Page 18 - Preservation for the Documentation of Chinese Christianity

VII. WORK OF AUXILIARY ORGANIZATIONS ,
Y. Hongkong Christian Welfare & R elief Council (Cont’ d)

Emergency Cash Assistance Committee Funds are made available to those member
agencies who have case work services and trained investigators, and grants are
made to individuals who have encountered such sudden emergencies as fir e in
their huts, destruction of their homes by floodwater or storm, death or serious
illn ess of the breadwinner of the family, destitution of the fam ily, starvation
of the family through desertion of the breadwinner, or illn ess or accidents to
children.

This work was supported during the year by churches of Germany and Japan
and by Britain through the Oxford Famine R elief Committee, and the work was
carried out on the Council's behalf by the Lutheran World Service, the Salvation
Army, the Presbyterian Casework Centre, and Church World Service.

Youth Work Committee The Committee has been able to offer technical advice,
help, and training of leaders by means of courses and
practical demonstrations, regular instruction in youth work to those taking
it up as a career, advice with both new and existing groups, and co-ordinating
inter-group a ctiv itie s.

During the year the original Youth Work Committee disbanded in favour of
a broader based Committee elected by public meeting, which in turn became the
Executive Committee of the Hongkong Federation of Youth Groups, a civ ic youth
work body having behind it the fu ll support and resources o f the Council,
whose programme includes the opening of three new youth groups in school
premises, the provision of further canoes for the use of member groups, the
provision of equipment fo r four schools in the New Territories to be equipped
as Youth Hostels and competitions and inter-group a ctiv itie s . It is run in
conjunction with the Department of Extra Mural Studies o f Hongkong University.

One of the a ctiv itie s which has become very popular during the year is
canoeing and many parties of boys, Chinese, Indian and European, have used
the canoes either for day trips or weekend camps. It is estimated that more
than 1,200 boys in 128 canoeing groups went out in the year.

Ecumenical World Camp Committee The 1962 ecumaiical work camp was held near
Tai Po and was devoted to building a read
for a new refugee children’ s home at St. Christopher's Home and Orphanage.

The Camp consisted of 18 young men and women, coming from three different
countries, and during the camp lectures on the churches’ part in socia l affairs
and problems in Hongkong were given, and instructional v isits were made to
Christian institutions and work both on Hongkong island and in the New
Territories.

Vocational Training Committee It is almost true to say that half of the
people of Hongkong ought to be in school,
so young is the population, and indeed a ll the school space that there is ,
most of it used twice over or even three times each day, is only enough to
give the simplest education to about half of those who should have i t . In
this situation where it is a struggle to leam to read and to w rite, a ch ild ’ s
future w ill depend more on the s k ill of his hands than on anything that he
is lik ely .to be able to leam , and part of the churches' contribution of
this need is by vocational training.

The Vocational Training Committee of the Council promotes this work, raises
funds for it overseas, and exchanges knowledge and experience in what is for
the churches a relatively new enterprise. In addition, the Council operates
a Practical Training Centre o f the Churches, a join t project on behalf of a ll
its members.

Eight of the Council’ s members are engaged in vocational training projects,
and serve about 700 people, while the join t project serves a further 500.

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