The "2020 Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report" released by the government in the middle of this month revealed that the number of poor people reached 1.65 million last year, that is, one out of four Hong Kong people was poor, and the number reached a 12-year high.
Under the impact of the epidemic, many citizens have been forced to join the unemployed army, changing from having a stable income in the past to relying on savings to survive.
Some senior volunteers have observed that the current uneven distribution of social resources tends to concentrate only on helping the disadvantaged groups in the mainstream of society. Those who suddenly fall into the poverty line and need assistance are ignored. Part of it is due to age and their own background. To ask others for help.
A group of volunteers and like-minded people have gradually placed "material refrigerators" in various districts, so that people in need can obtain the necessary supplies at different locations in the district, alleviating their urgent needs.
The full cabinet of food and food comes from the concept of a shared refrigerator, where an unplugged refrigerator is placed in schools, shops and shopping malls in various districts.
All materials are donated by interested citizens and organizations. The materials in the refrigerator will also be filled with different materials and dry foods, such as cans, bread, biscuits, rice, pet food, scarves and stationery, etc., for those in need. People pick it up at any time.
Full Cabinet Foods will also paint the old refrigerator cabinets with patterns that are characteristic of the local community, hoping to attract the attention of passers-by, but also want the public to better understand the concept of full cabinets and expand it to the whole of Hong Kong in the future. 18 districts.
Existing aid is difficult to reach potentially needy people
Starting from the West Kowloon Centre, full cabinets of food and rations have now placed refrigerators in nearly 20 different places.
The operation of the full cabinet is mainly performed by ten volunteers.
Volunteers come from different backgrounds, including senior volunteers, heads of social enterprises, former journalists and visual arts graduates. Huang Junting, who has more than 20 years of volunteer experience, is one of them. She is also a constant volunteer with Beihe.
Because of his rich volunteer experience, Huang Junting observed social problems. "In the past, when I went to send meals with Brother Ming, they usually belonged to the elderly, street sleepers and CSSA recipients, but this group of people is really in need. She explained that they are all considered by the society to be people in need, and it is easier to obtain different assistance, but some of the more urgent help is lacking. "In fact, a pack of noodles and a pack of cakes have helped him a lot. One meal can be solved."
Unforgettable young people go to the market to buy "food and drink"
Huang Junting’s reflections stemmed from an experience of meal distribution, "Sometimes I go to a place where street sleepers live, but I haven’t delivered it. I have seen street sleepers eat a siu-mei rice, and there are two or three lunch boxes nearby. .. I’m not going to send a meal, because they already have food. Instead, after the delivery is passing by the nearby market, and seeing some young people, I’d rather go to the market to close the stalls and eat the food. Distributing rice resources".
Huang Junting described it as sad, "It may be hard to imagine, but it's really tight."
Suddenly unemployed people can hardly ask for help due to age and status issues
Huang Junting lamented that in recent years, under the influence of the epidemic, the economic downturn has caused many citizens to suddenly lose their jobs, and the existing assistance cannot reach precisely these people.
She said that many unemployed people generally do not actively seek assistance due to age or status issues.
She continued, "If she wants to carry the food, she will feel embarrassed, and she will feel that she has to keep people who need more than her own, and she should not take up resources if she has energy and power."
Because of this, a full cabinet of food and food came into being, and material refrigerators were set up in multiple districts, hoping to be the first to reach this group of people, so that they can get supplies without embarrassment.
Although they become beneficiaries, they can become donors after they succeed in getting rid of difficulties in the future.
Huang Yunting mentioned that someone once wanted to take all the supplies from the refrigerator at one time, but the nearby passers-by immediately stopped when they saw it. "I'm not afraid that someone would do it. Because if there are ten of them, it's worth it!"
After the full cabinet meal was officially implemented, it received support from all parties.
Located in Sham Shui Po, Deng Rong is one of the organizations that are willing to put refrigerators. The person in charge of Deng Rong, A Wei pointed out that he knew the full cabinet of food and food from his friends. He was attracted by its operating philosophy. It is a non-profit organization that mainly donates items and mails and buys items made by disadvantaged communities. Ah Wei believes that the refrigerator idea is similar to the operation direction of the organization.
Waiting Rong is located near the bus station, and the refrigerator placed outside causes the neighborhood to stop and check from time to time.
After a short period of one month, Ah Wei observed that different people would take the supplies from the refrigerator. "There are homeless people, children, and neighborhoods of different ages. Some parents will tell the children to stay away and return to others. People in need, but I think as long as they are happy, they can carry it under any circumstances."
Fusion sense, a hair salon located in Sha Tin, is also one of the places where the refrigerator is placed.
At first, Vim, the head of Fusion sense, found a cupboard full of food on social media and found it meaningful, so he took the initiative to find them and expressed his hope that they could provide a place.
Vim, who has been in the hairstyling industry for 10 years, said that from working with customers from different backgrounds, he found that everyone has a heart to help others, but he didn't know where to start. It made Vim think about how to use the hair salon as a medium. The proximity to the community allows people to help each other and love each other. "I don’t want to waste the identity of the hair stylist being able to contact the guests, so I hope that through my own power, more people can know that they are full of food. grain".
Create on the refrigerator and add community art elements
On the day of the interview, Fusion Sense’s refrigerator was undergoing a facelift, and it was Kate, a senior middle school student who performed the task.
After learning about the concept of full cabinets with food from her mother, she hopes to use her experience of voluntary mural painting on Lamma Island to contribute to the community.
"I think the full cabinet is a direct and quick way to help people, and it also makes people feel that the community is warm and loving."
Kate observed a lot of stray cats near the shop. After communicating with the owner, he created paintings on the theme of cats. He spent a week of holidays and free time to complete the paintings by himself, hoping to attract the neighborhood to stop by the colorful paintings and learn more about the concepts behind them.
Looking forward to the development of a private business model to improve the sustainability of aid
Huang Weijie (Ajie), the person in charge of the social enterprise and a volunteer who is full of food and drink, said with a smile that he is the chief clerk, and he is involved in the transportation and collection of refrigerator materials.
Ajie has been in contact with many disadvantaged groups in the past and realized that the help of social enterprises is very limited.
The full cabinet is a concept derived from the shared refrigerator, but the difference is that Ajie does not want to be a one-time assistance, but the concept of the same type can continue to develop.
He believes that it is very important to involve people in the community. "The problem is that the small shop and the mall are willing to put a refrigerator in one place, and can it help to do business?" He thought of adding community art elements to the refrigerator and replacing the old refrigerator. Turning into a check-in point, the shopkeeper can help others while also attracting people through the refrigerator, achieving the effect of mutual assistance.
In addition to assisting a group of people neglected by the society, Ajie also hopes to rebuild the former neighbourhood relationship and the situation of spontaneous mutual assistance by the community through a full cabinet of food.
He mentioned that in the past, the form of assistance was dominated by social enterprises or charities, but this method was difficult to last. "When the funding is used up, there will be no more."
Therefore, the ultimate goal of the full cabinet is to be operated by the private sector. "Everyone can be a potential volunteer. Whether it is the cleaning sister of the shopping mall, the security guard, or the shop staff can help manage the refrigerator supplies. Just like the old days, Neighbors will help to watch the children, and they will also pay attention to whether there are suspicious people coming and going." This greatly improves the continuity of the full cabinet and strengthens the connection between the communities.
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