Hong Kong’s low-income ethnic minority families in Tung Chung given food, relief amid Covid-19 pandemic

More than 100 low-income families in Tung Chung have been helped by a partnership of organisations including the Swire Trust and Zubin Foundation

Asma, a single mother, is among dozens of women struggling to make ends meet, as calls for support increase amid the ongoing public health crisis

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The Zubin Foundation has distributed relief items, including masks, to members of the ethnic minority communities in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout

Published: 10:00am, 20 Feb 2021Updated: 7:20pm, 24 Feb 2021

When Asma and her husband moved from Pakistan to Hong Kong 14 years ago, she could not have been happier. He had found work in the airport’s cargo area, giving her time to get used to life in the bustling metropolis.

After a year, they had a son – now aged 13 – and later a daughter, who is now 11. “I had a very happy life. My husband was very loving and caring,” said Asma, whose name has been changed to protect her identity.

But then disaster struck. In 2013, while standing at a bus stop in Hong Kong, Asma’s husband suffered a fatal heart attack and the family’s circumstances abruptly changed. All of a sudden, she became a single mother and sole breadwinner for her two children, which pushed her into depression.

“It was so hard to do everything,” she said.

A building site is seen in Tung Chung, one of Hong Kong’s fastest-growing areas. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

In the years since, Asma, 34, has been able to move her family into a government-subsidised home and is now taking part in a project that aims to support underprivileged communities in Tung Chung, one of Hong Kong’s fastest-growing yet underserved areas.