Jackie Pullinger
Jackie Pullinger is founder and director of St. Stephen’s Society in Hong Kong. She grew up in England but was called by God to Hong Kong in 1966 to work amongst the prostitutes and drug addicts living in the notorious walled city. Though fearful for her own safety, daily she would try to make contact with people who lived in some of the worst conditions one could imagine.
To begin with she made very little headway. However, God spoke to her saying that she needed to go and be as Jesus, with them. She needed to love them in a practical way. She soaked herself in scripture and prayer and this plus her new and very practical approach yielded a remarkable response.
Providing food, shelter and healthcare, visiting prisons, speaking up for victims, these became the ingredients of her everyday life. The situation was so transformed that even the drug barons watched out for her safety. She is still there and so is the church that grew from her work, but the Walled City isn’t. It was demolished in 2001.
Though the St Stephen’s Society began and continues to grow in Hong Kong, it also serves in countries surrounding Hong Kong, as well as the Philippines and Thailand.