I will be taking part in Hungry For Change in 14/10/2014 and aiming to raise money for Justice Centre Hong Kong Ltd Hungry for Change is Justice Centre Hong Kong campaign aimed at raising awareness for the plight faced by one of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in HK- the refugees. I have worked at Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre (now Justice Centre) before- it is there I heard heartbreaking stories of the persecuted, I saw men breaking down and crying in front of me because of the trauma and helplessness, and I realized that fleeing to HK is escaping from one hell to go to another hell for them. Refugees are not allowed to work in Hong Kong. Therefore, they have no money to buy their own food. The government now provides food assistance to refugees via an organization called the ISS. ISS then contact third party suppliers around the city to supply bags of food to refugees. Every 10 days (sometimes 5), refugees go to convenience stores far away from where they live to pick up a bag of food worth HK$40 per day. Sometimes the food is rotten/ has expired. And before you even doubt whether HK$40 per day is actually enough, it is noteworthy that since food is provided in kind, refugees do not even have the freedom to choose and buy their own food with HK$40 per day. Imagine living with such food for not just 3 days, but months, or even years... (a lot of asylum seekers are stuck in HK for many years...) Please help by donating to Justice Centre Hong Kong. Where will your money go? FOOD Because of the difficulties refugees face in accessing food, when they join programmes at our centre, we try to offer them and their children something to eat and drink. We currently provide some sandwiches through a partnership with Feeding Hong Kong. But demand outstrips supply. Sandwiches aren’t enough, and we are financially stretched to provide other food such as fruit and baked goods to the people we support. Your donations will helps us provide tea, coffee, fresh baked goods, fruit, biscuits and other snacks when refuges are accessing our legal and psychological support services. Refugees often travel more than an hour by public transport to our centre, and their appointment may take more than 2 hours. Then they have to travel home. Giving them and their families healthy, fresh food while we are providing legal and psychological support is an essential and valuable part of our service. ADVOCACY Real change does not happen without advocacy. At Justice Centre, we do advocacy work to try to change public policies and practices in ways that will have a positive impact on refugees’ lives. Advocacy can take place at a variety of levels from schools and local communities through to international institutions, and include diverse methods including lobbying, media work, popular campaigning (like the Hungry for Change campaign), and changing public attitudes. Your donations through this campaign will support us to work to try to bring about real change in refugees lives, especially in relation to their food, housing and other basic needs. Sharon Yuen