Welcome!
On behalf of the Directors, we would like to welcome you to the fifth edition of our Newsletter, M.E.F. We are happy to say that Birthday Happiness Asia has started to deliver joyous parties in July, albeit Covid is still present in our society. People and organisations are starting to look post-Covid and how to live with the virus. The Social Welfare Department is now allowing organisations they financially support to have joyous parties in the Centres but unfortunately not allowing the children to eat and drink together. They will permit Participants to be served food and drinks but to be consumed at home or outside the venue.
In the month of July, Birthday Happiness Asia conducted three joyous parties. The first was at the Society for Community Organization in their Centre in Sham Shui Po. It was a great party with lots to birthday happiness thanks to our wonderful Volunteers, a delicious carrot cake kindly donated by Ms. Aubrey Edwards and goodie bags provided by the National Basketball Association. For a video created by Mr. Andrew Lupton, please go to check the home page.
The second party in July was in the Caritas Centre in Ngau Tau Kok. There were seven Celebrants and with their guests there were 35 Participants. Mr. Jeremy Meir kindly donated a delicious fruit cake. Ms. Alex Garcia, a member of our Funding Committee kindly donated a Piñata and all the children had great fun striking it and rushing for the sweets when the Piñata burst open. Alex comes from Mexico and for Mexicans a children’s birthday party is not a party without a Piñata. The South African Association as part of their Nelson Mandela Day 67 minutes came as Volunteers and brought and distributed goodie bags. Thank you very much. The third party of the month of July was in the Hans Andersen Club’s Centre in Tai O. The Centre in Tai O is small and the party had only 3 female Celebrants and with their guests a total of 11 Participants. It was highly enjoyable party thanks to the wonderful Volunteers, Eva, Tope, Andrew and Marcus. A Celebrant’s mother bought her daughter a beautiful new green dress for her special day. The Celebrants loved their gifts and everyone loved the goodie bags kindly donated by Eva. The Social Worker, Elaine Tang who enjoyed the party also will recommend to other Hans Andersen Club’s Officers in Charge to start having joyous parties with them. However, they will not start until October as they have a Flag Day in September to raise money and all their efforts will be devoted to
this. If you can help them in anyway, please contact Elaine at +852 2985 4200.
PARTIES IN AUGUST 2022
Because it is holiday and exam season for children in Hong Kong we have only one
joyous party in August in the Society for Community Organization’s Centre in Sham
Shui Po starting at 1.30 pm for 90 minutes We will send an email requesting Volunteers
for this joyous party very soon. We will restart in earnest in September.
HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL
An article on the Co-Founders of Birthday Happiness Asia, Mrs. Marilou and Edward
Fernandes and the organisation appeared in the Hong Kong Economic Journal on 27th
July, 2022. The Reporter, Ms. Maren Tam came to the party at the Society for
Community Organization on 9th July, 2022. They took photos of the joyous party, the
delicious carrot cake, the wonderful Volunteers who ensured it was a memorable
event and Jim Wong from the National Basketball Association who gave each
Participant an N.B.A goodie bag.
If you wish to read the article, please visit our MEDIA page.
If you are able to refer Birthday Happiness Asia to any other media outlets, please
contact us.
ASIA PACIFIC SOCCER SCHOOL
Birthday Happiness Asia has received confirmation from Mr. Paul Smith, owner of Asia
Pacific Soccer School they are willing to conduct football themed parties with us. Asia Pacific Soccer School will provide all the equipment and coaches for joyous football themed parties they conduct. Caritas and Harmony House have already indicated they would like to have football themed parties. Harmony House’s Centre in Yuen Long already has an established football team. Caritas in Ngau Tau Kok have also expressed a desire to have such a party as they have a room in their Centre that can accommodate 300 people. Paul as Co-Chairman Hong Kong Junior Football League will recommend to the committee as “it’s about time the league was involved more with charities.” It is possible we will discover the next Messi or
Ronaldo?!
NEW PARTNERING ORGANISATIONS
We are very pleased to inform our Friends that Birthday Happiness Asia has
reached an agreement to start conducting joyous parties with Harmony House
(https://www.harmonyhousehk.org/. Harmony House was established in 1985 and
was the first institution in Hong Kong to provide a shelter service for abused
women and their children.
Harmony House has three centres in Yuen Long, Kwai Chung, Kwun Tong and a
refugee centre somewhere in Hong Kong. For obvious reasons, we will not go to
the Refugee centre, but children can come to a joyous party in any of the other
Centres if the Social Worker assess they are OK to participate as all of them have
experienced unspeakable trauma.
It is hoped that the first party will be in the Centre in Kwun Tong and maybe later
this year have a football themed party at the Yuen long Centre sponsored by Asia
Pacific Soccer School where they already have an enthusiastic and successful
football team.
We are also pleased to inform our Friends that Birthday Happiness Asia has also
reached an agreement with Hong Kong Society for the Deaf to conduct joyous
parties with them.
The Society for the Deaf was established in 1968 to promote the well-being of the
hearing impaired and seeks to ensure equal opportunities for hearing impaired
persons. The Society has a number of kindergarten, Primary and Secondary
schools and a Centre in Kowloon City for graduates of their schools.
Mr. Tam Kai Yan, Kyan, Acting Service Coordinator (Education) came to the
Caritas party as a Volunteer to observe how we conduct joyous parties for the
hearing and how it can be replicated for less fortunate children with hearing
disabilities.
After the party, in the Caritas Centre Mr. Tam spoke to Birthday Happiness Asia
and expressed an interest to have a trial party with older deaf students in their
Centre in Kowloon City in September but not in English but in Cantonese because
the children can only lip read Cantonese.