HONG KONG (SE): On June 25, Caritas-Hong Kong, which is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its founding in 1953, held a service expo to help people learn more about the activities of the long-serving organisation in the Central and Western Districts. Exhibitions, games, and a bus tour were part of the event.
Activities began with a ceremony in the community hall of the Caritas Building on Caine Road. The ceremony was officiated by Teresa Wong Lai-har, assistant District Social Welfare Officer [Central, Western, Southern and Islands] of the Social Welfare Department, Father Joseph Yim Tak-lung, chief executive of Caritas, and Carmen Lee Shuk-ha, secretary of the Social Work Services Division at Caritas.
In his message, Father Yim thanked the stakeholders who have supported Caritas over the past 70 years and hoped they would continue fostering service development in the coming years. In the same way that they survived the recent challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, he encouraged everyone to maintain hope and faith.
During the opening ceremony, participants formed the Caritas logo with candles, symbolising their unity and desire to serve the community. Participants were also invited to complete a two-hour orientation experience programme in which they used a map and a mobile app to learn about the services offered by Caritas for children, teenagers, families, and seniors in the Central and Western Districts.
In addition, Caritas units in the Central and Western Districts were open to the public, and booths were set up for people to learn more about their services. A variety of booth games, virtual reality activities, service exhibitions, handicraft workshops, and performances helped visitors understand the mission of Caritas-Hong Kong.
An open-top bus brought participants around Central and provided a chance for them to find out about different Caritas organisations and programmes along its route. Starting at Central Ferry Piers, the bus passed through Caritas Evergreen Home, a nursing home for the elderly with severe levels of impairment in Sai Ying Pun; Caritas Ling Yuet Sin Kindergarten in Pok Fu Lam; as well as Caritas Mok Cheung Sui Kun Community Centre which operates as a community hub for all residents regardless of their age, gender and nationality in Kennedy Town.
A service expo was held earlier on April 22 in Tsuen Wan in order to introduce the services of Caritas in Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung, and Tsing Yi.
As part of the 70th anniversary celebrations, a walk titled “Step for Love” was held at Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club on June 3. This walkathon was organised by ICBC [Asia] Bank and attended by John Cardinal Tong Hon, Jimmy Jim Wai-kei, head of global markets at ICBC [Asia], and other guests. The 1,500 participants who walked three-kilometres in Clearwater Bay raised over HK$2 million in support of various services of Caritas.
The highlight of the anniversary celebration is a charity TV show scheduled to be broadcast on TVB Jade channel on July 8.
