One cold Saturday in January a small group of CLSA Hong Kong volunteers gave up their morning to participate in a community outreach activity for PathFinders, a charity that supports vulnerable children and migrant mothers in Hong Kong. Pathfinders have been a recipient of CLSA Chairman Trust funding for three years.
http://www.pathfinders.org.hk/public/
The CLSA Chairman’s Trust funding supports two shelters for migrant women; one for those who are pregnant and require a refuge while considering adopting out their un-born children, and the second shelter is for new mothers. In both instances, the women are often unemployed and homeless making them highly vulnerable to abuse and/or child traffickers. The shelters provide a safe place to live and collectively, house up to seven women at any one time.
CLSA’s volunteers were divided between the two shelters and tasked with the beautification of the apartments to make them cosier, relaxing and more welcoming for the women. Team Lavender embarked on their mission at 10am and were complete by 11am so with great enthusiasm and energy, decided to mix more paint and take their brushes to additional walls in the apartment. Team Cedar were also very efficient and had completed their two well before time. The result being more cheery and bright environments.