ANNUAL REPORT “Walking with the poor” “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome, lacking clothes and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me. In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:35-36,40) Thanks be to God who has called us to become a Vincentian. All the Vincentians I know have one thing in common, that is, we do not count how much we have done to help the people in need; we take care for their needs both morally and financially. In Matthew 25:40, the Lord said, "in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me." In our service, we do not only see God in one of the least of our brothers and sisters, we often encounter Him during our visitations or delivery of services. I am convinced that this is truly the cause of why we love our service and where the source of power comes from. I thank the Lord for His care in the past year. I would also like to thank his Eminence Cardinal John Tong, Bishop of Hong Kong and our patron, for his support to our services; Rev. Dominic Chan, VG, our Spiritual Advisor, for his guidance and teachings; all clergies who offered their kind advice and encouragement during the year; the dear members of the Society for their untiring efforts in their charitable work at many different levels; and of course, the council officers and the senior members for their contributions and support during the year. I would also like to thank our donors for their unfailing support to our charitable work. Without them, we could not have delivered the various quality charitable works as smoothly as it has been over the years. New Activities and New Services during this Year We are honoured to be invited by the Diocesan Ad Hoc Committee for Jubilee of Mercy, led by Auxiliary Bishop Rev. Joseph Ha, to take part in the organization of two major events in this Year of Mercy. Love thy Neighbours from Afar – Care for Refugees: The event was designed for members of the faithful to better understand the refugee situation in Hong Kong and to arouse their concerns. The event took place in two days - the first day was a sharing session on 21 May 2016 and the second a visitation to refugee families on 25 June 2016. We were honored to have Cardinal John Tong, Auxiliary Bishop Rev. Michael Yeung, Auxiliary Bishop Rev. Joseph Ha and Rev. Dominic Chan, VG to take part in our visitation to some refugee families living in To Kwa Wan and Yuen Long, bringing blessings and caring to them. The Saint of Mercy – Mother Teresa of Calcutta Exhibition: The exhibition was held from 3 to 4 September 2016 at the Caritas Institute of Higher Education. We would like to extent our gratitude to the Hong Kong Diocese and the Missionaries of Charity for their full support in this exhibition by providing us with rich and valuable information about St. Teresa of Calcutta. The exhibition covered not only the details about the life and service of the Saint but also provided direct broadcast of Mother’s canonization ceremony, sharing with guests, film show, prayer service and spiritual development sessions. In the course of the preparation for the event, what we have gained from learning through the services and teachings of St. Teresa of Calcutta was far greater than the efforts we spent. Thanks be to God for giving us this valuable opportunity to serve. The Central Council Meeting The Central Council holds monthly meetings every Wednesday of the third week of the month. Conferences and Membership We have a total of thirty-four parish conferences and one youth conference, with over seven hundred members. Our Work and Activities In 2015 – 2016, all members worked very hard and delivered excellent services in their respective areas, like financial support to the poor and the needy, holding workshops and seminars for members in spiritual development, organizing retreat for members, collaborating with other organizations in delivering charitable work, etc. Charity Community (China) – During the year, the Group visited sixteen regions and districts in the Mainland, focusing on visiting and providing financial support to the poor and the needy with local parishioners. Members took part in a summer youth camp held in Boluo and joined a workshop in Lanzhou. Communication Management Group – During the year, the Group held six meetings and published four issues of the quarterly e-Newsletter. The Group also devoted tremendous efforts in revamping the SSVP HK web site to better meet the emerging needs of the Central Council and conferences brought about by the rapid advancement in information technology and the rising popularity of social media. The new web site which launched on 20 July 2016 adopted a new domain name (ssvp.org.hk), signifying a new page in the SSVP HK’s participation in on- line media. Members are welcome to visit this new web site which could be displayed responsively on various mobile devices, including desktop and tablet computers as well as smart phones. Documentation Management Group – The Group held meeting every two months at the Ozanam Centre. It aimed to develop and maintain an archive system for documentation relating to the establishment of the Society in Hong Kong, its history in the past years, including the set-up of conferences etc.; to retrieve information relating to the establishment of the Society, the registration under the Society Ordinance, the Inland Revenue Ordinance and the Community Chest, for instance; as well as to retrieve from various channels information relating to the history of the Society in Hong Kong especially charitable works in the past, Kung Kao Po, for instance. Recently, the Group visited the Hong Kong Central Library and Hong Kong Seminary to collect past materials in Kung Kao Po. The Group also documented information of major events for future reference. In addition, the Group also assisted in archiving relevant records of CGI. After all, we will try our best to make these precious historical materials good references in the future. Extension and Development Group - The Extension and Development Group consists of eight members. A major task of the Group is to visit parishes that have yet to establish a conference, and to introduce to parishioners the mission and the spirit of the Society. It is hoped that new conferences could be established in these parishes when parishioners gained a better understanding of the Society. During the year, the Group set up the “Walking with Conferences” what’s app groups with the presidents and vice-presidents of conferences. Conferences were welcome to report problems they encountered to the E&D Group at any time with the Group responding within 24 hours. Advices and support would be provided according to the guidelines and rules of the Central Council in real time. The channel was also an effective means for the Central Council to disseminate news and messages. In addition, monthly evening gatherings were held among core members of four to five conferences. Participating conferences revisited the mission, rules and the usage of various forms of the Society together, and discussed problems they were facing and areas of concerns. Conferences got to know each other better through sharing in these monthly gatherings. The Group also assisted conferences in recruiting new members by introducing the Society to other parishioners and catechumen at their parishes. As the parishioners and catechumen learn more about the Society and our services, they would be inspired to join our family to live out their faith through charitable work and serving people in need. For that purpose, the Group also updated and printed new leaflets for conferences’ reference and use. Financial Management Group – The Group held meetings during the year to discuss financial issues encountered by conferences and provide recommendations for their consideration. One of the main tasks of the Group is to appraise and recommend to the President, funding applications of charitable works exceeding HK$ 8000 per case from conferences based on the Funding Approval Guidelines. Ozanam Comprehensive Service Centre (the Centre) – The Ozanam Management Committee manages and oversees the operation of the Centre through quarterly meetings convened to assess, audit and align the directions for the operation of the Centre. The Centre also assisted the Society in communicating and coordinating charitable work and activities of parish conferences. The Centre provided a variety of services to the community in adhering to the teaching of love and care which Christ gave us. Throughout the year, the Centre had continued its services to the people in need, including: Tutorial Classes: We provided after-school homework tutorial classes for primary students. There were about 2,240 head counts enjoyed the services last year; Free Medication and Acupuncture: The Centre collaborated with teams of voluntary qualified Chinese medicine practitioners to provide high quality free medication and treatment. There were about 2,584 head counts received the services from the free clinic last year; Leisure and Cultural Services: The Centre invited experienced music teachers to provide harmonica and erhu classes for people of all ages. There were about 248 student-counts enjoyed the services last year; and Caring Elderly Neighbours: The Centre collaborated with Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council - Sham Shui Po to arrange visits for members of the Society of St.