"a place where need and resource intersect"

It's true. Hong Kong people have way too much money on their hands than they know what to do with it. Old money, new money, it doesn't matter; a majority of them have the disposable income to spend it on whatever their hearts desire. And spend it they do. On penthouse apartments, antique furtniture, overseas holidays, the latest electronics gizmos, designer clothing, grade-a jewellry, cosmetic surgery, and the list continues. And so what happens to the stuff when a company decides to relocate half a block down the street and decides it's too much hassle/time/money to move everything over, a 400-bedroom hotel goes through a major makeover, a school who ordered playground equipment from the UK and realized that it won't fit in their tiny field, a business person who is moving to another flat across town and couldn't be bothered to pack a single item and would much rather buy everything brand new again? All that precious stuff goes to the dump. Well, it used to.

Enter Crossroads International, a locally-run charity started by HK-based Canadian couple, Malcolm and Sally Begbie, who were asked in 1995 by friends in the north of China to send over sweaters for the victims of the massive flooding. They asked around HK not really knowing what to expect but pretty soon came the influx of donations. Not only were sweaters given by the boxfull, but food, blankets and school supplies were also provided. And the generosity hasn't stopped since. There are stories of people driving up to the remote Crossroads site, dumping all of their stuff onto the side and pulling away again never to be seen. Today, hospital equipment, eyeglasses, top of the line computers, flat-screen tv's and unused i-pods are not uncommon donations!

I came across this NGO on the internet and i've been out to help out about 4 times so far. Each time i meet interesting people, many who live on-site and are given free accommodation and food for their work, and each time i learn a new skill and share my own knowledge. It isn't just a crossroads for physical objects but one of the human spirit, and it is truly inspiring. I sound like some cheesy promo ad, but in bustling money-oriented HK, it is extremely gratifying to rub shoulders with people who are committed to improving the lifestyle of the greater global community.

The picture posted in this entry is an activity which i helped out with a couple of times. Dubbed Slum Survivor, this situational game takes highschool students and breaks them into groups of 'families', whereby they are given separate family profiles, but they are pretty much identical in the fact that they are all struggling to survive in the slums of India. The goal for this activity is to make enough money to send their daughter to school. Each family has the task of making paper bags from newspaper and homemade glue, where they then have to go to the local 'shop' and sell them for money. This scenario is taken from actual situations and although the students don't actually go through the despair, hunger and utter poverty that face these people, there is a sense of empathy that is created. While the game is going on, each family has to ensure that food is bought, rent is paid and that at least one member o fthe household attends workshops given by the local community worker. When he/she doesn't, a family member falls ill and must pay for medicine and hospital care.

It's interesting to see the different groups interact and lead (re: democracy, communism, full-on dictatorship), and strategize (lie, beg, steal). At the end of it all, we sit down, debrief the activity and give out current facts and statistics about the world's underdeveloped nations and what the rest of the world is (not) doing about it. We end it by simply stating that by having these youth come out and volunteer with Crossroads, a little bit of hope is being restored to those less fortunate.

I can still remember my World Issues class quite clearly in highschool. It was during that class that my eyes opened to a whole other world, one that seemed exotic, exciting, mysterious, and also one that was a much harsher reality of what i was living then. Today, it is thrilling to see the naked realization in these students' eyes, reminding me how naive and innocent i once was.