Last Christmas, the SCMP/RTHK fund-raiser Operation Santa Claus raised more than HK$16 million, helping 27 charities realise projects to enhance the lives of children and adults. In this fortnightly series, we revisit some charities to give accountability to our readers and check in with those you helped so much.
Mrs Leung has cared for her four grandchildren since her son and daughter-in-law died recently of Aids. As farmers, they were both infected with the virus in the 1990s after selling their blood to unscrupulous blood traders on the mainland.
The grandmother and the children live in a small brick house with a mud floor in Anhui province . Families in the region generally earn about 1,500 yuan a year growing corn and beans.
'I want them to go to school, and not have to sell their blood like their parents did,' Mrs Leung said.
Recently the Chi Heng Foundation, a Hong Kong-based charity that helps 4,000 Aids-affected children on the mainland, handed out nutritional food bags to many families to ensure that children infected with HIV, or have HIV-infected parents, are provided with healthy food.
Mrs Leung gave a timid smile when presented with a bag full of food. 'You will need to help me carry it inside' she said. 'I'm an old woman, you know.'
As one of the 27 beneficiaries of Operation Santa Claus last year, the Chi Heng Foundation was able to purchase 10,000 food bags containing nutritious food, including soy milk powder, sausages and enriched peanut oil, as well as stationery for the children. More bags will be distributed for the Lunar New Year.