Feature: CHINESE NEW YEAR - Bianca London talks to CIAC chairman Edmond Yeo
Published: 27 January, 2012
by BIANCA LONDON
"I go to sleep every night happy and peaceful because I know that I have helped my community.”
These are the words of Edmond Yeo, chairman of the Chinese Information and Advice Centre (CIAC), who has been working voluntarily to support disadvantaged Chinese people living in the UK for almost a decade.
Mr Yeo, who lives in Ealing with his wife and three children, offers free information, support and advice to Sino-Londoners who are battling problems such as the law, gambling addictions and domestic violence.
The former Ealing councillor said the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York had inspired him to take on his current role at the CIAC, which is based in Charing Cross Road.
“It was in September 2001 that I realised how fragile life was,” he says. “I then moved to the UK from Hong Kong, where I was working, to take on this volunteering role and give back to the community.”
Part of Mr Yeo’s work involves liaising with authorities, including the UK Border Agency, which recently carried out a search for illegal workers in Chinatown.
“There is often a huge language barrier and legal workers were wrongly arrested because of this raid,” says Mr Yeo. “Our main priority is to encourage active communication between authorities and communities.”
The CIAC have recorded an alarming rise in mental health issues and domestic violence in the Chinese community, which they attribute to gambling activity.
“With the pressures of modern-day living, people turn to gambling,” says Mr Yeo. “Some even go to betting shops in their 20-minute breaks from work.”
Eighty hours of weekly volunteering at the CIAC does not disuade Mr Yeo from engaging in other charity work.
He spent the festive period volunteering at a Crisis shelter, where he cooked meals for 1,500 of London’s homeless.
“It’s great fun,” he says. “A group of us get together and have to supply hundreds of meals in just a few hours. I relish the challenge.”
• For more information on the CIAC visit www.ciac.co.uk