Laptop scheme set to bridge tech gap for children of asylum seekers in Hong Kong

With help of Operation Santa Claus, local charity Grassroots Future will be able to provide donated laptops to needy children

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With funding, Grassroots Future will be able to get its own laptops and run more IT programmes for the children of asylum seekers. Photo: Cindy Sui

Published: 4:54pm, 19 Nov 2024Updated: 5:03pm, 19 Nov 2024

Ibrahim, a father of two teenagers and an asylum seeker in Hong Kong, says he feels helpless for not being able to provide for his children, as buying new trainers or even educational tools needed for their learning such as laptops are out of his reach.

Because of his status, he cannot legally work, even though he has been in Hong Kong for 19 years.

“I have kids, but I can’t take care of them. I’m helpless for my kids,” said Ibrahim, who is from Africa. “They always complain, ‘Why don’t I have this? Why do my classmates have this?’

“At times, [my son] uses my phone and his mother’s phone to do homework, or a donated iPad, but he always complains he needs a keyboard.”

Local charity Grassroots Future, which helps refugees and asylum seekers, will soon be able to provide donated laptops to needy children with the support of an annual fundraising drive, Operation Santa Claus (OSC).

The project funded by OSC – TE(A)CH at the Grassroots – will also teach the children IT skills as well as coding and web tools useful for school, such as Canva for making PowerPoint slides.