Connecting people in a worldof need

Uganda: A special hug for children living with HIV

NGO, ‘Rejoice’, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, is committed to supporting people of any ethnicity, religion or age who are living with HIV. They provide medical, social and educational support, counselling programmes and community initiatives. They came to Global Hand because, along with this range of services, they have established the ‘Buddies Society of Ipoh’ with the goal of providing comfort to kids affected by HIV. Whether they are HIV+ themselves, or have lost a parent to HIV, or both, the reality is that their lives will now never be the same. The Buddies Society hand makes bears as a gift to these children, providing them a ‘buddy’ in their pain. We supported ‘matches’ for these Buddy Bears and saw them reach HIV affected kids (see main photo below) through the NGO, Sevac, in Uganda.

Cambodia: Bullet shells to Peace Doves

Decades ago, bombshells ripped through Cambodia, scarring the land and its people. Young Heang was a little toddler when his family...

Ukraine: losing everything

“Everything broke in my head, soul and body. You are alive but you don’t feel alive.” A Ukrainian military leader spoke...

Hong Kong: Once in a Century Storm

The furious downpour was the longest recorded in Hong Kong's history, leading to severe flooding and massive damage. Affected families were...

The Philippines: Under the Shadow of a Volcano

Living beside an active volcano is not for the faint of heart. It's true that there are many advantages, if little...

Burundi: UK uniforms help kick goals against poverty

In the battle against poverty, physical education can play a crucial role in helping young people. It gets them off the streets where other activities may cause them harm. It gives them pride in being healthy and fit, which can be a deterrent to the offer of drugs or other poor recreational choices. It gives them the joy of belonging to a team and the fulfilment of additional purpose in their lives.

So, when a company offered sports uniforms, and balls, in the UK, through Global Hand, the NGO Food for the Hungry took them for their development work in Burundi. The pride in the faces of these young people speaks loudly to their delight at this provision. (see main photo below)

Cambodia: Bullet shells to Peace Doves

Decades ago, bombshells ripped through Cambodia, scarring the land and its people. Young Heang was a little toddler when his family...

Ukraine: losing everything

“Everything broke in my head, soul and body. You are alive but you don’t feel alive.” A Ukrainian military leader spoke...

Hong Kong: Once in a Century Storm

The furious downpour was the longest recorded in Hong Kong's history, leading to severe flooding and massive damage. Affected families were...

The Philippines: Under the Shadow of a Volcano

Living beside an active volcano is not for the faint of heart. It's true that there are many advantages, if little...

India: Where corporate meets grassroots

At 22, Musharif should have been excited about a life ahead of him, but he felt he was going nowhere. His family had tried to survive on his father’s minimal salary as a rickshaw driver. They lived in a poor part of Pune, India, where Musharif dropped out of school early and started earning a minimal income in a mechanic’s workshop.

While Musharif was feeling trapped in Pune, an investment company, in a nearby part of India, had 27 computers to get rid of, some of them very high-end. They reached out to Global Hand, and we helped match them to NGO, Saahasee, which serves the poor in India, including Pune. Saahasee used these superb computers to help set up a computer school that now offers high quality training at very low cost. It was here that Global Hand’s story met Musharif’s. A friend told him of the course. He enrolled and did so well that he was offered a job in a tech company, became team leader, received a pay rise within four months.

“I sincerely believe that the IT school has changed my life completely,” he says.

We love Musharif’s story: one small opportunity, driven by one company’s decision not to trash their computers, can be the key to breaking the poverty cycle for a grassroots family.

The computer school continues to thrive, offering training to young and old as they prepare for a life which requires technical skills. (see main photo below)

Cambodia: Bullet shells to Peace Doves

Decades ago, bombshells ripped through Cambodia, scarring the land and its people. Young Heang was a little toddler when his family...

Ukraine: losing everything

“Everything broke in my head, soul and body. You are alive but you don’t feel alive.” A Ukrainian military leader spoke...

Hong Kong: Once in a Century Storm

The furious downpour was the longest recorded in Hong Kong's history, leading to severe flooding and massive damage. Affected families were...

The Philippines: Under the Shadow of a Volcano

Living beside an active volcano is not for the faint of heart. It's true that there are many advantages, if little...

Vietnam: Children’s Hope in Action

Vietnam has come a long way from its earlier history of suffering, but there are still parts of the country which battle hardship.The wider Quang Nam province is ranked as one of the most impoverished areas in Vietnam. Many families here are barely surviving on less than US$1 dollar a day per person. We are partnering with NGOs there to help. As one puts it:

“The growth Vietnam has had over the past ten years has been tremendous and we at Children’s Hope In Action (CHIA) support children, their families and their communities to continue this growth to build better futures for everyone.”

CHIA runs extensive services providing medical care, support for those with disabilities, educational opportunities, along with water, sanitation and housing.

This year, they received two superb corporate donations through Global Hand. 8,000 women’s sweaters which they distributed to people in the mountainous north (see the main photo below), where winter can be cold, and 2,245 pairs of magnificent, household name shoes (anonymity requested by both donors) in the villages too. CHIA, as their name suggests, are people in action.

Cambodia: Bullet shells to Peace Doves

Decades ago, bombshells ripped through Cambodia, scarring the land and its people. Young Heang was a little toddler when his family...

Ukraine: losing everything

“Everything broke in my head, soul and body. You are alive but you don’t feel alive.” A Ukrainian military leader spoke...

Hong Kong: Once in a Century Storm

The furious downpour was the longest recorded in Hong Kong's history, leading to severe flooding and massive damage. Affected families were...

The Philippines: Under the Shadow of a Volcano

Living beside an active volcano is not for the faint of heart. It's true that there are many advantages, if little...

China: Helping Children ‘Left Behind’

This year, one of our donor companies in China offered 1,350 pairs of shoes for people in need. Through Global Hand, we connected them to Chinese Relief and Development Foundation, a charity that cares for the phenomenon known as ‘Left Behind Children’ in Western China.

China’s rapid economic development has encouraged millions of parents to migrate from rural areas to mega-cities. In turn, millions of children are, literally, ‘Left Behind’, in the care of grandparents or wider family, often people with limited financial resource and/or limited physical ability. This can result in material and emotional need. According to the China Women’s Federation there are 61 million such children growing up without one or both parents. It is a poignant picture so it was very good news for us to see these shoes safely reach “Left Behind Children”. As well, some of the shoes could be given to the grandparents or other relatives caring for them in a sacrificial way.

Later in the year, the same group was able to receive 15,000 items of clothing, manufactured in China and offered by another company hoping to see local charities supported.

Cambodia: Bullet shells to Peace Doves

Decades ago, bombshells ripped through Cambodia, scarring the land and its people. Young Heang was a little toddler when his family...

Ukraine: losing everything

“Everything broke in my head, soul and body. You are alive but you don’t feel alive.” A Ukrainian military leader spoke...

Hong Kong: Once in a Century Storm

The furious downpour was the longest recorded in Hong Kong's history, leading to severe flooding and massive damage. Affected families were...

The Philippines: Under the Shadow of a Volcano

Living beside an active volcano is not for the faint of heart. It's true that there are many advantages, if little...

Nepal: Building Back Better

The village of Jalbire, Nepal, is full of survivors. When the massive earthquake of 2015 hit the country, 90% of Jalbire’s homes were destroyed, devastating this community of 1,500 people. Once the dust settled, they wanted to rebuild in a way that would withstand future disasters, but they lacked the knowledge and training to make that happen. Most, moreover, didn’t think it was possible to find materials for homes that wouldn’t crumble in an earthquake. When our team visited the area two years after the earthquake, many people were still living in temporary shelters, with plastic sheeting.

We try, in any post disaster scenario, to stay involved well after the event, knowing the impact may last for years, even decades. So while, in the immediate aftermath, we had helped provide disaster kits, blankets, clothing and other urgent needs, we had retained some of our Nepal Fund for later rebuilding projects. One of our partners in Nepal, Institution for Suitable Actions for Posterity (ISAP), told us of plans for masons’ training in Jalbire. That seemed a perfect use of our funds.

ISAP used the funding to train 33 young people in earthquake resistant construction. Graduates were given tools and they immediately began rebuilding both their own homes and others’: proof positive that local materials, used correctly, could let them build back better. And, as well as impacting the area, these individuals now have a lifelong skill-set that will help them generate income. So it’s a win-win, as the saying has it, with everybody benefitting.

Funding from Crossroads’ donors helped 33 masons graduate with new, employable skills in earthquake-resistant construction, as well as a set of masonry tools to help them get started.

Best of all, if Nature has her way again in the future, she will have a much harder time destroying these newly constructed buildings.

Cambodia: Bullet shells to Peace Doves

Decades ago, bombshells ripped through Cambodia, scarring the land and its people. Young Heang was a little toddler when his family...

Ukraine: losing everything

“Everything broke in my head, soul and body. You are alive but you don’t feel alive.” A Ukrainian military leader spoke...

Hong Kong: Once in a Century Storm

The furious downpour was the longest recorded in Hong Kong's history, leading to severe flooding and massive damage. Affected families were...

The Philippines: Under the Shadow of a Volcano

Living beside an active volcano is not for the faint of heart. It's true that there are many advantages, if little...

‘Just waiting to die…’

When 55 year old Mr Chen visited Crossroads, he was in a desperate state. Diagnosed with stage 3 cancer, he had undergone intensive chemotherapy which left him very weak. Rather than enjoying extra care and comfort in his illness, moreover, he had been dealing with poverty and the breakdown of his marriage. He’d been sleeping on just a bedframe with no mattress, in a lonely, empty, small flat. When our staff met him at our site, he said, “I’m just waiting to die.”

It was our privilege to help him choose things that he needed for his home: furnishings to make his life easier. He also chose a radio, which he said will help with the long days alone and he added a washing machine, which will now save him a slow and painful 20 minute walk to/from the laundry each time he has to wash.

Mr Chen is a typical example of many of the local Hong Kong people we help, who are living close to the poverty line, often because of illness that prevents them earning an income. We are only too pleased to be able to walk with them in their vulnerability.

Cambodia: Bullet shells to Peace Doves

Decades ago, bombshells ripped through Cambodia, scarring the land and its people. Young Heang was a little toddler when his family...

Ukraine: losing everything

“Everything broke in my head, soul and body. You are alive but you don’t feel alive.” A Ukrainian military leader spoke...

Hong Kong: Once in a Century Storm

The furious downpour was the longest recorded in Hong Kong's history, leading to severe flooding and massive damage. Affected families were...

The Philippines: Under the Shadow of a Volcano

Living beside an active volcano is not for the faint of heart. It's true that there are many advantages, if little...

Shattered by Workplace Injury

Ms Wan’s life fell apart when she injured her back at work. Suddenly, she was unable to work and confined to the house. She battled headaches, dizziness and, beneath it all, anxiety. Ms Wan didn’t understand the complex process of claiming compensation for her injury, so she gave up seeking help of that kind. Thankfully, a social worker was assigned to her case, one who is walking alongside her to get the help she needs. When Ms Wan was to move house from a small hut in the New Territories to an apartment, that social worker asked Crossroads for help with the furnishings.

Her story typifies what we love to do in Hong Kong: help individuals who, day by day, are struggling to make it when life is tough and personal resources limited.

Cambodia: Bullet shells to Peace Doves

Decades ago, bombshells ripped through Cambodia, scarring the land and its people. Young Heang was a little toddler when his family...

Ukraine: losing everything

“Everything broke in my head, soul and body. You are alive but you don’t feel alive.” A Ukrainian military leader spoke...

Hong Kong: Once in a Century Storm

The furious downpour was the longest recorded in Hong Kong's history, leading to severe flooding and massive damage. Affected families were...

The Philippines: Under the Shadow of a Volcano

Living beside an active volcano is not for the faint of heart. It's true that there are many advantages, if little...

‘Poorest and Most Vulnerable’

Marcus and his mother Mrs Yang are a tiny family of two, and they face life’s challenges as a team. Marcus is in kindergarten, and was diagnosed with autism early enough for intervention to help. His mother has fought hard to get him help through government services, such as physiotherapy and speech therapy with Heep Hong Society. Mrs Yang was working as a beauty therapist, but the hours were long and she couldn’t give Marcus the attention and support he needed, so she stopped working and now devotes herself to his needs full time, relying on CSSA funding to cover their expenses.

The duo had been assigned a public housing flat, but, with their slim budget, they couldn’t afford to furnish it, so they turned to Crossroads for help. They took a range of furniture to equip their new home. It was in the detail, though, that we most fully saw this mother’s heart. She had deep understanding of the touches that would make Marcus’ life easier. She quietly told our volunteers, for example, “He’s afraid of the dark, but there’s only a 20cm space beside his bed for a lamp.” Our team helped her find a light to fit, to help him feel secure at night. She told us Marcus has a special obsession with cars and was excited to get a toy car for him from our stock.

People say that a true test of justice is the way we treat the poorest and most vulnerable in our midst. We want to do all we can to contribute towards justice of that kind.

Cambodia: Bullet shells to Peace Doves

Decades ago, bombshells ripped through Cambodia, scarring the land and its people. Young Heang was a little toddler when his family...

Ukraine: losing everything

“Everything broke in my head, soul and body. You are alive but you don’t feel alive.” A Ukrainian military leader spoke...

Hong Kong: Once in a Century Storm

The furious downpour was the longest recorded in Hong Kong's history, leading to severe flooding and massive damage. Affected families were...

The Philippines: Under the Shadow of a Volcano

Living beside an active volcano is not for the faint of heart. It's true that there are many advantages, if little...

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