Tucked into the streets of Kowloon there is factory that is the only one of its kind in Hong Kong. Like any other factory there are rooms of busy people sewing pieces of fabric on machines, hand-threading beaded jewellery, monitoring pieces on assembly lines, or operating phones in a call center.

There is a special difference, however. Almost every one of the employees at this factory is blind or visually impaired. Operated by the Hong Kong Society for the Blind, the factory and associated workshops are a place where blind and visually impaired people, and some with other disabilities, can find fair, safe employment that acts as a stepping stone to further careers.

122,600 people in Hong Kong are living with visual impairment and 11,400 of these are completely blind. The quality of life for blind and visually impaired people across the world varies dramatically, according to where they live, their level of poverty, and the support services available. Thankfully, in Hong Kong, there is the Hong Kong Society for the Blind, to be a voice, an advocate, a resource centre and a meeting point for people who are rich in talent and potential, but may need extra support to reach their goals. As well as offering things like eyecare services and specialty products to make life more accessible for blind people, they train visually impaired and blind people in skills like piano tuning, handicrafts, factory work, sewing skills, and even massage!

You can find two of the Hong Kong Society for the Blind’s products on our online store, currently our braille keyrings, and stripey fabric pouches, with more to be added soon.

In years past, the Christmas cards produced through Global Handicrafts for Crossroads Foundation have taken our friends on a journey around the world with beautiful handmade cards that tell the Christmas story through the eyes of those in places like China, Rwanda, Serbia and Kazakhstan.

This year, our storytellers are a little closer to home! The cards we have had produced were made by two organisations here in Hong Kong. The braille on the front, which reads ‘Merry Christmas’ was machine-pressed by ten people with visual impairments employed for the task by the Hong Kong Blind Union. The cards themselves were printed by Elite Printing, a social enterprise in Hong Kong which employs disadvantaged people and trains them in design and printing skills.

This is a story Global Handicrafts loves to help write! With you, our customers and supporters, we’re helping equip organisations that train and empower people to help themselves. You can purchase Crossroads’ Christmas cards individually here, or in packs of 10 here.

菲律賓 東帝汶 越南 緬甸 泰國 印度 蒙古 北韓

菲律賓

返回頁首

「我很怕把玩具送給山上的部落居民，他們往往把玩具誤以為是食物煮來吃。」菲律賓宿霧附近Surigao的孤兒院工作人員對此非常小心。由此可見，當地真的很需要糧食。國際十字路會運送的物資當中，有的是給山上的居民，也有鄰近學校和孤兒院適用的物品。

東帝汶

返回頁首

「我們有米，卻無法煮食。」這是東帝汶去年爆發戰爭後提出的請求。一名居於香港的東帝汶人與澳洲國際學校、香港國際學校、堅尼地小學和國際十字路會攜手合作，向東帝汶提供援助物資。

越南

返回頁首

為了給失明人士帶來有希望的未來，一個非政府組織建立了一所學校，為失明的青年提供職業訓練。他們需要電腦和樂器，以及一些家居日用品。我們將會把物資將運往當地。

緬甸

返回頁首

國際十字路會運送衣服、文具、陶器和玩具給緬甸的孤兒院。我們將會運送更多物資到當地。

泰國

返回頁首

泰國山區有一個國際救援組織，專門拯救年輕女孩和孤兒，使他們不會淪落為妓女和性奴隸，並且安排他們入住中途宿舍接受職業訓練。他們需要的物資包括醫療用品和職業訓練教材。

印度

返回頁首

「我們不知道捐助物的數量原來如此龐大！實在太興奮了！」這句話來自印度北部一通來電。我們只送了一個貨櫃的衣服和牀上用品到那加蘭邦，當地因爆發內戰引發瘟疫。那貨櫃的物資已派發給飽受蹂躪的村民。該非政府組織已提出第二次物資需求。美國總統輪船有限公司慷慨地捐助貨運服務，把物資運送給當地的貧困人士。

蒙古

返回首頁

運往烏蘭巴托的綜合捐助物資包括給失明人士的傢俬、給孤兒的書籍和一般用品，以及給街童的衣服。捐助的物資乃來自香港國際學校，以及香港和澳洲的扶輪社。物資只等待善長資助貨運便可送到當地。

北韓

返回首頁

一個七歲男孩告訴十字路會的總監：「北韓的小孩正受饑餓的煎熬。」「我們應該做點甚麼？」他與香港國際學校和童軍緊密合作，收集罐頭食品和米，為十字路會準備好運往北韓的貨櫃添加物資，該貨櫃內有衣服、食物和其他求援物資。