Yuen Shu Wah
Founder, Gratia Foundation Limited
In the 1980s, once I went on a trip to Mainland China. When the train went pass a suburban area in Tianjin, I saw a large piece of barren land. Touched by the scene, I prayed to God, "What can I do for my country?" At that time, private charitable activities were not encouraged in China. For this reason, I secretly took part in a number of charitable activities, including the support to Fuzhou Mercy Field Home (Details can be viewed from an ATV programmer Hong Kongers in Mainland). Subsequently, a few PEC joint affairs executive committee members proposed to open this charitable cause to more Christians, hence the idea of setting up a fund.
The establishment of Gratia Foundation was supported by many Christians, friends and other people sharing the same vision. The strategic partnership with CCHC has given us a lot of financial support and manpower. More importantly, we can attract more talented people into the management through the fund, and therefore enabling Gratia Foundation to change its role from a fund-provider to an organization that actually works out its vision. We have turned from passive development to active selection of the most needy places for the development of children homes in an orderly way. Also, we have extended our scope of service from the operation of merely children home to include education scheme as a complementary service, which enables us to offer continuous assistance to various communities, and to provide effective holistic care to the youth.
The above development is far beyond my expectation when I first started my charitable work in China. Let's be thankful for the rapid development of Gratia Foundation, which is indeed a blessing from our Lord!