A charity group which helps the refugee community is seeking support to boost its efforts to educate the needy, particularly to make recipients more tech-savvy. Grassroots Future is among 11 beneficiaries of this year's Operation Santa Claus (OSC). It was founded four years ago during the pandemic to help refugees and asylum seekers in Hong Kong. The charity now focuses on helping the recipients with their education, mental well-being and community building. Its director, Tegan Smyth, said with many things getting more expensive, such as textbooks, one of her group's initiatives is to relieve the financial stress of parents. "It's called TE(A)CH at the Grassroots and it's covering an IT program for refugee and asylum seeker children and their parents over a two-year basis. It's also covering textbook expenses, which is a really pressing need for the community," she said. Smyth said education is a major barrier for refugee children in the SAR, because their parents are unable to work, making it hard for them to pay upfront for textbooks and other school expenses. She added that her charity has been helping around 30 children a year, and she hopes the number will keep rising. Jointly organised by RTHK and South China Morning Post, OSC funds charitable projects that focus on children and youth, the elderly, the community, those with physical and mental disabilities, medical projects, and those concerning the environment. If you wish to make a donation, please visit the Operation Santa Claus website at https://oschk.org/.
