expand our service coverage, we recently started to recruit volunteers from the parish. We were happy to receive new volunteers who were recently baptised Catholics. They came as a group with their catechism classmates. We also have young families joining us with parents bringing their children along to demonstrate their teaching through action.
In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus teaches: “In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:40).
Let us glorify God and provide a helping hand to the needy in society.
Anthony Wai
Social Concern Group, Catholic Cathedral
