Crossroads Foundation
Crossroads Foundation is a Hong Kong based, non-profit organisation serving global need. We believe that, in a broken world that sees too much suffering, we should do all we can to link those who are in need with those who can provide help. So we provide an intersection, literally a crossroads, to bring both together.
Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) awarded to our founders, Malcolm and Sally Begbie.
The awards have been granted to each, recognising over 30 years of distinguished humanitarian service, including the founding of the Crossroads Foundation in Hong Kong, 17 years ago.
The awards also cite the work they have undertaken with the United Nations in facilitating UN/business partnerships to combat global issues. http://business.un.org.
Refugee Run, Davos 2012
Crossroads is once again running the powerful simulation 'Refugee Run' in Davos, Switzerland, to coincide with the World Economic Forum 2012.
The Refugee Run invites people attending the World Economic Forum to spend an hour experiencing a powerful, meaningful glimpse of the reality facing refugees around the world. Refugees from different nations have helped design and staff the event, so that it is as true to life as possible.
For more information see our new Refugee Run website.
Check out the photos below. They will be updated regularly in the lead up to and during the event.
Remembering Haiti: 2 Years On
On the two year anniversary of Haiti's devastating earthquake, we present these images, from Global Hand's Tom Williams, taken in August 2010. We remember the tragedy, and we stand with those who are still suffering, and with those striving to help. Click here to view the slideshow.
Flood Disaster in the Philippines
Parts of the southern Philippines were hit by massive flash flooding in late
December. Already, more than 1,200 people are confirmed dead, and hundreds more are
missing. In some areas, entire neighbourhoods have been washed away.
Crossroads is seeking to stand with those who have been affected by this
devastating tragedy, as they grieve, and rebuild their
communities. We are already speaking with several of our partners in the
Philippines to determine what kind of help is most
needed at this time and in the months to come.
How can you help?
We are currently taking financial donations for flood relief, which we
will channel directly to partner organisations working in the
flood-affected areas of the Philippines. If you would like to donate,
please click here and make sure to mark your donation
as 'Philippines Flood Relief' on the form.
Crossroads will also be sending disaster response kits, consisting of
hygiene and relief items most needed after a disaster. If you or your
organisation is interested in donating disaster relief goods, please
click here for information on what is most needed,
and email donate@crossroads.org.hk to discuss further.
Rudolph the Water Buffalo: Transforming children's lives in the Philippines
What was wrong with this Christmas card? The man in red
was clearly not at the North Pole: he was in the sunny tropics. He was clearly
not, either, borne by a set of reindeer; he was precariously perched on an
animal he had named Rudolf the Red Nosed Water Buffalo.
One look at the children’s faces, though, showed that none of that seemed to matter! They were alight with wonder that special gifts
were coming to them: they had been remembered and loved in a way they had not
experienced before.
“It all began when I saw my wife shopping in Hong Kong,” says Gavin Coates, Hong Kong’s renowned artist and landscape architect. “What is all that stuff for?” I asked, as she emerged with large numbers of small gifts. I was less than excited at the prospect of lugging these all the way to the Philippines. “They’re for the children,” she beamed, adding a confident, “You’ll see!”
A
few weeks later, Gavin says, he did indeed see the joy she had been anticipating. The two had returned to Gloria’s home village in the Philippines, and offered the children a Christmas party, complete with Gavin dressed as Santa Claus on a water buffalo! Amid the high-pitched excited tones of the children’s voices, one man turned to him with a serious expression to speak, as Gavin put it, ‘with great heart’. “You don’t know what you’ve done,” he said. “You’ve given something to the kids that they have never seen before.”
He was right. After that first party, with 50 kids, Gavin and Gloria were asked to hold more. Each year, the size of the parties multiplied and the enthusiasm of the village grew with them.
In time, this compassionate couple began asking what more they could contribute to the lives of the village children. As they spoke with the local people, they received one consistent answer: education. For many children, the cost of school was simply beyond the family’s reach. Without it, though, they were destined for a life in the fields, battling the poverty which beset their fathers and grandfathers before them. 
“The only way out, long term, is education,” Gavin and Gloria were told. They began raising funds to put some of these little ones in school. Donors responded generously and the project grew as they supplied fees, uniforms, books and travel allowances: everything needed to ensure the children could attend. All funds were passed on directly to the schools themselves to maximise accountability.
Today, the Balanghari Educational Institute, as they came to call their project, sees scores of children schooled at primary, secondary and tertiary levels.
Crossroads has given supplies from its warehouse to support the work of the Balanghari Educational Institute and is now formally partnering with the project. If you would like to sponsor a child’s school needs, through the BEI, you can click here to do so. Please be careful to write Balanghari Educational Institute in the online form. Or, if you would prefer to write a cheque, please send it to Crossroads Foundation, 2 Castle Peak Road, Tuen Mun, HKSAR and please indicate, on the back of the cheque, that it is for the Balanghari Educational Institute so we can be sure it reaches them safely.
Crossroads Christmas Cards 2011
Christmas is in the air! Each
year, Crossroads identifies a social enterprise somewhere in the world
to create our Christmas cards, telling the Christmas story through the
eyes of artisans in places like Kazakhstan, Serbia and Rwanda.
This year, our storytellers are a little closer to home! The cards we have had produced for Christmas 2011 were made by two organisations here in Hong Kong.
Ten people with visual impairments were employed through the Hong Kong Blind Union to print braille reading 'Merry Christmas' on the cards, while the cards themselves were printed by Elite Printing, a social enterprise in Hong Kong who employs disadvantaged people and trains them in design and printing skills.
This is a story we love to help tell! Whether through sending containers
around the world, distributing goods here in Hong Kong, or supporting
producers through our Global Handicrafts shop and cafe, Crossroads is
equipping organisations that train and empower
people to help themselves.
To order a pack of 10 cards through our Global Handicrafts shop, click here, or to purchase individually, click here.
Knitting for the needy
Chunky knits are in this season, and nobody knows that better than designer retailer Lane Crawford. Right now, though, Lane Crawford is turning Hong Kong's love affair with knitting into a way to care for people in need.
Knitting enthusiasts all over Hong Kong will collaborate, with Lane Crawford's help, to make warm woollen blankets that Crossroads can distribute to those who are facing a long, cold winter.
From Monday 7th November to Christmas, 25th December 2011, every Lane Crawford store in Hong Kong is giving out free knitting kits that you can use to knit blanket squares. The kits contain yarn courtesy of Club Monaco, and a pair of bamboo knitting needles: the essentials you need to knit an 8 x 8 inch square and return it to dropboxes in Lane Crawford stores. When the squares have been joined to make blankets, Crossroads will distribute them to our partners working with people in need.
Click here to see a list of Lane Crawford's store locations, to pick up your kit and start knitting with love today.
Knit on, Hong Kong!
Horn of Africa Crisis
The news of East Africa’s horrific hunger crisis may have been
knocked off the front page, but for the 13 million people still needing food
aid, it’s still as urgent a story as it was when the world first began to talk
about the situation earlier this year. The region, which includes Somalia,
Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti, is facing a catastrophic famine, with one in
every two Somalis living in crisis and as many as 640,000 children seriously
malnourished.
Desperate hunger has driven tens of thousands of people to leave their homes in
Somalia and other areas to seek help in neighbouring Kenya. Some walk more than
200km, carrying babies, pushing carts with their meagre belongings, or carrying
nothing at all. Many end up at Dadaab, Kenya's largest refugee camp, which is
still home to refugees who arrived in the 1980s, during Somalia's last serious
famine. In an area designed to accommodate 90,000 people, more than 380,000 are
crammed, setting up 'tukuls', huts made of sticks lashed into an igloo shape
and covered in plastic sheeting. There is a long backlog of people waiting to
be registered, and thus start to receive food rations. The UN estimates that up
to 1,500 new refugees are arriving in Kenya every day.
The region is truly in a state of emergency. A spokesperson from international
NGO World Vision said, grimly, "We have not seen the worst yet...The
drought is likely to persist until 2012."
At this point, Crossroads is not collecting goods to send containers of aid to crisis areas, according to advice from partners on the ground, however we know that many of you in Hong Kong and around the world have been moved to help.
You can donate funds through our website marked for the 'East Africa Famine', which will be directed to groups working in the region, by clicking here.
For the United Nations’ list of organisations working in East Africa’s disaster zone, click here.
Hope in rural Cameroon
There are between 1 million and 4 million child labourers in Cameroon
aged between 5-14. Some of them work on plantations and farms, some sell small
items on the streets and in markets, some are employed by their own families,
who need the free labour simply to survive, and some work as prostitutes.
In 2011, Crossroads shipped to an organisation that wants to see Cameroon’s rural children freed from the things that are trapping them in poverty: the early marriage of girl children, child labour, witchcraft, child abuse and HIV/AIDS. Their work is touching the lives of 1,500 orphans and vulnerable children with schooling, as well as fun, educational programs that are returning to them back the childhood and educational opportunities that poverty tried to steal... Click here to read more >>
Upcoming shipment to India
Bhavani is a 42 year old fisherwoman who lives on the coast of south-east India. Her family has, for years, been totally dependent on the sea for its livelihood. Bhavani’s husband Muthu would sail out to sea each day at 4am, and Bhavani would sell his ‘catch’ at the local market. It was a precarious existence, however, and as the family grew, and their needs increased, it seemed that fish were getting more and more scarce. The income from Bhavani’s daily market sales was not enough to meet their needs for food, medicine and school fees. They had no option but to take out loans from a local moneylender. There was no way that Bhavani could keep up with the wildly inflated repayments and she was terrified of the violent moneylenders. She felt the family sink further and further into destitution and desperation. There seemed no way out... Click here to read more >>
Charity gala for Crossroads
Saturday 7th May saw a glittering night of compassion on the catwalk, as couture gowns and jewellery created by top Hong Kong fashion designer Barney Cheng and jewellers King Fook were showcased at a special Charity Gala to benefit Crossroads.
Barney Cheng, a firm friend of Crossroads since he took part in our Global Survivor event in 2010, was so deeply moved by the urgent plight of people living in poverty that he immediately wanted to use his talents to help. Following the experience, Cheng said,"Without a doubt, it was the hardest 24 hours I have ever endured in my life. I was thrown into a scene of uncertainty, homelessness, and financial and emotional hardship that resembles the conditions in which millions currently live around the world. The experience humbled and triggered me to take action into my own hands."
That response was translated, with a great deal of hard work, into the event that took place on Saturday. Guests at the gala, which was titled Extravagant Simplicity, were treated not only to a fashion parade of Cheng’s creations but also a rich programme of speeches and musical items that spoke the story of the world’s poor.
Even the menu on the night carried a meaningful message. Each course in the dinner, beautifully created by chefs at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, was based on a dish eaten by people in developing nations around the world.
The heartfelt passion poured into the event by Barney Cheng himself was astounding, and Crossroads Foundation felt both grateful and immensely privileged to work alongside the designer in seeing this exciting event come to fruition.
Disaster in Japan
The immediacy of Japan’s recent disaster has passed and our screens are largely filled with images from other parts of the world. Yet the journey to recovery is long and complicated. We cannot afford to turn our backs on the many who battle in its aftermath.
Our partners delivering aid in the Sendai district
This has been a triple tragedy. It started with the earthquake that registered a staggering 9 on the Richter scale, followed by the tsunami waves of 37.9 metres and then, of course, the ensuing nuclear challenges. The basic facts tell the story in heartbreaking terms.
- 14,063 deaths
- 4,916 injured
- 14,175 missing
- 125,000 buildings damaged or destroyed
- 4.4 million households in northeastern Japan were left without electricity
- 1.5 million without water
- Massive damage done to roads and railways
- Nuclear reactors affected, placing the affected population at risk, with ongoing uncertainty as to the number and extent of people impacted.
It has been declared the worst earthquake ever to hit Japan and one of the five worst earthquakes since records were first set in place, in 1900.
Japan's government said the cost of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the northeast could reach $309 billion, making it the most expensive natural disaster on record.
Crossroads is continuing its relief effort. We are preparing another shipment of high quality clothing to be flown to our partner working in devastated areas. If you would like to be part of our ongoing relief effort, click here to donate.
Refugee Run in Davos
Crossroads has once again run the powerful simulation 'Refugee Run' in Davos, Switzerland, to coincide with the World Economic Forum 2011.
Refugees often quote the old proverb: “I can’t understand a man unless I walk a mile in his shoes.” While the event cannot offer a mile in the shoes of refugees, it can invite participants to take a few steps and receive a powerful, meaningful glimpse of their reality. Refugees from different nations helped craft and staff the event, so that it would be as true to life as possible. 
Co-hosted by the UNHCR, the United Nations’ Refugee Agency, the event has seen participants such as the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, and British tycoon, Sir Richard Branson, take part during previous years.
“Everyone should do this. It will change the way you see refugees.” Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia
“A profound experience that reminds us of the plight of millions of forcibly displaced people.” Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations
"A remarkable experience… One is moved, emotionally, out of normality, to a better understanding of the fears and dangers present for refugees."
Jeffrey Sachs, Director, Earth Institute, Colombia University
"I've been working with refugees for many years. Nonetheless, this is a compelling way to remind one what it's like. I felt helpless all the time, and very exposed."
Lord Malloch Brown, Senior Advisor, Global Redesign Initiative
"Reading 1000 books would not teach me what I learned in the past hour."
Davos resident
"It was truly moving and educational. Finding a way to get the people who attend Davos to take time out of plenary meetings, and not just focus on one of the world’s most important issues, but experience even a bit of it, is so, so important."
S. Sandberg, COO, Facebook
“Beautifully done!” Sir Richard Branson
Click here for Frequently Asked Questions about the Refugee Run.
In January 2010 a population wept in agony. The earthquake that hit Haiti
all but flattened the already impoverished nation, and killed at least
230,000 people. Now, in November 2010, Hurricane Tomas has caused
flooding in parts of Haiti,
forcing thousands of people who had already been made homeless in one
disaster, to pack up their few possessions and flee yet another.
The
filthy waters swirled around their family home, as 10 year old
Inamullah stared in growing fear. They had now burst over the river bank
and showed no signs of slowing down.
“Stay inside until the tide goes down”, his relatives had told him. But
was the house safe? Already water was pouring into the ground floor and
he ran to see if it was approaching the second. There was no doubt. Any
moment now, they would need to move to the third floor and who knew how
long even it would be safe? Read More>>
DISASTER ZONE
The deaths repeat, every year, but are no less tragic for that. As massive rains, or other killer forces, work their worst, we see one tragedy follow another. Today… in Pakistan, reports indicate up to 20.2 million lives affected by the devastating floods.
We have spoken with those on the ground who have a clear picture of what is needed and are preparing to send help. If you would like to give, you can do so with cash or goods.
Tomorrow… who knows where the tragedy might be? In order for Crossroads to be ready, we have a Disaster Relief Fund to which you can donate. With that money specially set aside for disasters, we can then act very quickly to help those who suffer. This is a strategic approach to the problem. It means we can be ready before disaster strikes, instead of needing to react afterwards.
Yesterday… Sadly, the present and the future are not our only concerns. There is the agony of past disasters too. The world grieves at the time but, once the cameras leave, those affected are often forgotten and left to take ten, twenty or thirty years to recover with far too few resources. A recent example is the devastating earthquake that hit Qinghai, killing more than 2000 people and injuring over 11,000. In the early days, we rushed medical supplies to save lives. Now we are preparing a shipment to help re-build. Again, you can help by giving cash.
Survival on the Thai-Burma border
The Burmese children clutched each other as they watched the soldiers execute their family. Their 65 year old grandmother died. Their 13 year old sibling followed. Then the 4 year old. Soon they had lost everybody except each another. Battling grief, terror and confusion, they found their way across the Thai/Burmese border to a refugee camp. Read more >>
News from Cambodia
Meet Nit, a young blind boy in Cambodia who is receiving education and hope through a grassroots NGO. Crossroads recently supplied this group with much needed resources to help them continue transforming lives.
GLOBAL SURVIVOR 2010 - THEY SURVIVED!
Tony Tyler, CEO of Cathay Pacific, Gavin Coates of Earthy Cartoons and Steve Marcapoto, President of Turner Broadcasting Asia begin the fight for survival in the refugee camp
It's a quiet, cool night, and a small group of men has set out from their refugee camp to gather firewood. Suddenly, almost from nowhere, five rebel soldiers, guns and ammunition strapped to their uniforms, burst out at them and begin shouting in a strange, forceful dialect...
Global Survivor is an annual event where Hong Kong corporate leaders choose to undergo a 24 hour simulation experience in which they are placed, in simulated form, under the kind of oppression that many people in poverty and conflict zones live every day. It is a sobering experience for participants, who are given a new perspective on the dilemmas, tragedies, heartbreaking choices and hopelessness of chronic poverty.
To read more about the experiences of our 2010 'Global Survivors', click here.
THANK YOU FOR HELPING THE PHILIPPINES
“No one has ever brought us brand new clothing before!” The words were repeated in wonder as 70 families in an evacuation centre received clothing we sent. Following the Philippines’ devastating typhoons last October, severe flooding forced thousands to abandon their homes, and seek refuge in evacuation centres.
A basketball stadium, in this case, has been housing 70 families. It has a roof, but is open at the sides. Each family was allocated its own space where they built a little shelter using nylon tarpaulin cloth. Extra toilets and showers were put in. The place could not, however, provide the sheer volume of clothing and other necessities needed by these people who had lost everything.
They turned to us for help at a particularly timely moment. Only a week before the typhoon, a major successful clothing company had donated over 15,000 pieces of brand new clothing to Crossroads. It has been a perfect match for this group: enough, they say, to see them distributing clothes for several months to come.
They also asked us for school materials and water bottles: both essential to allow kids to resume education and to carry safe drinking water. These went to street children. They will supplement their efforts by bringing a medical team to set up a clinic for the 300+ children there: kids who have not seen a doctor for three years.
It is the generosity of the Hong Kong public and businesses that makes shipments such as this possible. Thank you for responding to this crisis and standing with its victims.
Note: At present, we are preparing a recovery shipment for Haiti. Click here if you would like to help.
JEFFREY SACHS SHARES ON A PANEL FOR THE NEW UN & BUSINESS WEBSITE DURING THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
Crossroads hosted a special panel focused on business & United Nations partnerships during the 2010 World Economic Forum. Jeffrey Sachs, special economic advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations and author of the book 'The End of Poverty', took part in a panel speaking on the power of partnerships. Sally Begbie highlighted the features of the new 'business.un.org' website developed in collaboration with our Global Hand team.
Speaking of the new website, Sachs commented: "The new platform is a wonderful tool that is going to, I think, propel the Millennium Development Goals and so many other worthy initiatives of the UN and the business community...I'm running to my computer and telling my colleagues about it...We see it as a fantastic new platform that is going to have many, many practical applications and I can't wait to start using it."
The panel also featured case studies from Manpower and KPMG and ended with participants taking part in the Refugee Run.
For a full photographic tour of the event click here to see our Flickr photos. For more information on the Refugee Run, click here.
To check out the new business.un.org website click here.
HELP HAITI
©UN Photo/Marco Dormino. www.un.org/av/photo/
The scale of the earthquake in Haiti on 12th January is still coming to light. It is simply impossible at this stage to know the numbers of people killed and injured.
Huge parts of the capital Port-au-Prince are in ruins and the country is in chaos. An estimated 3 million people are now in desperate need, in a country already impoverished and vulnerable.
If you would like to respond, please click here.
Global Hand will also be facilitating partnerships to support Haiti. For more information visit our site.
Thank you for standing with so many in need at this time.
FOOD AS IT USED TO BE…
Remember when fresh food used to have flavour? There was a time when tomatoes were red, not pink? Lettuce was fresh, not limp, and, well, you could taste it too! Herbs were pungent.
One of the goals, in Crossroads’ Global Village, is to demonstrate care for the planet we human beings have so mistreated, resulting in suffering in so many forms.
We are now hosting a local farmers’ market: supporting organic farmers from our area who grow food in ways that are good for people and good for the planet.
Opening hours: Saturdays 10am – 4pm.
For directions to the Crossroads Village, click here. Free parking available.
CHAMPIONING THE CAUSE
“Champions know there are no shortcuts to the top. They climb the mountain one step at a time.” (J Adler)
At 4810 metres, Mt Blanc defeats many climbers. Some call it, in fact, one of the deadliest peaks in the world.
As if that were not challenge enough, moreover, Nicolas chose the more difficult of the climbing options, starting at Aiguille du Midi then descending/ascending a series of peaks before reaching Mt Blanc itself.
| 7am: | descended from Aiguille du Midi (3870m) to Col du Midi (3542m). Rather like climbing points in a royal crown, he mastered a series of descents and ascents, steadily tracing the ridge to the summit |
| 8am: | up to Epaule du Tacul (4100m) down to Col Maudit (4035m) up to Breche Maudit (4400m) down to Col de la Brenva (4309m) up to Mur de la Cote (4640m) |
| 1pm: | on to Mont Blanc. (4807m) |
| 5pm: | back to Aiguille du Midi |
Apparently, too, he’d like to try it again. “I only have one thing in mind now… to get back up there with my beloved wife Susan.”
His massive climb leaves us overwhelmed. During this period of economic challenge, many traditional sources of funding have dried up. So we are grateful, beyond words, for his originality in championing our cause in this extraordinary way and generating greatly needed funds.
Nicolas, we salute you!
Crossroads’ Global Village offered its Refugee Run in January 2009 to Davos, Switzerland, during the World Economic Forum, for participation by both WEF attendees and the residents of Davos.
Participants such as the Secretary-General of the UN, Mr Ban Ki-moon, and British tycoon, Sir Richard Branson, attended the event. So did John Harrison, deputy chair of KPMG International, Mark Parker, CEO of Nike, and many other senior figures. For a moment in time, participants were thrust into another environment, stepping ‘into the shoes’ of refugees who faced a rebel attack, a ‘mine field’, border corruption, language incapacity, black marketeering and refugee camp survival. Following the event, a debrief invited participants to discuss the refugee situation and explore ways to assist, should they so wish. We co hosted this event with the Global Risk Forum Davos, which specialises in disaster prevention and reduction, and with the UNHCR, the United Nations’ refugee agency.
Crossroads will again be running this x-perience at the 2010 World Economic Forum later this month.
For more information click here >>
Video courtesy of the Wall Street Journal: Sir Richard Branson takes on the Refugee Run challenge
Video courtesy of Reuters
Please click here to view a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the Refugee Run.
CROSSROADS' NEWEST 'X-PERIENCE' BRINGING INSIGHT INTO A WORLD OF BLINDNESS
Every five seconds around the world, someone loses their sight. 90% of them live in low and middle income countries without the support they need to survive.
In Crossroads’ newest Life X-perience, participants will step into the shoes of a blind villager in Nigeria. As you adjust to navigation without sight, a blind guide will lead you on a journey of discovery.
Lose your sight to gain deeper insight into the lives of 75 million visually impaired around the world. Don't just learn about it … Live it!
Open now at the Crossroads Village.
Crossroads’ ambassador for its Blind X-perience is Kim Mok.
For more information, contact the Global Village office at lifex@crossroads.org.hk or phone 2272 9396.
Click below to learn more about the Blind X-perience.
