Connecting Resources to Need

Being Neighbourly x Mal and Sal Begbie, Crossroads

Author/ Being Neighbourly
19 September 2025

To be honest, we still stand in disbelief [of how far we’ve come]. Like so many, we saw a need and longed to respond, but didn’t know how,” says Sal Begbie, Co-founder of Crossroads Foundation HK.

According to her and her Co-founder husband Mal, the realization that their skills and our lives could be used to make a difference was “profoundly empowering”. “The needs are great, and we have been given breath to serve. I suspect we will be here until one of those two changes,” she says.

Before setting up Crossroads, the Begbies were offering skills pro bono to NGOs in need, when, one evening, 30 years ago, one of them called and asked them to provide clothing for a staggering two million people.

Mal says that that was when they realised, “quite miraculously”, that Hong Kong had no large second-hand culture, yet possessed a vibrant shipping network to a world in need. “It was then we saw that we could be a ‘crossroads,’ connecting a world of resources with a world of need.”

What are the main service streams that Crossroads delivers? The charity serves the local and global community in two ways. On the one hand, they receive a wide range of products: electrical goods, household items, clothing, toys, computers and furniture, and place them in the hands of those in need locally, as well as in more than 100 countries worldwide.

On the other hand, they recognise that more people must be engaged if global needs are to be met.

To that end, they run experiential programmes that place participants in the shoes of those in need, so, “they may not only empathize more deeply, but also understand, in empowering ways, how they themselves can respond and make a difference, says Mal.”

Crossroads offers nine experiential programmes range from the family-friendly ‘Trail of World Need’, which cycles participants through issues like poverty, refugees and modern-day slavery. Set inside a series of shipping containers at Crossroads Village, the trail helps families explore these big topics together and brainstorm how they can help others in need.

Another is the ‘Blind X-perience’ in which attendees are led through an ‘African village’, in total darkness, by guides who are themselves blind. Without sight, participants will learn to navigate using sound, touch and scent.

Yet another is the ‘Challenge of Water’, which brings to life the burden of gathering water shouldered by the 1.1 billion people who lack access to clean water, and invites participants to consider solutions to help address the issue.

“There is an old adage that goes, ‘I cannot understand a man until I’ve walked a mile in his shoes.’ The deeper truth we have realised is this: empathy precedes sustained action. Where do we act? Where do we spend our time and resources? Always on things we care about. Our first task in rallying others to respond is to help them care,” say the Begbies, adding that care alone does not guarantee a strategic response.

To that end, each of their simulations, whether for students, NGOs, corporates, or world leaders at the World Economic Forum, offers three “E’s”: Education, Empathy and, ultimately, bringing joy. Also, Empowerment, so that all who wish can find ways to respond themselves.

“For over three decades, Crossroads has had the privilege of conveying Hong Kong’s philanthropic heart to a world in need,” says Sal Begbie.

According to her, the platform for this work has been the generous provision of land by the Hong Kong government.

“While conversations about our future location continue, they do so in the same spirit of partnership and synergy that has enabled millions of lives to be impacted over the years. This dialogue includes exploring new opportunities for both corporate and global philanthropic engagement.”

The Begbies say that for the foreseeable future, they remain fully-operational in their Gold Coast site, “simulations and all. We welcome any interested parties to contact us and book a session!”

For readers who wish to help, the Begbies believe no hands are too small to make a difference.

Families and schools are welcome to engage in relevant programmes, visit their fair trade shop and café, and even feed their goats, says Mal Begbie.

He adds that NGOs are welcome either to inspire their donors through these programmes, or to receive products that can help them serve better. Corporates can contribute through ESG-focused team-building events, or by donating surplus computers or products from their offices or supply chains.

Says Sal Begbie, “The needs are great, and whoever you are, you are needed.”

What is the best thing about the work that you do?

“We didn’t choose this work, it grew around us,” says Mal Begbie, co-founder of Crossroads HK.

“We remain deeply amazed that Hong Kong, and the world’s surplus resources, can reach out and transform so many lives, both here and around the globe,” adds Sal Begbie.

Crossroads Foundation HK
Crossroads Village , 2 Castle Peak Road, Gold Coast, Tuen Mun, NT.