Annual Report
2009 ANNUAL REPORT
INTRODUCTION
Christian Solidarity Worldwide HK (CSW HK) is an international, inter-denominational human rights charity registered under Section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance of Hong Kong.
Biblical basis of our ministry
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:8-9, NIV)
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8, NASB)
Our mission: Christian human rights
We work for the religious liberty of the persecuted and oppressed. Oftentimes, when a person is persecuted because of religious beliefs, he or she suffers from other forms of human rights violations. In working for religious liberty, we also work for freedom of the whole person, so that full respect for his or her human dignity is restored.
All Christ-followers are the hands and feet, the eyes and ears, and the heart of Jesus Christ. As such, He wants us to continue His mission of pursuing justice on this earth. Right before Jesus Christ went into public ministry, he read a passage in the book of Isaiah as the very essence of his earthly mission. He said: “The Spirit of the Lord anointed me to set the captives free” (Luke 4:18-19) This is also our mission – to set the captives free - free from physical prison, or legal restraints that prohibit them for worshiping God.
Our areas of ministry: prayer, advocacy and encouragement
In confronting those who oppress and persecute, we recognize first of all that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12).
We believe in informed prayer. For this reason, we send out weekly e-news summaries with prayer, conduct prayer campaigns and organize awareness-raising events. Everyone is invited to our monthly prayer meetings that focus on countries or issues; we also join international prayer campaigns such as the Global Day of Prayer for Burma, Day of Prayer for Nepal, Week of Prayer for North Korea, and International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted. These activities are organized to raise awareness among individuals, Christian churches, and to strengthen relationships with like-minded human rights organizations.
CSW HK’s thrust is to lobby before the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its member nations for changes in law, law enforcement and approaches to pave the way for greater religious freedom and respect for human dignity in compliance with basic tenets of international human rights. In this manner, CSW HK carries out its prophetic call, to speak up before governments and institutions so that the captives and oppressed will be set free.
We personally visit the persecuted and oppressed in our fact-finding missions and solidarity trips. While fact-finding missions are limited to a small number of people, solidarity trips are exposure trips that Christian volunteers may join so they can personally encourage the persecuted and oppressed.
We also invite volunteers to write letters to those in prison for their Christian faith, providing them with resources and names and address of persons they could write to. This is the least we can do for our suffering brothers and sisters in Christ.
Our countries of focus include North Korea, Burma, Malaysia, Philippines, Bangladesh and Bhutan.
Our management team is composed of a board of directors that include businessman Charles Dickson, counselor Jimmy Stewart, business manager Jeff Brice, and barrister Vivian Chih. They work together with Chief Executive Officer Anil Stephen and a team of volunteers.
Our financial support comes from donations by individual Christians, churches and charitable organizations mostly within Hong Kong. Our annual budget of HK$600,000 covers fact-finding and solidarity missions, humanitarian aid, conferences and other advocacy activities, operations and administrative expenses.
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