Ms. Lam's (not her real name) family is financially disadvantaged, and the family of four relies on her husband's work as a casual labourer on construction sites to support their living expenses. They have been on the waiting list for public housing for eight years and still have not been allocated a unit. They can only live in a cramped room of about 100 square feet. To avoid waking up their 3-year-old brother, sometimes their 16-year-old son has to eat in the smelly bathroom. The living environment is extremely poor, and the situation is truly unbearable.

In the past three years, due to the pandemic, Ms. Lam's husband's workload has been reduced by half, and his monthly salary averages only a little over HKD 10,000. The pressure of life has increased greatly, and they are forced to use their savings to pay for living expenses. To save money, Ms. Lam goes to the market in the evening to buy cheaper vegetables. Even if the weather is hot and she is sweating all over, she would rather go to the park to cool down than turn on the air conditioning, to save electricity.

Later, through the introduction of relatives, Ms. Lam came into contact with Christian Action’s Mong Kok Service Centre. She receives nutritious food such as rice, milk, and eggs every month; Ms. Lam is very grateful for CA’s help. A balanced diet helps her children to grow up healthily and the money saved, is used to buy daily necessities. She said, "With the current inflation and need to take care of two children and elderly parents, if it weren't for the help of Christian Action to relieve our economic pressures, I don't know how to pay for our basic living expenses?"