School of Poverty Caring

School of Poverty Caring

School of Poverty Caring (SPC), established in 2009, is an educational initiative under the Mission To New Arrivals. It provides a learning platform for participants to engage in experiential learning, allowing them to open the eyes, touch the hearts and subsequently respond through "action" to the issues of poverty in Hong Kong and the needs of grassroots communities.

Our vision is to cultivate a culture of care within a distorted social value system, making caring for the poor a sustained attitude in life, and ensuring that the Gospel becomes a holistic and tangible blessing. We aim to enable participants to concretely recognize the local poverty issues through education, fostering empathy and reflection on how to practice the biblical teachings of justice and mercy, thereby reflecting God's nature.

Moreover, we seek to make care a lifestyle and encourage proactive sharing of the values of caring for the poor with others, thereby influencing more people.

Our Work
1. Education on Caring for the Poor: Through various activities including courses, lectures, poverty experience activities, caring actions, and community tours, we enable participants to understand the local poverty situation and the circumstances of grassroots communities.
2. Volunteer Training: By offering various types of training, we cultivate volunteers to continuously engage with grassroots communities. This involves entering neighborhoods to connect with grassroots groups and responding to their needs.

3. Poverty Alleviation Initiatives and Community Organization: We conduct research on the issues of scavenging and explore various types of poverty-related studies to broaden the promotion and imagination of poverty education.

The "School of Poverty Caring" is a "wall-less school" that opens people's eyes, touches their empathy, and establishes values of care. In Hong Kong, there are too many school buildings, too many classrooms, and too many exam-oriented courses, yet there are even more souls waiting to be touched and cared for. Hong Kong does not need another school with physical structures, but rather a course that inspires the essence of caring within people. The "School of Poverty Caring" is aimed in this direction, aspiring to establish schools that teach how to care for the impoverished within diverse campuses and organizations.

For more information: www.facebook.com/mnaspc

School/Group Courses and Activities

Mission To New Arrivals Limited oversees the "School of Poverty Caring" and "拾平台 (Pick-Up Platform)", which prioritize the transmission of care education. The goal is to help participants understand the conditions faced by grassroots communities and to cultivate a willingness to care for marginalized groups.

In this year, The education program of "Walking Together" has added new elements to its experiential activities, including a writing class focusing on the topic of scavenging titled "Restoring Dignity" and an imaginative and creative course called "Light and Shadow @ Scavenging - Visual Arts and Community Care Practices." The program employs an interdisciplinary approach to conduct education on community engagement. Additionally, two "Process Drama Education Workshops" have been designed to facilitate interactive understanding of the circumstances of grassroots communities through drama education.

The education program of "Walking Together" is suitable for secondary school students and above, as well as various organizations, allowing participants to gain a deeper understanding of the living conditions of different social groups, fostering empathy, and serving as role models in caring for society.

For any inquiries, please call 2729 6400 to contact Mr. Tang at the "School of Poverty Caring" & "拾平台 (Pick-Up Platform)".

The Philosophy of Program

The program aims to establish participants' values of caring for the poor through three core concepts:

1. Awareness
Enable participants to gain a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of poverty issues in Hong Kong on an intellectual level.

2. Compassion in Action
Through a series of education on poverty and personal experiences, helping participants to build empathy by situating themselves in the circumstances of those living in poverty.

3. Action
Cultivate participants to incorporate the values of poverty caring into their daily lives, continuously paying attention to and responding to poverty issues through their actions.

Primary School Curriculum
2024-2025 The Education Program of "Walking Together"(Primary School)
Secondary school/college/group courses/activities/lectures
2024-2025 The Eduaction Program of "Walking Together"(Secondary/Tertiary Institutions and Groups)

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Volunteer training and gatherings

Volunteer training focuses on establishing a culture of learning and a humble attitude. We emphasize that training is a journey and the starting point for learning to care for those living in poverty.

We aim to break down misconceptions about the existence of poverty through various interactive workshops. Participants will engage in experiential learning to understand the concept of caring for the poor, personally experiencing the circumstances of those in poverty, and listening closely to the voices of them. Finally, we will collectively reflect on the common learning outcomes regarding caring for the poor and explore the pathways the church can take to address these issues.

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Church Courses and Activities

Do we need to learn how to care for the poor?
How can the church fulfill its mission of caring for grassroots communities?
How should we understand the commandment to "love your neighbor as yourself"?
Participating in this journey may help you contemplate these questions.

The wealth gap in Hong Kong continues to be severe, and society often simplifies the issue of poverty to mere statistics and simplistic definitions, easily attributing it to personal problems or misfortune, while neglecting the structural factors that contribute to poverty in Hong Kong. As a church entrusted with the mission of loving our neighbors, how can we respond to the circumstances of the poor and walk alongside them? Over the past decade, the "School of Poverty Caring" has provided a learning platform. Through interactive and experiential education, we engage and deepen our understanding and reflection on poverty issues, advocate for care and justice, and learn to accompany marginalized groups.

We aim to cultivate believers to learn:

Understand the poverty issues in Hong Kong and the situations faced by grassroots communities
Build empathy for grassroots groups
How to promote and initiate social care initiatives within the church
How to maintain a continuous companionship and care for people living in poverty

We offer the following opportunities and welcome you to call for more information:

1. Sharing sessions on caring for the poor (limited to fellowship or small groups)
2. Training programs for walk alongside with grassroots communities

Download Leaflet Download Registration Form

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"Community Engagement" is one of the actions that we lead participants to learn about the issues of local poverty and understand the circumstances faced by grassroots communities while continually building relationships with local residents. Community engagement refers to the necessity of entering the community to understand grassroots conditions. We welcome believers and friends from various churches and neighborhoods to join us in a hands-on approach, walking into their communities, listening to the life stories of local residents, and gaining insight into their living situations. Let us work together with our neighbors with empathy.

The "拾平台(Pick-Up Platform)" is an organization under the "School of Poverty Caring (SPC)". It was established to continually walk alongside a group of scavengers at the forefront of the environmental recycling industry, focusing on the impact of industry developments on their livelihoods and working environment.

Main activities of the "Pick-up Platform":

Establishing a database of frontline recycling workers and recyclers;
Advocating for relevant policies and conducting research; enhancing the dignity and welfare of practitioners;
Educating and training frontline workers on how to appropriately handle recyclable paper to improve recycling quality and benefiting exports;
Researching how to define "scavengers" as a profession and establishing relevant indicators;
Following up on relevant issues such as universal retirement insurance, outsourcing of cleaning system, elderly welfare and medical care, etc.

1. In February 2021, the Pick-Up Platform conducted a survey to understand the impact of the "Hong Kong Waste Paper Collection and Recycling Service Program" on scavengers. We successfully interviewed 362 eligible scavengers across twelve districts, assessing whether the program could enhance the community's understanding of industry operations, as well as improve their industry awareness and basic income.

Document for Viewing/Download:

1. Survey Report: https://bit.ly/3iQWEj2

2. Report Summary: https://bit.ly/3vIBoyQ

3. Survey Report Summary: https://bit.ly/2SM5BiX

2. The 2018 Survey of the Hong Kong Scavenging Community aimed to provide support to scavengers working at the forefront of the environmental recycling industry, with a particular focus on the impact of industry developments on them and their working conditions. On March 24, 2018, we conducted a questionnaire survey of the scavenging community in eleven districts of Hong Kong through face-to-face interviews, successfully interviewed 58 recycling shops and 505 scavengers.

Please click here to download the full version of "Hong Kong Scavenging Survey Report" in 2018.

To learn more about the latest developments of the "Pick-up Platform" and local organizations: www.facebook.com/wastepickerplatform/

As we aspire to respond to the needs of caring for the poor in a more autonomous and long-term manner, we began in April 2018 to primarily rely on donations and modest fees from our courses and activities to sustain our operations, thereby reducing our dependency on external funding constraints. Our monthly expenses average approximately HKD 60,000 to 70,000, which includes (1) salaries for three staff members, (2) educational activities, frontline services for the community, and policy advocacy, (3) speaker fees/community educator allowances, (4) promotional production and printing, (5) postage, stationery/equipment, and other miscellaneous expenses.

If you agree with our work in caring for education and working alongside impoverished communities, we welcome your contributions to support us. You may consider the following donation options:

1. Monthly donation (HK$300) or any amount of your choosing

2. Annual donation (HK$300X12 months = HK$3,600) or any amount of your choosing

3. One-time Donation (amount of your choosing). Please register your intention to donate online, and upon receipt of your registration, we will respond via email to follow up on the donation process. Donation Response Registration: https://goo.gl/forms/c1Suyfp4ugYqpjuN2

Donation Methods:

1. Online Donation (please select "School of Poverty Caring" when making your donation)

2. ATM transfer/Direct Bank Deposit

Donation can be made to our account: HSBC Bank "106-237936-001" and email the deposit receipt to spc@newarrivals.org.hk. Please indicate in the email (1) that donation is for the "School of Poverty Caring", (2) the name of the donor/organization, and (3) the contact number for verification and follow up.

3. Mailing a Crossed Cheque

You can send a crossed cheque to our association by mail, please make the cheque payable to "新福事工協會有限公司" or "Mission To New Arrivals Limited". On the back of the cheque, please indicate (1) Donation is for the "School of Poverty Caring", (2) Name of the donor/organization, (3) Contact number for verification and follow-up.

Mailing address: Room 3, 19/F, Man Shing Industrial Building, 307-311 Castle Peak Road (Kwai Chung Section), Kwai Chung, New Territories (For the School of Poverty Caring)

4. For automatic bank transfer, please fill in the "Donation Form/Direct Debit Authorization Form".

Donation Form/Direct Debit Authorization Form: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oia3zyoVTf1C_H-kqTp9bzpLVnWvKz67/view

Instructions for completing the Bank Automatic Transfer Authorization Form: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I4-1m4h0-bPbyfb--JO5_u6mvv__lmyo/view

Mailing address: Room 3, 19/F, Man Shing Industrial Building, 307-311 Castle Peak Road (Kwai Chung Section), Kwai Chung, New Territories (For the School of Poverty Caring)

School of Poverty Caring

School/Group Courses and Activities

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