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The Story of
Founder
- A girl who fed from rubbish bins-
Childhood is normally filled with stability and warmth. However, Elli’s childhood had none of those as her father being emotionally unavailable and mother being trapped in China due to cultural revolution. In order to feed her stomach, the 3-year-old Elli would rummage through rubbish bins for leftovers. This all changed until one day when a social worker passed by. Witnessing Elli’s act, she snatched the leftovers from Elli’s hands and threw herself over Elli, hugging and crying. A few days later, Elli and her brother were sent to an orphanage to live for several years before returning to their parents.
From a young age, Elli has always believed that knowledge and education would change one’s course of life and improve one’s social mobility. She worked at commercial sales and marketing, and continued to volunteer at different services to contribute to the society. Her first hand life experiences in poverty had compelled her into helping those in poverty. In 2009, with a heart compelled to serve the poor and children, she quit her job and opened her home to help troubled youths on the streets using her own private savings. This led to the eventual opening of J Café at Nan Cheong Street in January 2012, and later also J Life Family Service Center at Tai Nan Street in August 2013. The rest is history.