Backlog of torture claimants cleared a year early helped by revised lawyer pay
Jan 17th, 2019 | Immigration | Comment
A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS!
Dec 31st, 2018 | RU updates, programs, events | Comment
DECEMBER ROUNDUP AT THE REFUGEE UNION
Dec 25th, 2018 | RU updates, programs, events | Comment
A warm Merry Christmas from the Refugee Union Hong Kong! At the end of the year, December has been the busiest but most meaningful month at our office. As usual, with the support of our kind-hearted volunteers and committed members, we continue to strive for a better living for refugees and to promote their well-being, despite the increasing challenges and difficulties imposed on us by the government.
NEW EVENTS
First of all, on behalf of our members, who are asylum seekers and refugees, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to all our donors who always stand by us and support our community – THANK YOU!
We are grateful for Madam Merlin donation of forty boxes of “Pet Pet” diapers to our refugee families. Thank you very much! These are essential items that are badly needed by our mothers who do not receive them from the Government and have no money as prohibited from working. (The Sentencing guideline is 22 months imprisonment!)
We are grateful to have the Crafty Charity Hong Kong donated well-designed blankets to our refugee families. Babies can keep warm in cold winter. Thank you very much!
We are grateful to have the Hong Kong Football Club and the Hong Kong Tennis Society donated Christmas gifts to our children who participated in the Music Group. The Children are overjoyed. Thank you very much!
We are grateful to have the donations of daily necessities from Foodlink. Thank you very much!
We are grateful to receive donations of boxes of hope and snacks from Eva. Thank you very much!
To celebrate Christmas and New Year, we had a party with our donors, volunteers and members on 22 December at our office. It was a great opportunity for us to show our thankfulness for their continuous support and understanding. Participants enjoyed ethnic cuisine and sang Christmas carols together. All of us had fun, thank you for coming!
REGULAR EVENTS
On a weekly basis, we offer a series of classes for refugees of different ages. These ongoing activities do not only provide opportunities for our members to learn, but also to socialise, allowing them to escape the oppressive routine of feeling like prisoners-in-the-city without the opportunity to work and contribute.
Every Saturday, we have talented volunteers come and hold Music Session for our refugee kids at our office. They teach our children to sing and to play with musical instruments.
We also have the Canadian Tutorial Session on every Saturday at our office, with a group of passionate volunteers to teach refugee children school assignments and help them to prepare for tests and examinations.
Last but not least, the Cultural Diversity Playgroup at our office targets both refugee parents and babies. Participants can make new friends and learn useful skills during these lessons. They all share joyful moments. We may consider reflecting on the Lottery of Life: children do not chose the families they are born into!
Members who are interested in the above programs, please visit our office for more information. Again, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all donors and volunteers who stand with us through these troubling times and make our community stronger. Keep visiting our website and Facebook for the latest information. For enquiries, please don’t hesitate to email info@refugeeunion.org.
Happy New Year!
NOVEMBER ROUNDUP AT THE REFUGEE UNION
Dec 24th, 2018 | RU updates, programs, events | Comment
This November was a fruitful month at the Refugee Union. With the generous support of our kind-heart volunteers and committed members, our Office continue to serve the local refugee community, speaking out for an improvement of their living condition and well-being despite the harsh conditions that Hong Kong Government forces on us.
NEW EVENTS
On 13 November, our Members were invited to the International College Hong Kong (Hong Lok Yuen) and gave a speech to students, sharing with them our daily life experiences and challenges we are encountering. Thank you for concerning our refugee community.
Good news! We are glad to share with our Members that, starting from this month, our Office will have Music Session for our refugee kids on every Saturday. Volunteers will come and teach children how to sing and play with musical instruments. Hooray! We look forward to seeing you in class.
REGULAR EVENTS
On a weekly basis, our Office offers a series of classes targeting the asylum seekers and refugees with different age groups. These are ongoing activities our members are most grateful for as not classes not only provide opportunity to learn, but also socialise and get out of the oppressive routine of feeling like prisoners-in-the-city which is the condition of being on Immigration bail without the opportunity to work and feel productive.
We have the Canadian Tutorial Session every Saturday at our office, with a group of passionate volunteers to teach refugee children school assignments and help them to prepare for tests and examinations.
The Cultural Diversity Playgroup at our office targets both refugee adults and babies. Participants can make new friends and learn new things during lessons. They all share joyful moments.
Members who are interested in the above programmes, please visit our office for more information. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all volunteers who stand with our refugee community. Keep visiting our website and Facebook for the latest information. For enquiry, please don’t hesitate to visit our office or email us at info@refugeeunion.org. THANK YOU.
OCTOBER ROUNDUP AT THE REFUGEE UNION
Nov 28th, 2018 | RU updates, programs, events | Comment
October was a meaningful and busy month at the Refugee Union. With the generous support of our kind-heart volunteers and committed members, our Office continue to serve the local refugee community, speaking out for an improvement of their living condition and well-being despite the harsh conditions that Hong Kong Government forces on us.
New Events
On 5 October, our Office submitted a petition to the Legislative Council (Legco) Panel on Security, concerning the tightening of regulations on the asylum seekers and refugees. We expressed our opinion on behalf of the local refugee community after collecting views from different groups and nationalities. Our top priority is to always strive for change in the asylum sphere.
On 12 October, our Office collaborated with “Mini Acts for the Greater Good” to hold an art exhibition at The Hive in Wong Chuk Hang. Many refugee kids and their parents attended and practiced their art and painting skills while sharing their experience with many residents who expressed interest in both the artwork and the plight of refugees in Hong Kong.
We were honoured to have the Hon. Fernando Cheung attend the refugee children art exhibition. Thank you for your tireless support of refugees in Hong Kong, Sir!
Also, we are glad to have new classes at our Office in Sai Ying Pun. We would like to welcome the new volunteers from different universities who are willing to spend their time to organize Cantonese classes for our refugee adults while connecting us to new resources. They help us to understand more about the Chinese culture and to better integrate into the local community.
Regular Events
On a weekly basis, our Office offers a series of classes targeting the asylum seekers and refugees with different age groups. These are ongoing activities our members are most grateful for as not classes not only provide opportunity to learn, but also socialize and get out of the oppressive routine of feeling like prisoners-in-the-city which is the condition of being on Immigration bail without the opportunity to work and feel productive.
We have the Canadian Tutorial Session every Saturday at our office, with a group of passionate volunteers to teach refugee children school assignments and help them to prepare for tests and examinations.
The Cultural Diversity Playgroup at our office targets both refugee adults and babies. Participants can make new friends and learn new things during lessons. They all share joyful moments.
Members who are interested in the above programmes, please visit our office for more information. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all volunteers who stand with our refugee community. Keep visiting our website and Facebook for the latest information. For enquiry, please don’t hesitate to visit our office or email us at info@refugeeunion.org. THANK YOU.
Celebrating art and painting by refugee children
Oct 13th, 2018 | RU updates, programs, events | Comment
The celebration at the Hive in Aberdeen was a great event which was organised in collaboration with Mini Acts For Greater Good. It promoted universal art and painting skills at a high level of integration in all refugee kids. Many families together with their kids attended, showed an enthusiastic mood greatly interested in exercising practically by an exhibition of the children art and painting skills. The art and painting had no boundaries: some participants were from Greece, Syria, Pakistan, German, Hong Kong local kids and ( ” Refugee Union Hong Kong Kids”). However, natural talent cannot be hidden by immigration status, it reveals its self anywhere it can be expressed; let it be in a camp, on street, in hotel, homes and in any community at any age. What it requires is time, freedom and social support. Thank you Hong Kong for helping us.
SEPTEMBER ROUNDUP AT THE REFUGEE UNION
Oct 12th, 2018 | RU updates, programs, events | Comment
This September was a meaningful month at our Refugee Union office. With the support of our volunteers and members, we continued to advocate for the basic rights and well-being of our refugee community.
In early September, we got a golden opportunity to join the community engagement fair at the ESF Discovery College, together with eleven other corporations. It was our honour to share our stories with students. We were also glad to meet and exchange ideas with other people who are passionate to make contributions to our society.
Other than the new programmes that launched recently, meanwhile, regular programmes continued to operate at our office.
Each Saturday, the Canadian Tutorial Session holds at our office, targeting our refugee children. Volunteers teach school assignments and help them to prepare for tests and examinations.
Also, each Tuesday, the Cultural Diversity Playgroup organises at our office for both refugee families. Each time participants share joyful moments, adults share their own stories with new friends, while babies learn new things through interactive activities.
New members who are interested in the above programmes, please visit our office for more information.
We would like to show our heartfelt gratitude to volunteers who stand with us. Keep visiting our website and Facebook to have the latest information. For enquiry, please don’t hesitate to visit our office or email us at info@refugeeunion.org.