‘Juan for Education’ raises HK$6,000 for ‘minority children’

Jan 12, 2015
2 min read

Although it was no scale as wide as what it had miraculously achieved for the survivors of super typhoon Haiyan in 2013, pioneer Filipino peer support group for Filipino youths in Hong Kong, Section Juan, has maintained the weight of its cause, this time shedding the light on education for ‘minority’ children.

Dubbed “Raise the Roof III: Juan for Education”, the event, held last October 29th at Orange Peel in Central, has raised HK$6,000.

It has equally benefitted the children under the care of Christian Action Chungking Mansions Centre and Akyat Aral Org, a non-profit group of mountaineers, outdoor enthusiasts and hikers, which aims to help the children that live in far-flung mountainous areas of the Philippines.

Putting ‘ethnic identity’ at centre stage, Section Juan President Jan Yumul compared the situations in the Philippine and in the territory.

“If you notice, they are children of ethnic minorities in the Philippines. Here in Hong Kong, the children of refugees and asylum seekers are ethnic minorities,too. But because of their status, they do not enjoy the same rights as many of us do, “ said Yumul.

“This is ‘ethnic minorities helping other ethnic minorities’. Their parents aren’t allowed to work. We also want to remind Hong Kong that we are a part of it, that we are not only service consumers, but can be providers, too,” she added.

Section Juan has been told of the Hong Kong government’s support, but the education programme, according to Christian Action, is often underfunded.

This third “Raise the Roof” event will cover 300 families(including 200 students in Sitio Bulak of the Dumagat Tribe), General Tinio, Rio Chico, Nueva Ecija, Philippines.

The community lacks a functioning classroom and a toilet facility for its students (See info here: http://akyataral.blogspot.hk/2013/08/dumagat-of-sitio-bulak-first-look.html) Meanwhile, the other proceeds will also support the school needs of more than 20 children of refugees and asylum seekers under Christian Action.

The amount of $3,000 was personally handed by Yumul, to the team at Christian Action Chungking Mansions Centre last December 18th.

The other half of the fund, which amounted to P17,000, was turned over to the Akyat Aral Org team last December 31st.

Those who performed at RTR III included TeamHero, Eazy Beatz and J treze from Pinoy Wit Attitude, Pacific Garoupas,Raymarc and Henson.

The featured guest performers were HK-based Filipino-Chinese rapper J-Hoon (formerly with Kjwan and Kapatid) and Soul Sessions.

In 2011, the first time Raise the Roof was ever held, the event garnered more than HK$10,000 for the Bethune Migrant Women’s Refuge, a shelter for distressed migrant workers.

In 2013, it raised more $60,000 reaching Filipinos in Palawan, Cebu and Leyte affected by super typhoon Haiyan, locally known as ‘Yolanda’ in the Philippines.