Here, Lum Kwok Choi, Head of the Fundraising Section at the Hong Kong branch of the UNHCR discusses the work that they do, and how youths can help in their own unique way.

UNHCR – Lum Kwok Choi, Head of Fundraising Section
iCUBED.us – Chris Lau
[November 2009]

UNHCR: Do you know who takes care of the 4.3 million refugees in the world? There are many organizations contributing to this effort. UNHCR is working under the UN mandate to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. We strive to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another country, and to return home voluntarily. By helping refugees go back home or to settle in another country, UNHCR also seeks lasting solutions to their plight. But before a lasting solution can be worked out, UNHCR addresses the more urgent needs of refugees, including for example, shelter, water and sanitation, etc.

iCUBED.us: Are political unstability and natural disasters the sole underlying causes for mass refugee migrations? Are there any other reasons for a large movement of people?

UNHCR: Social violence, construction projects, etc. may also cause large movements of people. But note that these people may or may not be considered as refugees. True, political unstability and natural disasters often lead to a mass movement of people, which renders them refugees.

iCUBED.us: If a young person wants to work for the United Nations or the UNHCR, where should their area of study focus?

UNHCR: In fact, any discipline. Currently, many colleagues in UNHCR working on refugee status determination have a legal background. But we also need people who can contribute to managing refugee camps, monitoring health projects, etc. In any case, you need a clear sense about, and a commitment to humanitarian work.

iCUBED.us: Can young people volunteer at their local branch of UNHCR? What type of work experience will they gain?

UNHCR: Young people are welcome to contact local UNHCR offices and register as volunteers. Depending on skills and availability of work, they might be assigned to different duties varying from administrative support, translation, to supporting event activities. Young people will not only get the experience related to their area of interest, but also gain in rich generic skills like time management, and an opportunity to experience interpersonal relationships in a multi-cultural environment.

iCUBED.us: How does the UNHCR raise funds? Are the refugees themselves self-sustaining in anyway?

UNHCR: The agency raises most of its funds from national governments and inter-governmental donors, currently about 93% of its overall income. At the same time, we are developing private sector fundraising programs to raise funds from private donors. This part of work contributes to about 3% of the overall income. The rest of income comes from the United Nation's regular budget and sister organizations' funding. In Hong Kong, our fundraising team works on private sector fundraising. In our work, our "face-to-face" recruiters outreach to the public on the street, trying to recruit monthly donors and deliver educational messages.

iCUBED.us: Do you have any experience of visiting refugee camps? What is the atmosphere like? Please share your experiences?

UNHCR: Recently I visited two refugee camps in Cox's Bazar district, Bangladesh. They are those "protracted refugees", some of them having stayed there for as long as 18 years, some of them shorter because they were born in the camps and are younger. They are waiting for a solution for their problem. They are longing for a new life. I met young as well as grown up people learning vocational skills eagerly. But of course, some refugees expressed disappointment of what their life situation had become.

iCUBED.us: What major projects does the UNHCR carry out in Hong Kong?

UNHCR: UNHCR manages refugee status determination and offer life support to refugees. We also seek lasting solution for refugees. Our services thus include assisting resettlement for refugees.

iCUBED.us: Are youths in HK and globally fully aware of the work that the UNCHR performs? How do you reach out to them?

UNHCR: There are always gaps. Many young people are not familiar with what the UNHCR is doing because refugee problems exist in places no where near to them, but rather, in remote corners of the world. However, we try to bring the issues to them by doing more media work and educational events. We appeal for donations for income, as well as for reaching out further to the public.


For more on the UNHCR HK and local UNHCR offices, please go the links below.

UNHCR Hong Kong www.unhcr.hk/en/home.html The United Nations Refugee Agency www.unhcr.org

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