Jacqueline Bryony Lucy ‘Jackie’ Pullinger,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(born 1944) is a

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Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Christian

charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and founder of the St Stephen's Society. She has been ministering in Hong Kong since 1966. The early years of her Hong Kong ministry are chronicled in the book ''Chasing the Dragon'' (1980).

History

Pullinger graduated from the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

in London having specialized in the

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

. At the age of 22 she wanted to be a missionary, so she wrote to various missionary organizations. Unable to find support from missionary organizations, she then sought advice from Richard Thomson, a minister. At first she wanted to go to Africa, but then she had a dream that impressed upon her the idea of going to

. She followed the vicar's advice and went to Hong Kong by boat in 1966. However, when she arrived she knew no one there and had only $10 on hand. The only reason the immigration officers allowed her in was because her mother's

godson In infant baptism and denominations of Christianity, a godparent (also known as a sponsor, or '' gossiprede'') is someone who bears witness to a child's christening and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelon ...

was a

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there. She found work as a primary school teacher in the

Kowloon Walled City Kowloon Walled City was an ungoverned and densely populated ''de jure'' Imperial Chinese enclave within the boundaries of Kowloon City, British Hong Kong. Originally a Chinese military fort, the walled city became an enclave after the New Ter ...

, which in the 1960s was not policed and consequently had become one of the world's largest

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

producing centres, run by Chinese criminal Triad gangs. Later she established a youth centre that helped the drug addicts and street sleepers inside the walled city. She also taught music at St. Stephen's Girls' College.

St Stephen's Society

In 1981, she started a

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

called the St Stephen's Society which provided

rehabilitation Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...

homes for recovering drug addicts, prostitutes, and gang members. By December 2007 it housed 200 people.Baynham, Jaco
Hong Kong missionary uses intensive prayer to help heroin addicts
San Francisco Chronicle. 17 December 2007. Retrieved August 14, 2008 The charity's work was recognized by the

Hong Kong government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, ...

who donated the land for the rehabilitation homes. The work continues.

Published works

* *

References

External links

rejesus - the story: Jackie PullingerSt Stephen's Society WebsiteChristian missionary Jackie Pullinger’s 50 years of helping Hong Kong addicts beat drugs – and find God
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South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...

'', 24 November 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pullinger, Jackie 1944 births English Protestant missionaries Members of the Order of the British Empire Protestant missionaries in China Female Christian missionaries Living people Alumni of the Royal College of Music English Charismatics English evangelicals Christian missionaries in Hong Kong Christian medical missionaries People from Croydon