Category: CEDAR Blog

Bringing Hope to Victims in Syria

Written by: Ken Wong (Communications Officer) On 2 February, Turkey and Syria were rocked by two major earthquakes and multiple aftershocks that killed more than 50,000 people and injured more than 120,000. According to WHO officials, Syria has already been in a deep humanitarian crisis for years due to war and cholera, and the country can in no way deal with the aftermath of earthquakes, whether in the near or mid-term. The earthquakes have wreaked havoc that far exceeded the damage caused by shelling during the civil war. Worse, earthquakes gave no warning. Despite the extreme challenges, towering fears and shattering fatigue, however, CEDAR partners have, by the grace of the Lord, done their utmost to provide for

Works with local churches to fulfil ‘Integral Mission’ and witness the Lord’s grace

Written by: Clara Chiu (Head of Partnership Development) In the process of promoting overseas poverty alleviation and development work and fulfilling Integral Mission, CEDAR’s staff are often inspired by the testimonies of lives being transformed. We hope that in our home of Hong Kong, we can also work with local churches to practice Integral Mission and experience the grace of the Lord. Since last November, CEDAR Fund has commenced an eight-month programme, ‘CEDAR Course’, to promote Integral Mission locally. Through the programme, we hope local churches are given support and the resources to serve the community in greater depth. Pastors and church leaders who enrolled on the programme to gain some knowledge about ‘Integral Mission: church fulfilment and

Shiva, a Nepalese colleague – Restore Dignity for the Dalits

Written by: Clara Chiu (Head of Partnership Development) Whenever I read Philippians 2 about Christ’s incarnation and dwelling among us in the likeness of men, I am moved by His love and sacrifice. He was willing to lay down His nobility and power, taking the form of a servant to be a human. Such sacrifice is love. Abandoning one’s birthright for others is easier said than done. Shiva, a colleague of our Nepalese partner, Samari Utthan Sewa (SUS)*, followed Christ in a way that he willingly put down his esteemed identity to serve those marginalised. Nepal borrows India’s caste system, which divides people into four main categories, each with its subcastes. The castes are hereditary, and their occupations

The Pain and Anger on the Journey of Poverty Relief

Written by: Ken Wong (Communications Officer) Have you ever had such an experience? When you were trying hard to tackle a problem, not only did other people fail to lend a helping hand, instead they added more nuisance and trouble to your situation. Our ministry in Bangladesh is facing such a situation, and we urgently need your prayers. Bangladesh is situated in the North of the Bay of Bengal. The southern coastal region of the country is frequently affected by typhoons and different types of flooding. As climate change accelerates, the frequency and intensity of these disasters are also increasing. Disasters significantly impact the poor and marginalised population, as they depend primarily on agriculture and fishery for a

Light in the Darkness

Interviewee: Chung Pui Ling (Acting Head of Programme)Editor: Ness Ma (Communications Officer) From late September to early October recently, CEDAR’s Acting Head of Programme, Chung Pui Ling (Ling) visited Myanmar and Lebanon. Monitoring the progress of CEDAR’s programmes which are implemented by the local partners, she could see a closer view of the picture. Stepping into reality in those places instead of understanding the programmes and partners through videoconferencing and documents, Ling experienced a greater variety of feelings and had more reflections. Although partners in Myanmar and Lebanon were facing different struggles, their resilience and persistence deeply touched Ling. The Journey across Myanmar ‘It is like seeing some old friends, even we have never seen each other before.’ The

Ride Out the Storm to Carry the Holistic Mission forward

Writer: Ness Ma (Communications officer) When churches start new projects, they often face many challenges regarding resources, manpower, and knowledge, which can be inevitably overwhelming. C&MA Living Stones Church (hereinafter referred to as Living Stones Church) encountered the same when establishing Queen’s Hill Service Station. Over the past year, CEDAR has worked with Living Stones Church to share experiences, and provide mentorship and financial support so that the service station could work well. In an interview earlier, they summarised the unforgettable experience and outcomes. Living Stones Church shared that initially, not all the church members agreed on opening a new service centre. The argument is based on a lack of manpower, insufficient funds and resources. Moreover, they are

They are always there

Writer: Ness Ma (Communications officer) With the exacerbating situation of the human tracking issue in Southeast Asia, more and more victims are surfacing, and so are the pictures and videos that show how the traffickers torture the victims. More horrifyingly, there is also a suspecting price list of the victims’ organs. Little can we imagine tragedies like this happening to the people of our city. The issue of human trafficking has always been there. People from developing and poorer regions are being trafficked every day; news like this just goes unnoticed as the media thinks they are not ‘eye-catching’ enough. With this disheartening issue, what can we do as believers? CEDAR is bringing more attention to our anti-human

Teaching Your Children The Heart of Love From An Early Age – picture book sharing: ‘小希的月亮’

Writer: Ness Ma (Communications officer) ‘What is Myanmar?’ In a lively Sunday school classroom, children raised their hands for questions as soon as they saw the word ‘Myanmar’ on the screen. As the Cedar staff switched to the next slide, in which a map of Southeast Asia is shown, she told the children that it takes around 3 hours to go from Hong Kong to Myanmar by plane. The children waited for the next parts of the story while they were fixing their gaze on the map. The staff members from Cedar were invited to go to Tai Wai Peace Evangelical Centre on 26th June to share the picture book published by Cedar –‘小希的月亮’, which was based

Intern Sharing – Meticulousness in Minute Details

Written by: Chun WingEdited by: Ma Shun Wing (Communications Officer) When we think of an internship, we expect students to select roles with good relevance to the subjects they study as such working experience shall add credits to their future studies and career. This early June, an intern student joined CEDAR Fund, and his name is Chun Wing. He is studying medicine at the university, he chose to serve in our communications work. Medical care is totally unrelated to communications. Let’s read his sharing of how he became used to the internship: I have joined an internship at CEDAR Fund for a month, three days per week. During this period, I was part of the Partnership and Development

Forgotten pain

In the past year, the political situation in the world has undergone some unprecedented changes. Just as we are witnessing the recent war between Russia and Ukraine, many people in other parts of the world also suffer from war and homelessness. Therefore, in addition to serving the immediate needs of the refugees in various places, CEDAR’s partners also assist in community development so that traumatised groups can rebuild their lives. The Myanmar military authority overthrew the democratically elected government on 1 February 2021. After the establishment of the military government, the military was mobilised to suppress opposition demonstrations and to conduct arrests. Al Jazeera, citing a monitoring group, said 1,700 people died as of March this year. The