Author: CEDAR Fund

MINISTRY REPORT OF WINTER ASSISTANCE TO VULNERABLE SYRIAN FAMILIES

Banner photo: Syrian children use electric heaters to keep warm. The ten-year war in Syria has caused nearly 500,000 deaths so far. Over the past ten years, more than half of the country’s population have fled their homes. There are also more than 6 million internal-displaced people who are unable to leave and have to live in refugee camps. Many of them live in crude makeshift tents, and when winter comes, they have to endure the harsh wind every night under such poor condition. Seriously damaged by the war, no one can foresee when peace will emerge in this ancient civilised country, since the war has already caused 80% of the population across the country into poverty. In

The Invisible Victims of COVID-19 In India

When people in Hong Kong think of the pandemic, several terms come to mind: the safety of vaccines, the economic downturn, restricted gatherings and travel bubbles. To religious people, there are the added “religious gatherings”. Such events are undoubtedly the concerns of many of us in Hong Kong. However, for the poor living overseas, their main concern is not contracting the virus, but surviving. The safety of vaccines and travel restrictions are the least of their concerns. Take India as an example. In late April, tens of thousands of confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported daily. The number even rose to more than 400,000 confirmed cases in a day. News reports show civilians crying out in anguish in the

The Letter from CEDAR | Apr 2021

Dear supporters, In early February this year, a military coup took place in Myanmar, capturing international attention. Even before the coup, CEDAR has been conducting relief work when conflict broke out in the Karen State. The relief activities were carried out in collaboration with the youth who had grown up, supported by CEDAR’s development projects. My heart is broken for those youngsters, imagining they are going through the same tumultuous experience they had in their childhood. When they were small kids, they fled to live in jungles. After years of recovery and growing up in our partner’s children home, they responded to the calling to head back to their home villages to rebuild and serve their communities. Yet

Pray for Myanmar

From the beginning of February, people from different industries and backgrounds have continued to come onto the streets, a site that is familiar to many. In Myanmar, there has been bloodshed, countless have been arrested during the night and news outlets remain blocked. At the time of writing, at least 50 protestors killed since the military seized control on 1 February. Sorrow, anger and fear have filled the hearts of the people in Myanmar. We pray to our loving and righteous Lord to hear and see the people’s plight and those who are mourning. Coupled alongside danger and instability is the global pandemic. This will only cause the people of Myanmar to become even more impoverished. Alongside our

The Letter from CEDAR | Jan 2021

Dear supporters, The new year has started in a blink of an eye. I am still puzzled about what had happened last year like everyone else. It seems that there were only “anti-pandemic”, “restricted gathering” and “number of infected people”. Every day we monitored these indicators like the weather to arrange our lives. People on the other side do not fare any better than us. Instead of being controlled, the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases continued to rise. Needless to say, the pandemic has severely hit the economy. Many of the infected people, especially the poor and the elderly, not only lack care from family, but also do not receive effective medicines. Some of them even died because