Welcome to the Crossroads Foundation
Crossroads Foundation is a Hong Kong based, non-profit organisation serving global need. We believe that, in a broken world that sees too much suffering, we should do all we can to link those who are in need with those who can provide help. So we provide an intersection, literally a crossroads, to bring both together.
DISASTER ZONE
The deaths repeat, every year, but are no less tragic for that. As massive rains, or other killer forces, work their worst, we see one tragedy follow another. Today… in Pakistan, reports indicate up to 14 million lives affected by the devastating floods. Aid workers are battling the clock to rescue people still trapped on rooftops.
We have spoken with those on the ground who have a clear picture of what is needed and are preparing to send help. If you would like to give, you can do so with cash or goods.
Tomorrow… who knows where the tragedy might be? In order for Crossroads to be ready, we have a Disaster Relief Fund to which you can donate. With that money specially set aside for disasters, we can then act very quickly to help those who suffer. This is a strategic approach to the problem. It means we can be ready before disaster strikes, instead of needing to react afterwards.
Yesterday… Sadly, the present and the future are not our only concerns. There is the agony of past disasters too. The world grieves at the time but, once the cameras leave, those affected are often forgotten and left to take ten, twenty or thirty years to recover with far too few resources. A recent example is the devastating earthquake that hit Qinghai, killing more than 2000 people and injuring over 11,000. In the early days, we rushed medical supplies to save lives. Now we are preparing a shipment to help re-build. Again, you can help by giving cash.
Survival on the Thai-Burma border
The Burmese children clutched each other as they watched the soldiers execute their family. Their 65 year old grandmother died. Their 13 year old sibling followed. Then the 4 year old. Soon they had lost everybody except each another. Battling grief, terror and confusion, they found their way across the Thai/Burmese border to a refugee camp. Read more >>
News from Cambodia
Meet Nit, a young blind boy in Cambodia who is receiving education and hope through a grassroots NGO. Crossroads recently supplied this group with much needed resources to help them continue transforming lives.
GLOBAL SURVIVOR 2010 - THEY SURVIVED!
Tony Tyler, CEO of Cathay Pacific, Gavin Coates of Earthy Cartoons and Steve Marcapoto, President of Turner Broadcasting Asia begin the fight for survival in the refugee camp
It's a quiet, cool night, and a small group of men has set out from their refugee camp to gather firewood. Suddenly, almost from nowhere, five rebel soldiers, guns and ammunition strapped to their uniforms, burst out at them and begin shouting in a strange, forceful dialect...
Global Survivor is an annual event where Hong Kong corporate leaders choose to undergo a 24 hour simulation experience in which they are placed, in simulated form, under the kind of oppression that many people in poverty and conflict zones live every day. It is a sobering experience for participants, who are given a new perspective on the dilemmas, tragedies, heartbreaking choices and hopelessness of chronic poverty.
To read more about the experiences of our 2010 'Global Survivors', click here.
THANK YOU FOR HELPING THE PHILIPPINES
“No one has ever brought us brand new clothing before!” The words were repeated in wonder as 70 families in an evacuation centre received clothing we sent. Following the Philippines’ devastating typhoons last October, severe flooding forced thousands to abandon their homes, and seek refuge in evacuation centres.
A basketball stadium, in this case, has been housing 70 families. It has a roof, but is open at the sides. Each family was allocated its own space where they built a little shelter using nylon tarpaulin cloth. Extra toilets and showers were put in. The place could not, however, provide the sheer volume of clothing and other necessities needed by these people who had lost everything.
They turned to us for help at a particularly timely moment. Only a week before the typhoon, a major successful clothing company had donated over 15,000 pieces of brand new clothing to Crossroads. It has been a perfect match for this group: enough, they say, to see them distributing clothes for several months to come.
They also asked us for school materials and water bottles: both essential to allow kids to resume education and to carry safe drinking water. These went to street children. They will supplement their efforts by bringing a medical team to set up a clinic for the 300+ children there: kids who have not seen a doctor for three years.
It is the generosity of the Hong Kong public and businesses that makes shipments such as this possible. Thank you for responding to this crisis and standing with its victims.
Note: At present, we are preparing a recovery shipment for Haiti. Click here if you would like to help.
JEFFREY SACHS SHARES ON A PANEL FOR THE NEW UN & BUSINESS WEBSITE DURING THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
Crossroads hosted a special panel focused on business & United Nations partnerships during the 2010 World Economic Forum. Jeffrey Sachs, special economic advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations and author of the book 'The End of Poverty', took part in a panel speaking on the power of partnerships. Sally Begbie highlighted the features of the new 'business.un.org' website developed in collaboration with our Global Hand team.
Speaking of the new website, Sachs commented: "The new platform is a wonderful tool that is going to, I think, propel the Millennium Development Goals and so many other worthy initiatives of the UN and the business community...I'm running to my computer and telling my colleagues about it...We see it as a fantastic new platform that is going to have many, many practical applications and I can't wait to start using it."
The panel also featured case studies from Manpower and KPMG and ended with participants taking part in the Refugee Run.
For a full photographic tour of the event click here to see our Flickr photos. For more information on the Refugee Run, click here.
To check out the new business.un.org website click here.
HELP HAITI
©UN Photo/Marco Dormino. www.un.org/av/photo/
The scale of the earthquake in Haiti on 12th January is still coming to light. It is simply impossible at this stage to know the numbers of people killed and injured.
Huge parts of the capital Port-au-Prince are in ruins and the country is in chaos. An estimated 3 million people are now in desperate need, in a country already impoverished and vulnerable.
If you would like to respond, please click here.
Global Hand will also be facilitating partnerships to support Haiti. For more information visit our site.
Thank you for standing with so many in need at this time.
FOOD AS IT USED TO BE…
Remember when fresh food used to have flavour? There was a time when tomatoes were red, not pink? Lettuce was fresh, not limp, and, well, you could taste it too! Herbs were pungent.
One of the goals, in Crossroads’ Global Village, is to demonstrate care for the planet we human beings have so mistreated, resulting in suffering in so many forms.
We are now hosting a local farmers’ market: supporting organic farmers from our area who grow food in ways that are good for people and good for the planet.
Opening hours: Saturdays 10am – 4pm.
For directions to the Crossroads Village, click here. Free parking available.
CHAMPIONING THE CAUSE
“Champions know there are no shortcuts to the top. They climb the mountain one step at a time.” (J Adler)
At 4810 metres, Mt Blanc defeats many climbers. Some call it, in fact, one of the deadliest peaks in the world.
As if that were not challenge enough, moreover, Nicolas chose the more difficult of the climbing options, starting at Aiguille du Midi then descending/ascending a series of peaks before reaching Mt Blanc itself.
| 7am: | descended from Aiguille du Midi (3870m) to Col du Midi (3542m). Rather like climbing points in a royal crown, he mastered a series of descents and ascents, steadily tracing the ridge to the summit |
| 8am: | up to Epaule du Tacul (4100m) down to Col Maudit (4035m) up to Breche Maudit (4400m) down to Col de la Brenva (4309m) up to Mur de la Cote (4640m) |
| 1pm: | on to Mont Blanc. (4807m) |
| 5pm: | back to Aiguille du Midi |
Apparently, too, he’d like to try it again. “I only have one thing in mind now… to get back up there with my beloved wife Susan.”
His massive climb leaves us overwhelmed. During this period of economic challenge, many traditional sources of funding have dried up. So we are grateful, beyond words, for his originality in championing our cause in this extraordinary way and generating greatly needed funds.
Nicolas, we salute you!
Crossroads’ Global Village offered its Refugee Run in January 2009 to Davos, Switzerland, during the World Economic Forum, for participation by both WEF attendees and the residents of Davos.
Participants such as the Secretary-General of the UN, Mr Ban Ki-moon, and British tycoon, Sir Richard Branson, attended the event. So did John Harrison, deputy chair of KPMG International, Mark Parker, CEO of Nike, and many other senior figures. For a moment in time, participants were thrust into another environment, stepping ‘into the shoes’ of refugees who faced a rebel attack, a ‘mine field’, border corruption, language incapacity, black marketeering and refugee camp survival. Following the event, a debrief invited participants to discuss the refugee situation and explore ways to assist, should they so wish. We co hosted this event with the Global Risk Forum Davos, which specialises in disaster prevention and reduction, and with the UNHCR, the United Nations’ refugee agency.
Crossroads will again be running this x-perience at the 2010 World Economic Forum later this month.
For more information click here >>
Video courtesy of the Wall Street Journal: Sir Richard Branson takes on the Refugee Run challenge
Video courtesy of Reuters
Please click here to view a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the Refugee Run.
CROSSROADS' NEWEST 'X-PERIENCE' BRINGING INSIGHT INTO A WORLD OF BLINDNESS
Every five seconds around the world, someone loses their sight. 90% of them live in low and middle income countries without the support they need to survive.
In Crossroads’ newest Life X-perience, participants will step into the shoes of a blind villager in Nigeria. As you adjust to navigation without sight, a blind guide will lead you on a journey of discovery.
Lose your sight to gain deeper insight into the lives of 75 million visually impaired around the world. Don't just learn about it … Live it!
Open now at the Crossroads Village.
Crossroads’ ambassador for its Blind X-perience is Kim Mok.
For more information, contact the Global Village office at lifex@crossroads.org.hk or phone 2272 9396.
Click below to learn more about the Blind X-perience.
