Page 23 - Preservation for the Documentation of Chinese Christianity

program of Hong Kong Christian Service was focused outward to
find ways for the Church to serve the community at large best.

The Volunteer Hospital Visiting Program sponsored by the
Medical Service Committee took up a great responsibility in
meeting the community needs and through the co-operation of the
hospital staff, visited patients once or twice weekly in Nethersole
Hospital and Mary lino11 Hospital. The third series of training
for hospital visitors was conducted in November and began to
make visits at Kwong Wah Hospital,

The problems of the educational system in Hong Kong were
under discussion from time to time during the year by the Social
Concern Committee, A simple survey through sixty Christian
schools indicated that though the Government has greactly expanded
the number of places and improved the quality of primary education,
there were still many problems, such as the demand for vocational
or technical schools and the secondary entrance examination etc.
The survey showed that many professional educators dissatisfied
with some aspects of the present system and would like to see
changes,

The "Ecumenical Study-Work Day Camp”was in order to learn

the problems of mentally handicapped children and to relate
these problems to the Christian faith of the participants. With
the co-operation from the medical social work staff of Queen
Elizabeth Hospital, a survey has given to two hundred mentally
handicapped children, hoping that the study would give a better
understanding of the needs of these children and the problems
faced by their parents and the community in meeting their needs.
The result of this camp indicated that it was successful and
that further projects of this kind should be developed. The
full report on the study of the menta,lly retarded will be
completed soon.

Six Hong Kong Social Welfare Agencies, Hong Kong Christian
Service, Lutheran World Service, Lutheran Church-Mlissouri Synod,
Hong Kong Family Welfare Society,Yang's Memorial Social Service
Centre, Hong Kong Union Church, and the Government Department
have combined to run a home, the Wah Hong Hostel, for one
hundred and twenty elderly persons. Independent persons (male
or female, couples) aged sixty or more, who pass a medical
examination and are certified free from infectious diseases, are
eligible to apply to be a resident of Wah Hong Hostel. There
are more than ninety residents in the Hostel now.

Besides these, Hong Kong Christian Service continued to
carry out its operating projects through three departments.

During 1969, the Material Resources and Services Department
received 1,349,873 pounds of food, clothing and other commodities
from overseas. A total of 166 institutions and over 97,000
people received regular service.

In early December there were two fires in the Tai Hang Tung
Squatter area. The department was able to distribute 4,975 blankets
to the fire victims through the Social Welfare Department.

The purpose of Handwork Department was to provide productive
work for needy people. Hand-knit items, neckties, smocked dresses
and blouses are fashioned by some fifty workers in the workshop
on the roof-top of Block 15, Wang Tau Horn Resettlement Estate.

In the academic year of 1969-1970, two hundred and fifty
students were interviewed and properly assigned with ork in one
hundred and ten voluntary agencies. In January 1970, the CSWP
Advisory Committee approved a raise in the monthly stipend to
$140,00. Four of the 1969 CSWP graduates donated one full
workscholarsliip to the Department.