Yhk 2 4 always here

a quarterly journal from the hongkong federation of youth groups

December 2010

Volume 2 Number 4

C an om ni m ve e rs mo ar ra y ti is ve su e

Always here

1960-2010

Contents

Anniversary messages

The Hon Donald Tsang, Patron Sir T.L. Yang, Vice Patron Mr George H. Stokes, Vice Patron Dr Peter Tsoi, President

5 Editorial 6 Highlight

Rosanna Wong Ever changing, always here

Interviews HKFYG Council Members

Involved, connected, committed

16 Peter Tsoi, President 18 Clara Shek, Ogilvy

Listening, communicating, facilitating

19 Hubert Chan, HKC International

Seeing two sides of cyberspace

20 Allen Fung, McKinsey

Getting involved: a dose of reality

Feature 36 Internetscope

Reaching out in cyberspace

38 City space

Sporting chance

In the loop 46 Asia Bibi

Dress to impress!

47 June Leung

A chance to re-invent your self

48 Kaleidoscope

George H. Stokes, Vice Patron The founding of the Federation

December 2010 Volume 2 Number 4

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Identifying needs, targeting problems Youth at risk

On the skids

10 Late night hang out 12 At the margins 14 Parent-child mediation

Resolving conflicts

Counselling 22 Close to the edge 24 Special needs, special strategies 25 Turning monsters into kittens 27 Youth entrepreneurship

Think sustainable: interview with Alex Tam, Ecosage co-owner

30 Youth SPOT project

Saving up for future needs

Addictive behaviour 32 Escape from reality

34 Future at stake 40 Arts & culture

Sugar Chan Why I dance

Travel 44 Anaita Tejpal

Welcoming the New Year with lights: Diwali

45 Au Ka-lam

The Chinese experience: Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong

HKFYG Core Services

Counselling Creativity Education & Youth Exchange e-Services Education Services Leadership Training Leisure, Cultural & Sports Services

Parent-child Mediation Research & Publications Services for Youth at Risk Volunteer Services Youth Employment Youth SPOTs

HKFYG Anniversary Messages Warmest congratulations to the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups on its 50th Anniversary. As our key partner in youth development, the Federation works tirelessly to encourage young people to lead a life driven by a sense of mission, civicmindedness, healthy habits and positive attitudes.

Many of these young people have become responsible adults, model citizens and even brilliant leaders in our society.

I thank the Federation for its commitment to our younger generation. May I wish the Federation another fruitful half-century.

The Honourable Donald Tsang, GBM Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Patron

My most sincere congratulations for the Golden Jubilee. Together, we nurture young people; together, we strengthen them to face the challenges ahead, and together, for at least the next fifty years, the Federation will inspire them to even greater things.

Sir T.L. Yang, GBM, JP Vice Patron

The foundations of the HKFYG were established by the time I left in 1970. Those foundations still stand firm. The Federation meets so many needs in the community, with so many different activities now. May the good work continue for another fifty years.

Mr George H. Stokes, MBE Vice Patron For fifty years, the Federation has been providing services to generations of young people. It would not have been possible without the assistance, encouragement and partnership of the community.

On behalf of everyone at the Federation, I would like to express my deep gratitude for this support.

We so value your trust in us.

Dr Peter Tsoi, JP President

Editorial

I

would like to thank our Patron and Vice Patrons for their encouraging words and their abiding support. It is our honour, obligation and joy to fulfil our vision and mission to serve the young people of Hong Kong.

In this special issue of Youth Hong Kong, we have invited those at the frontline of Federation services to talk about their work. With them, we discover the nature of the young people we care for and serve.

Outreach and social workers, along with mediators and counsellors, share the challenges they face, while young people reflect on their own experiences.

Hong Kong has changed over the past 50 years, as have the aspirations, issues, needs and dreams of young people. Throughout, the Federation has been here, constantly gaining insight into the world of youth so that we might be able to deliver relevant and timely services.

This is our commitment. It is our pledge and promise: to care, to serve, to always be here for each successive generation of Hong Kong’s young people.

Dr Rosanna Wong, DBE, JP Executive Director The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups December 2010

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Highlight

Ever changing, always here

by Rosanna Wong

No one would deny that the changes in Hong Kong over the past 50 years have been anything short of tremendous.

Leaving aside the unique political transition from colony to Special Administrative Region, this is a city which has transformed itself economically and socially. Here we trace the parallel changes in services for youth.

In the 1960s, Hong Kong had a global reputation as a “factory city”, manufacturing inexpensive, but not always safe or reliable products. A burgeoning middle class was still dwarfed by the large labouring class which worked hard in difficult, dangerous conditions and lived simply, in overcrowded squatter settlements or housing estates. They received little by way of social provision or assistance from a government whose focus was on administrative affairs and containment of unrest, especially at the time of the 1967 riots and the acute water shortages.

For a vast number of young people, working to help the family out of poverty took priority over both a carefree childhood and an education.

With a dearth of trained youth workers, the various youth organizations could do little more than simply provide recreational facilities and opportunities, instead of addressing more deep-rooted challenges and offering in-depth, diversified services.

The beginnings of a social policy

By the end of the 1960s and into the next decade, changes included a marked development in social policy. While some might argue that this was a reactive, rather than a proactive action on the part of the government to ensure social stability, it did improve the material conditions of the people. Youth organizations also began introducing various initiatives to establish more comprehensive services. Pilot projects included youth counselling and guidance, as well as service projects for young people working in industry and outreach social work.

However, the focus still tended to be on remedial work, rather than on the all-round development of young people and their potential.

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The 1970s were marked not only by the extension of governmentsubsidized education from six to nine years, but also by the introduction of a housing policy and the emergence of subsidized primary healthcare. The city was changing too as a result of the opening up of the mainland. This saw manufacturers moving their factories north of the border and Hong Kong redefining itself as a commercial, serviceorientated city. As a result, incomes increased as did the standard and quality of living, allowing for a high degree of upward social and economic mobility.

“For a vast number of young people, working to help the family out of poverty took priority over both a carefree childhood and an education.”

The emergence of new priorities

Young people’s needs and issues were reflected in these changing times and youth organizations responded by further consolidating their counselling and outreach work and by instigating a new focus on family life and school social work. The latter two developments are indicative of Hong Kong’s growing stability, in that family and education now appear as major concerns, compared to poverty, long working hours and low wages in the past.

Highlight In the 1980s, the future of Hong Kong was negotiated. While this had repercussions in political circles, the city was booming economically and was slowly asserting itself as a wealthy business and financial centre. In fact, the ever-changing, ever-higher skyline was a visible indicator of the growing prosperity of Hong Kong, in spite of the rise in emigration.

Increasing affluence, increased expectations

With growing affluence, the challenges faced by young people changed as their expectations and aspirations rose. No longer dependent on outlets for simple recreational activities, youth services now included focus-on holistic development and broader experiences. Young people were now being equipped with skills to face an increasingly competitive world, participating in increasingly popular exchange programmes, and getting involved in science and other educational activities outside the classroom.

“With growing affluence, the challenges faced by young people changed, as their expectations and aspirations rose.”

As the professional standards of social and youth workers improved, so too did their delivery of services to young people. With enhanced effectiveness and efficiency, the government consequently recognized these efforts as standard subvented services.

Politics and economics were the focus of the 1990s. The Handover was imminent and the Hong Kong government tried to ensure a stable society. Emigration again was on the rise and while the community felt uneasy, the markets were more affected by worldwide trends than local domestic politics.

Hong Kong was now confirmed as an affluent city, referred to as the world’s freest economy and one of the four dragons of Asia, at the

forefront of commerce, including finance, shipping, tourism and service industries.

Increasing complexities

The shift in attitude among young people reflected not only this growing wealth, but also a sense of entitlement, which was countered by a focus on volunteering, and leadership development, awarenessbuilding and education on how to give back to society. None of these new service areas detracted from fundamental counselling and needsrelated services, but the challenge for youth organizations was remaining relevant in a context of increasing complexity.

“The need to constantly update their competencies has placed today’s young people under levels of unprecedented pressure.”

Now, into the second decade of the new century, Hong Kong is not only a global economic player, but a leader in human development as well. Ranked second by the World Bank in its index for ease of doing business, Hong Kong is also ranked highly in the newly released UNDP 20th Anniversary Human Development Report, entitled “The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development”.

Hong Kong has a key role to play in globalization and this too has had its effect on youth. Their need to constantly update competencies in the face of increased competitiveness from peers locally and overseas, along with the rapidity of technological advancement, has placed them under unprecedented levels of pressure. The internet and new media have introduced new forms of connectivity and communication, while also introducing new sets of problems and challenges. Youth organizations too have had to update and modernize their responses to ensure continued effective and efficient delivery of services to meet the needs of young people.

Not always easy, and ever-evolving, the last 50 years of Hong Kong’s rapid and expansive development has had inevitable bearing on young people. Each generation of youth has been seen as the future, and at each stage of development, youth services have been there to assist, lead, educate, counsel and serve.•

Sources 1

“Fifty years: past and present at The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups”, Youth Hong Kong 2(1), March 2010, p.43.

2

The World Bank, Doing Business 2011 report on measuring business regulations, covering the period from June 2009 to May 2010. See http:// doingbusiness.org/rankings (accessed 7 November 2010)

3

UNDP, Human Development Index 2010, “The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development,” International Human Development Indicators, Hong Kong. See http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/HKG. html. For the full report, see http://www.undp.org/publications/hdr2010/en/ HDR_2010_EN_Complete.pdf (accessed 7 November 2010)

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Identifying needs, targeting problems

Youth at risk

On the skids Outreach services for vulnerable youth, at risk of involvement in drugs, violence or crime, are at the core of the Federation’s work. The three stories in this section, about drug abuse, petty theft and late night gang activity, are examples of the services in action.

Wing is 17. Ever since he was little, he has felt insecure. His parents got divorced when he was at primary school and now his mum works night shifts. He started hanging out with triads who gave him a sense of protection.

That’s how he got into drugs, and dropped out from school. There was never much supervision at home and most of his time there he used to spend online. He got pocket money for drugs from his unemployed father who lives off Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) welfare payments. Wing told us about his experience, and how the Federation helped him give up drugs.

Almost everyone I used to hang out with did drugs. It was normal. Just like drinking coke or eating noodles. I remember snorting my first hit of K. I was with a member of the gang. It was no big deal, I just felt a bit distant. So I did it again.

Then I really went K-riding.

Right into the K-hole. It was like floating, like flying, a real mind-out-of-body feeling. Because Mum was working all the time and Dad was out of the picture, it was easy to get away with it.

I started buying drugs online and had them delivered. In the end I needed them so badly that if I couldn’t get money off Dad I would steal it off him, till he found out.

Then I spent the money Mum gave me for food on drugs. I almost never ate anything. I kept forgetting things.

I dropped out completely from school and didn't care because I was flying high. But actually I was on the skids.

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One day at a friend's home, I blacked out. It had happened before but this time it was different. I started throwing up blood and my stomach burned so I couldn't stand. On the way home at an MTR station I blacked out again. That’s when the Federation social worker found me.

She took me to a doctor.

He said I had bladder damage and a stomach ulcer. I haven't done K for a few months now. I feel better about everything, I don't fight with my Mum any more and my Dad is speaking to me again.

I also joined Project Shine and the social workers helped me get my place back at school. I’ve discovered break dancing too.

Break dancing really helps so I go down and join the others a couple of nights a week. The only reason I stay out late now is for break dancing.

Identifying needs, targeting problems Every time I think about how I used to be I feel sick. So many of my friends think they're fine but I know they're not. Now I remember everything I learn at school. I even feel smarter. But even now I still can't remember a lot of what happened before I quit.

I’ve got a message for parents, especially if they are divorced. Get on the same page as your kid. Check in with them often, and be sneaky if you suspect something. Learn how to check a computer history log. If my Mum knew how to do that, she would have known I had a problem.•

Note In Hong Kong, ketamine, often known as “K” or “K Jai”, is the drug of choice for teenagers. It is easily available and cheaper than drugs like heroin and Ecstasy, at about HK$100 per gram compared to about HK$80 for an Ecstasy tablet. Users often take several Ecstasy tablets together, but a group of users share a gram of ketamine. For more on youth drug abuse in Hong Kong, see Youth Hong Kong December 2009.

HKFYG’s outreach programme and Project Shine

The immediate outreach service provided by HKFYG for Wing was based on his most urgent needs. Subsequent intervention included medical check-ups, activities and, later, help finding work. The goal was to help him grow and develop while reflecting on his behaviour and acquiring positive values.

Project Shine is a Beat Drugs project run by HKFYG Outreaching Social Work Teams in Tsuen Wan and Kwai Chung, and Sai Kung and Wong Tai Sin districts. It helped 144 youngsters like Wing from September 2008 to August 2010 and organized 47 anti-drug abuse programmes for about 3,340 young participants during that period.

Project Shine went into its second phase in September 2010 and Project Shine II will build on past experience, offering counselling to high-risk and habitual drugs users. A clinical psychologist will join the team which is supported by partners in the local community, including government departments and district organizations.

Web http://www.hkfyg.org.hk/chi/yar/index1c.html

All names and some of the circumstances surrounding the people in these stories have been adjusted to protect identities.

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Identifying needs, targeting problems

Youth at risk

Late night hang out Outreach social workers are keen observers, and they sometimes keep youngsters out of trouble. Young people who hang out late in public places might be escaping tension at home. Others are looking for personal space, stressed out by high-density living. A few of them need help.

Late at night, the outreach workers go round parks, playgrounds, promenades and internet cafés. On foot or by car. The idea is to keep an eye on things. Often they work the same neighbourhoods. Developing rapport with the young people who hang out there. Bored kids, chatting, playing cards, break dancing or skateboarding. This story, set in the present tense for dramatic effect, describes how they deal with one incident.

It's Friday night. Mike and Kathy, two of the outreach team, are in a housing estate playground. They see a group of teenagers. The two they know look different somehow. What’s up? Obviously neither want to talk.

Even though Mike and Kathy have known them for months. Strange, Ben and Chris usually like to chat about what’s happening. Trivial or important, it’s all the same. Tonight’s different. Something serious. There are unfamiliar faces. Maybe a bit older, 17 or 18. They don’t look happy. Quite annoyed in fact.

Kathy’s worried. Wants to make sure Ben and Chris aren’t in danger.

“Hi guys, how’s life?”

She and Mike introduce themselves to the older guys. Ask if they’re

“Not bad, same as usual.”

interested in the outreach show in Tseung Kwan O Sports Centre that night. It keeps going till 2am.

“Did you get that part-time job, Chris?”

Not interested. Dismissive even. Soon, the group breaks up. Looking

“Nope. Still looking.”

purposeful. They disappear quickly.

“How about you, Ben? Catching up better in class?”

Ben and Chris, usually go home about midnight or they go to the Sports Centre. Not tonight. Still worried some kind of fight’s brewing, Mike

“So far so good.”

and Kathy follow. Ben and Chris are in a park 5 minutes’ walk away.

On the fringes of a much larger group. It looks like an argument with another gang. Kathy decides to break in. No weapons were in sight. But

“Everything OK guys?”

trouble for sure.

“Why d’you keep asking?”

“Hey guys. Anything we can do? You’re looking kind of unhappy.”

“You look a bit worried, Ben. That’s all.”

The tension between the groups seems to ease a bit. Kathy’s been

“He’s alright, Kathy. Leave him alone.”

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around for a while. Her face is known. She understands the dynamics of

Identifying needs, targeting problems situations like this. Maybe it’s her tone of voice. Or her body language.

Maybe it’s just that she’s older. Finally, Ben’s older brother, Rocky, who’d been in the playground earlier, steps forward. He’s grown a beard.

“Almost a fight at Ben’s school today,” he mutters. “He tripped up another boy in the corridor. He got insulted. It didn’t get physical. But I still don’t like that.”

Rocky’s a pretty tough, aggressive type. He doesn’t like anyone messing with his brother. He’d found out who was involved. This was show down time.

“These guys have been picking on Ben. They shouldn’t do that.

It makes me angry. They should apologize. Right now.”

“Let’s cool it a bit Rocky, and get things sorted out nice and easy.

Don’t want anyone to get hurt, do we?”

Extended Services for Young Night Drifters

The services began in 2001 in Sai Kung and Tseung Kwan O. They are proactive rather than reactive, geared to build positive self-images and set life goals. Of 855 young people who used the services in 2009/10, about 78% (664) were male and 22% (191) female. Most were aged 14-17 and came from a mix of family backgrounds. Apart from handling potential crises such as the one in the story, outreach workers also take young people home if need be, and tell them about daytime youth services, if appropriate. They follow up more closely as necessary, on problems such as employment, health and education. Regular events are held at Tseung Kwan O Sports Centre late on Friday nights where a safe, open space is provided for break dancing, basketball, badminton and some other sports. Social workers onduty provide counselling services and basic medical check-ups if necessary, as well as conveying an anti-drug abuse message.

Email ynd@hkfyg.org.hk

Ben, Rocky and the student at Ben’s school who’d started things, confronted each other, glowering. They jeer and spar. Kathy broke in again.

“If you make a row like that someone will call the police. We’ll all be in trouble. Come on guys. It takes two to make a fight.”

Things are pretty tense for a while. The outreach workers try to cool things. At last everyone backs off. The groups break up.

“Time to go home,” called Ben to Kathy, “and thanks.”

Kathy and Mike sigh, and relax for now. Outreach work is a neverending task. The more you do, the better you get. You know how youngsters’ minds work, who their families are, who hangs out where.

Details matter a lot. So does experience and patience.•

Further reading

Lee, Francis Wing-lin, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, University of Hong Kong. Youth Mobile Teams for Young

Night Drifters in Hong Kong. Conference de Montpellier, 15-18 July 2002.

Newbery, Peter. “Youth Outreach: Crisis Intervention with Marginal Adolescents”, Asian Journal of Counselling 2(2), 1993.

Newbery, Peter and Shum, David. “Hong Kong's Alternative Night Life: A History of the All-Night Outreaching Service for Hong Kong Runaways”,

Journal of Youth Studies 2(2). July 1999.

All names and some of the circumstances surrounding the people in these stories have been adjusted to protect identities.

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Identifying needs, targeting problems

Youth at risk

At the margins There are vulnerable young people on the margins of every society. This is the story of Harry. He stole a phone, got caught and then felt so bad he made a big effort to get back on track, with the help of the HKFYG Youth Support Scheme.

“I’m Harry and I’m 15 this year. Last year there was a boy in my

upset my mum would be. I was so ashamed. My dad was working

class who was always picking on me, making fun of my clothes and

on a building site and he managed to make just enough to keep us

my accent. I really hated him, so one day I stole his mobile. Just for

all alive. I realized my idea of getting revenge was so stupid. I didn’t

a laugh really. Just to get revenge. Then I thought I could make some

know what to do. I knew I’d be labelled as another useless kid and I

pocket money by selling the phone and nobody would ever find out.

just started to cry.”

That’s when my life went wrong.”

Harry took the phone to a local shop but the police were watching it.

The vendor had been suspected of dealing in stolen goods.

“If you make a bad mistake, don’t hate yourself for it. Tell yourself you can turn things around.”

“My mind went blank when that policeman tapped me on the shoulder. My legs froze and I couldn’t move. I just thought how Harry was cautioned under the Police Superintendent’s Discretionary Scheme (PSDS) and came to the HKFYG Youth Support Scheme for aftercare. He was still very upset and confused by the time he met the Federation’s caseworker, but as a result of consistent, caring support he slowly regained self-esteem. He learned how to box with the police and was very good at it. He was good at basketball and running too.

“I was really excited when I found out I was good at sports. I’d never tried very hard before.

Another thing that made a big difference to me was realizing that other people needed looking after. Mum for example. Seems like nobody looks out for her most of the time.”

Now Harry always seems to have a smile on his face and shares an extremely close bond with his mother. She always stood by him and now they

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Identifying needs, targeting problems really enjoy talking to each other.

“I think if you make a bad mistake, don’t hate yourself for it. Tell yourself you can turn things around. Keep telling yourself. Just give it a try. Never give up.”

He also started volunteer work with some handicapped kids.

“They were so hopeless, so helpless. It made me realize how lucky I really was, and that I could do a lot for them just by being around. It also helped me back at school because I could write about it for my OLE. Nobody knows it all started because I stole that phone.”•

“Keep telling yourself. Just give it a try. Never give up.”

The HKFYG Youth Support Scheme (YSS) is part of HKFYG’s core services to youth at risk. It began with support from the Lotteries Fund in 1994, became a subvented service by October 1998, and was a territory-wide project by December 2001. Now it provides individual and group counselling to young people aged 10-18 who have been cautioned under the Police Superintendent’s Discretionary Scheme, in Kwai Tsing, Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun districts and Tung Chung. In 2009/10, YSS handled a total of 655 cases.

Normally, juvenile offenders regret what they do. Their self-esteem hits rock bottom. A criminal record would ruin their lives. If they get a second chance they can make a remarkable turn-around. Most of the cases dealt with by YSS concern minor offences such as theft, shoplifting, or common assault. They come to us via the Crisis Assessment Sessions at Divisional Police Stations. The young offenders are given education and career counselling and they take part in programmes that improve their social and interpersonal skills, such as sport and volunteer services which heighten their sense of purpose and civic awareness.

Web http://www.hkfyg.org.hk/chi/yar/index1a.html

Boxing training organized by the Police’s “Operation Breakthrough” programme for teenagers cautioned under PSDS

Note Other Learning Experiences (OLE), introduced with the new secondary school curriculum and including experiences such as voluntary community work.

All names and some of the circumstances surrounding the people in these stories have been adjusted to protect identities.

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Identifying needs, targeting problems

Parent-child mediation

Resolving conflicts “All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Leo Tolstoy

Negotiating the minefield of disagreements between parents and teens is difficult. Adolescence is a time when rules and expectations at home can escalate into fierce arguments. Professional mediators can teach communication skills to solve problems at home or avoid worse conflicts, like the one that blew up in the Chan household. Philippa, a social worker, sets the scene…

Philippa the mediator

Parents tell me about problems with their kids that they can’t solve. If the child agrees we try to have a dialogue. In this case, I already knew that the Chans had been living in Tuen Mun for almost 20 years and that Ah Mui, now 16, had a younger brother called Ah Wah. First I ask for both points of view.

Mrs Chan to Philippa Ah Mui has been staying out all night since she was 14, sometimes with boyfriends. I don’t like it but I’m more worried about her homework than anything else.

Once she didn’t come home for two nights. I tried her mobile. She’d never leave that behind, but I could only leave a voicemail. I was at the end of my tether. I called the police and reported her missing.

A couple of hours later she turned up. She completely ignored me and I lost my temper, calling her many things that I feel embarrassed about now.

Ah Mui to Philippa Dad let me in. Ah Wah was in his pyjamas, stuffing himself with snacks at the computer as usual. I just walked past my mother. She just started yelling, calling me a slut and whore. She never asked where I’d been. Basically she doesn’t trust me. And she only really loves Ah Wah. She’s always nagging. “Get off the phone.” “Change your clothes.” “Eat your food.” It’s never-ending. Ah Wah, a year younger than me, never gets that. She’s always fussing over him. As for my father, he just shuts himself off from all of us.

I’d stayed out plenty of times before so why the worry this time? I think it’s to humiliate me. But I’m 16! I’m not a child! And I’d already finished my homework, which is the only thing she cares about most of the time, apart from Ah Wah.

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Mrs Chan to Philippa We didn’t speak to each other for a week after that, not easy when four of you live in less than 500 square feet.

My husband never gets involved with the kids. All the burden is on me.

I just can’t understand her. Ah Wah doesn’t make me crazy like her.

What kind of future will she have if she doesn’t work hard?

Identifying needs, targeting problems On the first day of term there was loads of publicity including a circular about talks by the school social worker. It said she helped parents get on better with their children. I knew things couldn’t go on the way they were so I signed up. Of course I did it without talking to Ah Mui. She would just have said “no”!

Mrs Chan That’s not the way to do homework! Every time I look you're messing around instead of working hard! Do you think I am stupid? You give me no respect and I can see right through you…

Philippa

They calmed down a bit and we continued…

In fact Ah Mui agreed but before we started I made sure they knew the basic rules they would have to follow, such as no bad language and no interrupting. Then, I asked them to focus on a specific problem to sort out. Ah Mui wanted her mother to trust her and she wanted to be treated the same way as Ah Wah. Mrs Chan wanted Ah Mui to concentrate on schoolwork and take her future more seriously. The next step was to bring them together and finally, they both agreed to focus on solving academic problems.

Mrs Chan Ah Mui doesn’t realize how important school is. She thinks that it’s a waste of time. I have to push her otherwise she spends all her time on the computer or the phone. That makes her a bad role model for her young brother.

Ah Mui How do you know how long I spend on homework? You think I’m using the computer to chat or waste time, never that I’m using it to do homework. When I phone my friends we don’t just gossip you know, we’re checking our answers too.

Philippa Remember the ground rules! No swearing, no insults.

Ah Mui You never get complaints from school do you. The problems are all in your imagination. I don’t know what you want except to cut off the internet connection and take my phone. Why can’t you trust me?

Mrs Chan How can I trust you when I don’t know what you’re doing? I don’t know your friends and I don’t understand how you can do homework with other people. Homework is homework, just sit down and do it!

They became very hostile and insulting at that point so I invoked the ground rules again and got them to refocus on the academic issues again.

Philippa The world has changed since you were at school Mrs. Chan.

Maybe, Ah Mui, you could show your mother what you’re doing online and introduce her to your friends. Mrs. Chan, I think Ah Mui can be a responsible girl. As she said, there have been no complaints about her homework. If both of you give and take a bit more, talk to each other more, it will help, especially if you don’t think of your mother as an enemy, Ah Mui. Ah Mui OK I’ll try, as long as she treats me the same as Ah Wah. Mrs Chan I’ll try too, if Ah Mui gets some homework done at weekends.

Philippa concluded

Social workers can’t perform miracles and it’s hard to predict how things will turn out. I think we’ve found a way to lower the household’s emotional temperature by negotiation. They both focused on a mutual goal rather than to think only of themselves and their grievances. Some things are very hard to change and Mrs Chan does appear to be show more affection to her son, not uncommon among more traditionally-minded parents. Now she is aware of it, perhaps it will be easier to treat the two of them equally.•

HKFYG Parent-child Mediation Centre

When trust breaks down, motivation to communicate can be reestablished through a neutral third party acting as a mediator.

A special centre was set up in 2008 to offer such mediation for parent-child conflict. It is near the HKFYG Jockey Club Ping Shek Youth SPOT. Similar services are also offered at five HKFYG Youth SPOTs as part of the Federation’s efforts to develop mutual respect and improve parenting skills.

Web http://pcmc.hkfyg.org.hk All names and some of the circumstances surrounding the people in these stories have been adjusted to protect identities.

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Interview

HKFYG Council President

Involved, connected, committed Dr Peter Tsoi has been working for youth for over 20 years, both in his professional capacity as a specialist in psychiatry and as a member of HKFYG’s Council. He has now taken on the mantle of President and in the next few pages we explore his breadth of vision for the Federation. Three new members of the Council also tell us why they find working with young people so rewarding.

“I see our task having three parts. The first essential is to identify and understand young people’s needs. Second, we can try to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, or whose voices are not heard, thus making the community aware of those needs. Third, we can do pioneer work and steer our services to fill the needs.”

Being sensitive to needs “For me, working with youth is exciting and fulfilling because of the development that takes place in the childhood and teenage years.

During the growing-up process so many things are not fixed. You can really do something to change the course of a young person’s life and you will be able to see the results for a long time to come.

“It is very important to let people know about all the ways in which they can contribute to our work with youth, regardless of their age and background. Once they find out how helpful they can be, they will certainly do more.

“You can really do something to change the course of a young person’s life and see the results for a long time to come.”

“The strongest influences on a young person are the family and school. At HKFYG we supplement and facilitate, filling in gaps in the learning and growing-up process. We can’t serve all the people in Hong Kong, no matter how big we become, no matter how comprehensive our services.

What we can do is try to take the lead.

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Interview

“An important part of our work is to be pioneers, being sensitive to

Shaping up for the future

the needs of today’s younger generation, trying to keep up to date and

“The way we shape our young people for their future will in turn affect

create models that we hope others will follow.

the shape of our future world. They are the ones who will push forward development. As I result, I foresee the generation gap getting bigger. To

The neglected generation

bridge that gap, to avoid conflict, sooner or later we need young people

“People are all the same, no matter when they were born. The difference

to take a bigger hand as policymakers. For that reason, they need to be

comes from the changes in their environment and the influence these

equipped to take up responsibility in leadership roles.

changes have.

“We have to consider the problems of an ageing society very “When the territory was preparing itself for the Handover we saw a

carefully. Many old people will be depending on young people. Their

lot of panic, doubt and argument. I believe that we forgot to let youth

responsibilities for the upkeep of seniors will increase and perhaps

participate meaningfully then, when everyone else was distracted by

become a big burden.

trying to cope with the changes taking place around them.

“Furthermore, many young people who were born here but grew up “Parents were busy making money for an uncertain future. Politicians,

on the mainland will be back in Hong Kong in 10 years’ time. The

who might now take youth’s views into consideration, were arguing.

Federation will have to anticipate their needs. Local young people will

The young people were left out. I think the anger we see in some of the

inevitably think of them as outsiders so we have to prepare them too,

post-80s generation comes from that neglect.

not just to compete, but to be in harmony and to cooperate.

Message for the future

“We can’t serve all the people in Hong Kong, no matter how comprehensive our services.

What we can do is try to take the lead.”

“Helping young people to develop basic human values will be very important, especially in the light of mainland immigration and responsibilities for the elderly. Today, when we think so much about material gains, such moral values are lacking. We are trying very hard to educate, to teach practical skills and book learning, but I don’t think we teach youth enough about fundamental values.

“After the Handover, ideally these young people would have begun

“Remember the Chicken Soup series? It was a bestseller because people

to develop a sense of identity with their country but instead they face

needed to know about the good things people do, not only about

increased competition. At present, the mainland still feels far away

the bad things. There is an element of this in many of the HKFYG’s

because there is a border between us, but we have to accept that in the

programmes, but in the community at large not enough people are

future we will become like any other city in China.

talking about the importance of honesty, integrity, responsibility and plain hard work. These are the values, once absorbed, that will help

“Gradually, Hong Kong people will adapt and accept this. The

youth in the years to come.”•

Federation has been doing a lot of work in this area, trying to help young people learn about their country. Encouraging them to go and see, to have direct contact with their roots and with what is happening on the mainland. This will mean they adapt more easily.

December 2010

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Interview

HKFYG Council Members

Listening, communicating, facilitating Ms Clara Shek, Managing Director at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, took up the threads spun by Dr Tsoi. She explained why she joined the Federation and offered keen insight on the pivotal role played by parents.

“I decided to help HKFYG because I have two boys aged 5 and 10. I’m also concerned about alarming issues such as the upward trend in youth drug abuse and suicide. I think the broader community should pull together to try to find resolutions.

“We need to find the missing link between parents and their kids.”

“We at HKFYG not only need to connect with youth, we need to find the missing link between parents and their kids. Sometimes kids seem to lack love or feel they are not being heard or understood. If parents don’t listen, young people will look for other ways to express themselves, and sometimes they will be with illusion that drugs or gangs. I believe that many kids actually feel lost and have the illusion that drugs give them an escape route.

Knowing what you don’t know

“Work ethics in Hong Kong mean people are so busy making a living that they have little time to listen to their kids. In paternalistic, traditional Chinese culture, parents rarely express their love for the kids. In that kind of environment, how will a child ever gain confidence? I think we need to enable parents to be better communicators, for their kids’ sakes.

“Take me, for example, I thought that as someone from the communications industry, I should be doing a fine job.

Then last year I went to a programme called Landmark Forum and found out about what I didn’t know.

“It was a transformative experience that made me see clearly how fundamentally important our relationships with parents are, and how they shaped my relationship with my kids. I didn’t realize

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that I’ve been on a kids-on-demand mode, interacting with my kids only when I wanted them, not when they needed me. I’m as busy as before, but the way I relate to my kids at home now has changed. If parents and marginal, problem kids could only go through a programme like that it could change their lives. It would remove barriers.

Perhaps this is an opportunity for a sponsored Federation pilot project.

“I think of HKFYG as a facilitator that can enable kids to reach their best.”

Putting the issues on the radar

“Well-intentioned parents seek ways to improve their parenting skills, others may need something like a Parents 101 course, something to put the issues firmly on the radar. When kids are old enough, like my 10 year-old, they already have an idea about what’s going on in the world.

They are starting to be more assertive. Good parent-child communications at this stage can prevent problems later.

“An example from our home is that we have no PlayStation or online games. Computer use is limited. My 10 year-old asks before he uses the computer and the maximum is 30 minutes. He understands the rules and is responsible for keeping them. I want kids to figure out their own form of play, in the park, in the playground. Giving them too many things could deny them their own creativity. Instead, just give them a blank piece of paper, a pencil, and an entirely empty room.

They will create their own amusement.

Facilitating, enabling, lifting

“I don’t think HKFYG’s role should be ‘helping’ youth. Calling it ‘help’ actually places them in a weak spot which could create resistance. Instead, I

Interview think of HKFYG as a facilitator that can enable kids to reach their best.

We can try doing this by being more edgy too, pushing the envelope, getting kids to really connect with each other face to face, instead of sitting at the computer for 5 to 6 hours a day.

“The goal of HKFYG is to lift up every young person. If that person is already doing well, it will enable them to become a leader. If they are vulnerable, on the margins of society, it will bring them back on track.

This process can make it possible for young people to see their own strengths, recognizing early in life their own inner strength and beauty.

That’s what we can facilitate.”•

Seeing two sides of cyberspace Dr Hubert Chan also joined HKFYG’s Council this year. He is Chairman of the Communications Association of Hong Kong, HKC International Holdings Ltd, and the father of two teenage boys. He shared his views of youth services from both professional and personal perspectives, reflecting on how cyberspace has become part of reality.

“My reasons for joining the Federation are connected to my work in the field of information and communications technology (ICT).

The average youngster spends so much time on the computer nowadays, more time even than in front of the

“A parent’s role is to make sure the children are aware of both the good and the risky sides of cyberspace.”

TV. Let’s face it, cyberspace is not going

“The trouble is that young people

away. I want to help both the community

can be suffocated by information

and families make it a more secure environment.

overload, especially when it is combined with pressure to succeed. Although I believe that education helps a great deal, exposure is also crucial to give them

“A parent’s role is to make sure the

perspective. Every couple of

children are aware of both the good and

years, I go to less developed

the risky sides of cyberspace, recognizing its temptations and traps while making good

parts of the world with my

use of the huge resources it offers. All of these

wife and two sons. Together we see the world as it really is. We

have changed our world enormously.

join a group of other families

Multifaceted roles

and have been to several poor

“The role of the Federation in cyberspace is

areas in China, some of which are

multifaceted. One example is the annual event with HKFYG as part of the World Telecom Information

served by World Vision projects, for example.

Society (WTISD) campaign. This has elements of both internet education and a career forum. In

“This is a very good experience

today’s world, with so much choice, choosing a

for my two sons who are 16 and

career is difficult, but education and information

17 years old. They see the effects

are still the keys, and cyberspace itself is a way of

of the poverty gap, especially on

becoming aware of opportunities, in education and

the mainland where there is such

at work.

great diversity. In the face of this

December 2010

Youth Hong Kong

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Interview

HKFYG Council Members

inequality, and given the problems caused by poverty in Hong Kong, we

Stimulating creativity, building connectivity

need to show young people how to discover their individual strengths,

“That’s where parents come in. Instead of having over-expectations

especially if they come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

about academic abilities, parents are in a perfect position to recognize and stimulate their children’s creativity. Family gatherings and trips provide an ideal opportunity for this to happen, although I have to

“Building connectivity, within the community and across the generations is one of the best ways to use of cyberspace.”

confess that a trip I arranged for my family to the Shanghai Expo nearly foundered because the boys said they had already been there… online!

“In the future, I can see the work HKFYG already does in ICT being consolidated and strengthened, with more internet education and internet counselling (see pages 36-37), reaching both the hidden children of the

“Children need exposure to a large range of activities and opportunities.

cyber world, and the ones deprived of access to that digital world.

Then they will find out what they are good at and where their creativity lies. Take my younger son as an example. At school he is not good at

“Building connectivity, within the community and across the generations

maths. Visuo-spatial memory and strategic thinking are his forte. They

is one of the best ways to use of cyberspace: for connections with

come out in how he plays chess. He won the Hong Kong Open chess

parents, friends and teachers. Given my experience and background

championship last year at the age of 15 because he can memorize all the

in ICT, I hope I can be of value to the Federation in helping those

moves in a game and play chess in his mind. We found this out simply

stakeholders see the good it can bring.”•

by playing the game together.

Getting involved: a dose of reality Dr Allen Fung, Managing Partner of McKinsey & Company, talked about establishing his connection with the Federation through a programme for young entrepreneurs. He also echoes the other members of Council, summing up views on parents, communication, exposure and cyberspace.

“My introduction to the Federation’s work was overwhelming, a really emotional experience for me. I was a judge at the launch of a new programme called Youth Business Hong Kong (YBHK, see pages 2729) which helps young entrepreneurs competing for start-up seed funds.

The winners of the competition have mentors to help them build networks, and I was one of them. The dedication and passion of those young people were awesome. To me, they represented the spirit of Hong Kong.

“I realized that being a mentor is not only useful to the mentee but also to the mentor. It gives you a dose of reality, especially if you are a senior manager in a big corporation. You see how to drive things with very little. In your own work you have access to a wide range of resources, but your mentee may have practically nothing.

Alive and kicking “The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and kicking here but we need more proactive measures to promote it. Basic skills have to be nurtured,

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like handling spreadsheets for finances. Lack of skills such as these undermine underlying raw passion. This is where mentorship is so important.

“The dedication and passion of those young people were awesome.

To me, they represent the spirit of Hong Kong.”

“Anyone who has been to one of those YBHK competitions will be aware and convinced of this. More mentors with local entrepreneurial experience of our competitive world themselves, who founded their own businesses, would be so valuable. People like that understand what it’s like to take risks.

Interview “Competitiveness can be a good thing but it needs to be balanced with teamwork. Hong Kong youngsters need to be assertive, but they also have to work out their own style. Some might see an influx of competition from the mainland as a threat but I think new talent can be a good thing. It will change the dynamics, creating opportunities and exposure for everyone. This will raise our game.

A sense of purpose “Take our disadvantaged kids for example. As long as you don’t measure them in a single narrow dimension – how well you do in school – you can give them a sense of purpose. We need to get them to participate in areas like music or sport, areas where they might excel with pride.

have more exposure points. Not just at school but in a variety of situations, interacting with people from different social strata, in different contexts with which they are not entirely familiar, and not entirely comfortable.

“For me, it was the experience of going abroad to study at Brown University. That placed me in a very different environment. It was tough to begin with and I had to learn how to handle so many new situations.

For kids who can’t afford to go abroad, it’s so important to give them exposure. It will lift them up, show them they are able to succeed, help avoid demoralization and build self-confidence.

Get involved “How do we create alternative paths like this? How do we create windows through which to grasp those opportunities? I think supportive parents are very important. If we create more activities that parents approve of, then kids will participate more and more.

“Being a mentor is not only useful to the mentee but also to the mentor. It gives you a dose of reality.”

“That brings me back to mentorship and how the community can work with HKFYG. Mentorship brings confidence. It helps youth cope with pressure, and prevents them feeling like failures. That’s why it is so worthwhile getting involved. Even if you can only spare one afternoon a month. It will make such a big difference, whether you are a mentor or give a hand in the youth centres. Just get involved once. You will want to do it more.”•

Parents, social skills and the virtual world “One trend I’m very concerned about is the loss of social skills, especially the sort that come with meaningful, direct contact between the generations. Young people live more and more in a virtual world. They lack face-to-face communication. Instead they do social networking online. Many of my friends who are parents are challenged by the new media, yet that’s the social world of the young.

“The Federation can do a lot in this area and once parents have a taste of what’s on offer they will come back for more. Whether you like it or not, the virtual world is here to stay and despite its resident risks parents can use it as a channel for communication.

Challenge, exposure and confidence “Communication is linked to another key factor: exposure to different environments. Kids gain confidence in their own abilities if they

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Identifying needs, targeting problems

Counselling

Close to the edge Many young people feel depressed or sad about sometimes, about confusing events in their lives, rebelling against parental control or overly influenced by friends and classmates, desperate to fit in and plagued by the stress of conflicting emotional needs. These are fleeting problems for many. Some suffer far more.

They include people with bipolar disorder, sometimes called manic depression. It causes serious mood swings, shifts in energy levels and erratic judgment. It means phases of intense creativity and euphoria alternating with depressive phases, a sense of worthlessness, sometimes thoughts about death.

Triggers can be failure at school or work, or losing someone they love. The depression can spiral then out of control. This is the story of May, who has bipolar disorder and now in her early 20s, told by her closest friend, who helped her through a suicide attempt.

“May called me and said it was all her fault, that she couldn’t bear the guilt and pain, that she wanted to die.”

I met May when we were 15 and both members of the school rock band. I played drums. May was lead singer. I used to envy her looks and her voice. Such a great figure. Such a cool style. Such confidence and energy. Or so it seemed.

She was always talking about how making it big in pop music

She said her father was an

as soon as she left school. She

alcoholic and a manic depressive,

almost seemed to be bragging. But

that her older brother was on

then one night on our way home

drugs and very unpredictable.

after there had been an argument

She had tried Ecstasy once too

with the band’s leader, she burst

but it made her feel worse. For a

into tears. She told me she hated

couple of weeks she was in low

herself, that nobody liked her,

spirits when she was with me, but

that life was hopeless. It was a

she made an effort to disguise

confusing shock to me to begin

her real feelings when we were

with, but the fact she told me

with others. She sometimes got

meant she trusted me. I wanted to

irritable or angry with me for no

help. May is a very special person.

real reason, but I put up with it.

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Identifying needs, targeting problems

“Being focused seems to help.

So does success. But May is still bipolar. They say it never goes away.”

Then one day her brother got killed in a motorbike accident. I didn’t know all the details. May called me and said it was all her fault, that she couldn’t bear the guilt and pain, that she wanted to die. I believed her and called her parents and the police.

They found her on a ledge outside her bedroom. It took a while but they persuaded her to come back inside and convinced her that she needed a psychiatrist. He diagnosed bipolar disorder, gave her medication and a contact at HKFYG with professional training for

That was nearly a year ago. Since then May has become very focused on putting a new indie band together. She's often very excitable but they’ve taken off in a big way. Being focused seems to help. So does the success. But May is still bipolar. They say it never goes away.

Whenever she feels low she still calls me even though we’ve both left school now. She sometimes says really hurtful things. It used to make me think I couldn’t help her, but over time I’ve got used to it. She doesn’t mean it. I know that deep down. But it sometimes hard to bear and I’m glad there’s a professional to share the load.

The HKFYG counsellor reminds her of her strengths, like I do, of her special talents and gifts for holding an audience spellbound with a song.•

Photo by Eeppeliteloop (Wikimedia Commons)

when she needed someone to talk to.

May - now focused on her new indie band

“Such confidence and energy. Or so it seemed…”

The HKFYG counsellor still keeps in touch with May although they’ve never met. MSN works well. It’s fast enough to be spontaneous but gives just enough space to stop and think. Web-based counselling, via MSN and blogs, is a new initiative at the Federation. See pages 3637 for information.

All names and some of the circumstances surrounding the people in these stories have been adjusted to protect identities.

December 2010

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Identifying needs, targeting problems

Primary school counselling

Special needs, special strategies The Student Guidance Team at HKFYG deals with children who have emotional or psychological problems. It also helps families who have difficulty bringing up primary school-age children. Here, a mother tells how Kelly, a member of the Team, helped her autistic son, Fred.

“I’ve been terribly worried about Fred ever since he was little. When he was diagnosed as an autistic I felt quite unable to cope. That was in his first year at school. His behaviour seemed to get worse and worse, not only at school but at home too. The teachers couldn’t handle him and I had to get him into another school. I was practically in despair.

“He’s always been clever but sort of inward-looking. He desperately needs security. If anything unusual or unexpected happens he gets unpredictable. The teachers have told me he sometimes gets up, pushes his desk over with a crash and runs out into the street, scaring everybody, just because he got an answer wrong.

“Sometimes he’ll throw things at them, or fling himself on the floor if they aren’t nice to him.”

“He doesn’t seem to care what the other kids at school think of him.

Sometimes he’ll throw things at them, or fling himself on the floor if they aren’t nice to him. The last time that happened, the teacher got Kelly to come along to help. Kelly is a social worker from the HKFYG Student Guidance Team. I don’t know what I would have done without her.

Before Kelly

Fred

After Kelly

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“She told Fred stories about how to behave properly at school and helped him imagine himself in those situations. Sort of role-playing in his mind. Then the two of them would act out some situations so he could practice what he needed to do and say. Sometimes she asked him to play the teacher while she pretended to be the kid – he really enjoyed that! I never thought it would work but I was wrong.

“Fred practised step-by-step with Kelly. She put cartoon stickers on the floor to show him where to queue up. She took photos to remind him where to go. Those clear instructions and Kelly’s patience reassured him so he learned from her.

“She tried slogans too and that helped a bit. When he got the wrong answer in class Kelly told him to recite to himself ‘An answer can be right or wrong. Don’t give up, just try again.’ The message sank in. Bit by bit he had fewer and fewer tantrums.

“Of course lots of teachers haven’t met special-needs kids like Fred.

You know, they didn’t seem to understand that he genuinely couldn’t help himself. Kelly told me I should try not to get emotional when Fred acts up at home. She also said all the adults in his life need to respond consistently so that he gets very clear messages about what’s acceptable and what isn’t. It’s really important to praise him when he does well, not

Fred's classmates

Fred and friends

Identifying needs, targeting problems just scold him when he is naughty. I noticed a real difference when I began to do that.

and maths. You can be good in class too!’ They seem more tolerant of him, partly because he’s so good at some things they find hard, like maths. He will help them when they get stuck and they appreciate that.

“They seem more tolerant of him, partly because he’s so good at some things they find hard, like maths.”

“Fred is eleven now and I can’t help but wonder how it’ll be for him when he’s at secondary school. Kelly told the school social worker at the new school about him and his difficulties and we all went to visit the school. His new teacher seems very kind and welcoming and he met the school social worker too. I still feel quite apprehensive but I’m much better able to face it than I used to be. The Federation is opening a Student Support Centre in Tai Kok Tsui for students with special needs, like Fred. I know we’ll be able to go there if we need to. That makes me feel better. But we’ll miss Kelly.”•

“I’ve learned so much from Kelly. Fred no longer runs out of the class when he gets upset and his classmates know what he’s like now. When he gets emotional they say things like, ‘Hey, you’re so good at English

Counselling at HKFYG

Counselling offered by the Federation includes Youthline 2777 8899, MSN and hotlines. These have been supplemented recently by the Web Positive Online Outreach Counselling Service which is mentioned in the story about May, pages 22-23, and in the new section Internetscope, pages 36-37. The Student Guidance Team has worked with primary pupils since 2002. For more information about the Student Support Centre and how school social workers offer their support, see Youth Hong Kong September 2010.

Email ycs@hkfyg.org.hk

Turning monsters into kittens Children who are different always suffer from being on the edge of the crowd. They handle it in different ways depending on the individual. In this second case of guidance by a school social worker, a talented mainland girl called Ching finds self-expression and fulfilment through drawing. The social worker explains.

“I’ve been working as a primary school social worker with HKFYG for about 8 years now. That’s how I met Ching. She was living with her father who was over sixty and had heart disease. They didn’t seem very close and Ching said he was often nasty to her, but I never actually met him. Her mother had already left Hong Kong to go back to the mainland.

“The other kids made fun of Ching. She got her accent from her mainland mum and it sounded so funny to them. You know how children tease. Unfortunately, Ching was also rather big for her age compared to local children. Maybe that’s why she seemed so clumsy, always tripping over things.

“Some kids were really horrid and called her a monster. She was obviously unhappy but seemed bad-tempered on the surface. Her

teachers said she was badly behaved, always quarrelling. She got into a nasty fight one day so the teachers sent her to me.

“Her fingers were covered in ink and she really did look a bit of a mess.”

“She was uncommunicative to begin with. I tried to get hold of her father but had no luck so I hinted gently to Ching that we would look for a way to help her make friends. She looked grumpy and shuffled her feet. Her fingers were covered in ink and she really did look a bit of a mess.

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Identifying needs, targeting problems “I wasn’t sure I was getting through to her, but one day I noticed her doodling. It turned out that drawing was her favourite pastime. That’s where all the ink came from. She liked to draw large, violent-looking, creatures in vivid comic strips. As she got older so she got more and more skilful and I gave her a big sketch book.

“By then she was in P4. When the book was full and I gave her another, and another, and another. By the time she left the school she had over 20 collections of comic strips, all original, all creative, each with a special creature from her own imagination as the main character.

“Bit by bit, as she gained confidence in me she told me why she loved drawing large creatures. ‘Drawing those nasty looking animals makes me feel stronger,’ she said, ‘but I still want my stories to have happy endings. I dream that the stories take place at home.’

“I tried to think of a way into this girl’s imagination and suggested that she might draw smaller animals that looked less scary. That she might create a comic strip with less conflict and fighting.

Primary school counselling classmates who were astonished. They started to look up to her. None of them had talent like that.

“By the time she left primary school, Ching was much better-tempered.

She had quite a following and the teacher put her comic strips on the walls from time to time. Some were totally fantastic, but always wellcrafted and sometimes rather funny.

“I wasn’t sure I was getting through to her, but one day I noticed her doodling.”

“Being accepted by the others had a marked effect on her. She calmed down, rarely got cross, and as she grew taller she grew slimmer. She still towers over the others and hasn’t totally lost her accent, but Ching is clearly going places. Maybe she’ll be a cartoonist or a film animator one day. The last I heard of her she was saving up for graphics software.”•

Image by aaipodics (Flickr/Creative Commons)

“Well, it worked. Gradually Ching’s scrap books had more and more rather domestic-looking animals. She started showing them to her

All names and some of the circumstances surrounding the people in these stories have been adjusted to protect identities.

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Youth entrepreneurship

Identifying needs, targeting problems

Think sustainable Alex Tam and Felix Chung, both in their early 30s, run Ecosage, an award-winning recycling company supported by HKFYG’s Youth Business Hong Kong (YBHK). Alex tells how it all started, and where they’ve got to so far. “When we first met in the 1990s we were classic young white-collar workers, giving other people orders and earning regular salaries. We had no idea that soon we would be getting our hands dirty, but we did realize that it was time for a rethink.”

“We handle 300 tonnes of recycling each month”

A business in recycling was Felix’s idea. I must admit I didn’t take to it right away. Me? Handling other people’s rubbish? Funnily enough, it was actually an old newspaper that got us going. Felix was eating dinner in a restaurant when he saw an advertisement for YBHK in a newspaper somebody left behind.

We put in an application. Just getting our business proposal organized helped our ideas gel. We both wanted to do something friendly for the environment and the government was already talking about user-pays levies for waste collection back then.

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Identifying needs, targeting problems We had about HK$300,000 in savings but still lacked motivation.

Getting YBHK start-up funds of another HK$80,000 gave us the vital first push. Then our business mentor, an entrepreneur himself, helped us build a network. That made us move faster and faster.

But it was tough to begin with. I used to load the rubbish compactor myself, working alone, late at night at Ngau Tau Kok. It was hard, physical labour and I wasn’t used to it. But that was not the hardest thing. It was facing change all the time, thinking of how to serve customers and make money from them while giving satisfaction. This was so challenging.

You can never relax. There is no spare time, ever, no weekends, no girlfriends. But my life is full, full of work! My parents are always telling me I should rest but my dad was a cab driver. He worked 7 days a week too. My mum says it’s time I got married and had children. But I’m only 32. There’s still time.

Youth entrepreneurship Kwai Fong depot. The rag-pickers are outside the welfare net and they need support, even though many won’t admit it.

I plucked up courage to talk to one of those old ladies after she’d been coming to the depot for months. They can be quite daunting! She said she couldn’t get CSSA because she had $30,000 in the bank. She’s worked for 30 years and resents the fact that her savings mean she can’t get any welfare payments, and I don’t blame her.

“The hardest thing [was] facing change all the time, thinking of how to serve customers and make money from them while giving satisfaction.”

It took a year and a half to break even, as we forecast in our business plan. It sounds good, but progress then slowed down as the economy nose-dived in 2008. Nevertheless, in 2009 we opened our second recycling depot in Kwai Fong. You need courage to start up a new business.

“Funnily enough, it was actually an old newspaper that got us going… Felix was eating dinner in a restaurant when he saw an ad for YBHK in a paper somebody left behind.”

Back then we were really idealistic. Our dream was to open recycling shops on every street corner, like 7-11 stores. YBHK advised us to compile a new business plan. In the end we changed our minds and our new idea is to collect electronic waste, like old computers and phones instead of household waste. The world is changing, changing fast. Soon there will be less waste paper but we can see no end in sight for old electronic gadgets.

YBHK put us in touch with McKinsey and they helped us to refine the plan. That’s when we realized we needed more money. We want to set up a plant which will give us much higher bargaining power with a potential investor. That means we need a bank loan, but our financial situation isn’t bad and our success record is pretty good so far. Our turnover is HK$3 million a year and we handle 300 tonnes of recycling each month.

We also run a community outreach programme as part of our business model. It draws in housewives and students, rag-pickers and cardboard collectors. We have a social worker from St. James Settlement at the Alex at the YBI awards ceremony in Mexico City in September 2010

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Identifying needs, targeting problems Then I asked an old man of about 70 if he was happy. He said he was still healthy and had a roof over his head so he could earn money by bringing in empty cans through his own efforts. It meant he didn’t need to ask for government handouts or beg. So yes, he was happy. Can you imagine that?

Young Hong Kong people have been told for ten years now that wastefulness is bad and recycling is good. Does it make any difference?

No. They are lazy. There are no laws that say they must, and there are no financial incentives. So, being Chinese they think it’s unnecessary.

They are full of excuses: no time, no room to keep all that rubbish, no energy to take it to a collection centre.

Actually the most environmentally friendly generation is not young but old. The ones who know what it’s like to do without. Everything is precious to them. The middle-aged are affluent now and young people are used to plenty of everything. If you could present them with a profit-making scheme, perhaps it might be different!

“Back then we were really idealistic. Our dream was to open recycling shops on every street corner…”

incentive. Some housewives feel embarrassed when they first come. We have to tell them it’s good for the world. Now some of them bring their children too. It’s a start.

Our ultimate goal is to have Ecosage listed on the stock exchange. In the meantime, we achieved one goal already. That was winning the YBI Award for the Environmental Entrepreneur of the Year. It really was a dream come true, just to get that recognition.

“If people really got into the habit of recycling it would be like brushing your teeth. If you don’t do it you feel bad.”

The advice I would give to any idealistic young entrepreneur is to be well-prepared. Then, when you think you are ready, just go ahead, never wait. Use 15 0% effort to reach your goal.•

Youth Business Hong Kong (YBHK)

I think a user-pays system will work in Hong Kong. In Taiwan and Japan it’s already happening. In Japan it’s part of the culture.

In Taiwan it’s a government initiative and is considered big business. Public participation there is very high. Here we make double the rubbish we made 20 years ago. Hong Kong comes top for creating rubbish.

“Actually the most environmentally friendly generation is not young but old. The ones who know what it’s like to do without.”

If people really got into the habit of recycling it would be like brushing your teeth.

If you don’t do it you feel bad. Some people are already like that, but not many. So when kids bring old newspapers we give them HK$1 for 1kg. It’s pocket money and an

Since 2005, HKFYG’s Youth Business Hong Kong (YBHK) has supported 93 young entrepreneurs. It provides mentors who motivate and help build networks. First comes the planning stage, essential for sound decision-making. Next is the acquisition of skills and contacts to put the plan into action. Third, entrepreneurs learn marketing skills and build on the drive and enthusiasm to see their plan through to fruition.

Over HK$5.2m in seed funding has been allocated by YBHK and over two-thirds of the start-ups have been successful.

Adequate funding and the support of mentors are crucial, but coping with setbacks and failure are often equally important to maintain momentum. Fundamentally, entrepreneurship requires imagination, perseverance and courage. YBHK provides the back-up.

For more details, contact Miranda Wong at YBHK, tel 3113 7999 or visit http://ybhk.hkfyg.org.hk.

Note The YBI Award for the Environmental Entrepreneur of the Year was given by the Prince's Youth Business International. Ecosage was the winner among all contestants from 36 countries in the YBI network.

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Identifying needs, targeting problems

Youth SPOT project

Saving up for future needs “They always say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourselves.”

Andy Warhol

Background

The lives of 120 teenagers in the New Territories West are changing as a result of the HKFYG’s Prudential Assurance Co Ltd Fly High with Us Young Savers Scheme. They benefit from matching savings and corporate volunteers act as their mentors, teaching life skills including financial literacy. One of the teenagers explained how she had changed as a result of taking part.

Win-win situation

“I heard about it during assembly and told my Mum. She thought it was a great idea. She’s always saying it’s good to save but I don’t get pocket money so I need to work out ways to help myself. With this scheme Mum and Dad put aside $200 each month for me from the household budget because of the incentives.

“For every $200 I save, the Prudential puts the same amount in my bank account.

When I have been saving for two years, the government will add $3,000 to the total. By next year I will have $12,600 in my account.

That’s win-win! But the point is not just to save money. It’s to get us thinking about the future, about making plans, and about making changes for the better.

Growing pragmatism and independence

“I’m 16 now and this savings scheme has taught me to think about how to spend what I save as well as learn a bit about independence.

I’ll probably have to save to pay for my university fees and I’m learning how to make that feasible, but I would also love to have more piano lessons. They cost about $300 an hour and that’s far too expensive.

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Saving to afford piano lessons

“I started to play the piano when I was 7 when both my mum and my dad were working and I had hoped to be at diploma level in a year or two. If I had managed that, I could be

December 2010

a qualified teacher. Then think how much I could earn. Actually, it seems that not having enough money is the greatest obstacle to realizing your dreams.

Identifying needs, targeting problems Reciprocity and good manners

“My mentor on the scheme teaches me good money habits and lots of other things too. She’s a manager at the insurance company and we’re in touch on Facebook and on the phone. She talks about what’s going on at HKFYG, and how I might use my savings eventually.

“She also taught me how to relax with new people and introduced me to table manners. Manners are often a matter personal image as well as politeness. I was once very late for a meeting with her because I’d been at a class that went on much too long. I didn’t call her to say I’d be late and she was quite upset with me.

“She said I should treat others as I would have them treat me and she showed me by example. She set up a Facebook account just to chat with me and now we have something else in common. That also made me realize that when I meet people I just need to find a subject we’re both interested in and that will make it easier to get to know each other.

Distinguishing wants from needs

“I once asked her about the gap between the rich and the poor and she said it was a matter of attitude. Nobody likes rich people who show off, but some of the rich do help the poor. There’s no point being pessimistic about how much money you have or haven’t got.

The poverty gap might even give some people motivation to improve their own lives. If you already have everything it can make you lazy and wasteful.

“The poverty gap might even give some people motivation to improve their own lives. If you already have everything it can make you lazy and wasteful.”

“This scheme has given me motivation of many kinds, not just to save but to change my attitude. I know there are many people in Hong Kong who are poorer than me, like those who live in cages, and I really don’t know how to help them. Still, I don’t envy the big spenders and I don’t hanker after special ice cream or designer labels. A gap between rich and poor is inevitable. I’m content to try to make it smaller. At least I now know the difference between wants and needs.”•

Photo by alancleaver_2000 (Flickr/Creative Commons)

“The point is not just to save money. It’s to get us thinking about the future, about making plans, and about making changes for the better.”

Supported saving

The Prudential Assurance Co Ltd Fly High with Us Scheme is partnered by HKFYG and the government’s Child Development Fund. The fundamental concept is planning for life and for careers, with young people saving to prepare for their future.

They learn to understand themselves better, think positively and set goals and objectives. They also devise a practical personal development plan. When the period of supported savings ends, participants may use the funds to develop skills in sports or the arts, to take part in vocational training, exchange programmes or leadership training. Supportive parents and mentors play an integral role.

The scheme is a 3-year project run in collaboration with HKFYG Youth Spots in Kin Sang, Tsuen Wan, Tsuen King and Kwai Fong. Apart from savings and one-to-one mentorship, the scheme offers workshops in time management, personal finance, career and study planning, with both games and discussion groups. Voluntary work with the elderly, photography, and team-building are other activities.

Visit http://www.hkfyg.org.hk

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Identifying needs, targeting problems

Addictive behaviour

Escape from reality Keung is a rather defiant-looking 17 year-old. He always used to shine at school, quite the teacher’s pet. He used to feel in control, of his life and of his destiny, but all of a sudden he wasn’t all popular any more. Maybe he was too clever. His parents and teachers praised him, but nobody in class seemed to like him. He felt pulled in two directions and wanted to escape. Eventually, a Federation counseller understood him.

Keung retreated. Isolated by former friends, withdrawn from his family.

At night he wasn’t interested in homework. Instead, he played online games, for hour after hour, refusing to eat anything other than snacks.

He often played on well past midnight after his parents had gone to bed. Then he felt in control again.

What had happened? He had found an alternative world. A virtual world, where he won all the battles and all the girls. He was in control.

He could escape there whenever he liked.

“That’s when I started skipping at classes. I couldn’t stop playing if I wanted to keep winning, could I?”

Photos by blossomsK, Ramon Snellink, juanpol (Flickr/Creative Commons)

Keung was hooked. His teacher realized something was going badly wrong and kept him in the classroom after school to do his homework.

His parents were contacted. All this just provoked the rebel in him

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especially when his dad cut his computer’s internet connection. What did Keung do? He went out to a mong ba (internet café) and stayed out all night. Somewhere neither his teacher nor his parents could judge him.

That was just the beginning. Sometimes, several days could go by when he wasn’t seen at home at all. His family only knew he’d been back because food disappeared from the fridge. He’d just call to say he was OK and happy playing online games. His father and sister tried to stop him.

His mother was afraid of making things worse but when his dad tried physical force, that made Keung really mad. He lost his temper and flew at him, then at his sister, hurting her so badly they called the police.

That was last year. He was cautioned and taken into the care of the Police Superintendent’s Discretionary Scheme.

Identifying needs, targeting problems Keung was referred to the HKFYG NetWise Support Centre for Families and then to the Youth Wellness Centre.

A young counsellor called Anna talked to him. By this time he was repeating S3 because he’d done so badly at school.

Anna didn’t try to stop him using the computer as his family had. Instead she chatted about online games. She played them too and knew what fun they were.

But why they were so important to Keung?

Was it an escape from pressure: parents, peers, teachers?

“OK, so the graphics are cool, but what else do you get out of playing online?” asked Anna. “Does it make you feel proud when you beat someone in World of Warcraft?

Didn’t it feel the same when you beat all the others in your class?”

Bit by bit, Anna helped Keung set up real-life goals. The first step was to do well enough academically to move up to S4. Anna helped him create a revision timetable and Keung kept to it, cutting his time online after school from 4 to 2 hours a day. He got less scolding from his parents and better results. Gradually he won back the respect of his teachers and the friendship of his classmates. Approval of his parents followed.

Now, he no longer skips classes or stays out at internet cafés till midnight. He feels much more in control of his own life, but he also understands himself better. The crucial person was Anna. Unlike him, she was content in the real world, but she also saw what tempted him back, again and again, to escape to that virtual world of online games which felt so real.

In that other world he held all the trump cards and chose all the moves. He was in control, not subject to seemingly arbitrary, adult decisions. Now he still recognizes the temptations that took him online all the time but his mindset has changed. He sees that even in the real world nobody has total control and that it’s up to him the take charge of his own, real, life again.•

“I got into S4 this year. In fact I was in the top three for maths. My folks are so pleased. That helped me realize I can let online games go and live in the real world again. Still, I recognize there’s often a very thin line for me between reality and online virtuality.”

Findings of a 2006 study conducted by The Chinese University of Hong Kong showed that an estimated 230,000 young internet users were at risk of addiction disorders. In research conducted by HKFYG in 2007, 3,586 P.5 to F.3 students were interviewed. 5.4% of them were problem internet users and 15.7% were at risk of becoming compulsive users.

In August 2009, ReSTART, a residential treatment center for people with "pathological computer use", sometimes known as Internet addictive Disorder (IAD) opened near Seattle in the US. Families in China have turned to unlicensed training camps that claim to wean teenage children off the internet. Last year, the mainland government banned physical punishment to stop teens from overusing the internet. Electroshock therapy had already been banned. See Youth Hong Kong June 2009 for more information.

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Identifying needs, targeting problems

Addictive behaviour

The NetWise Support Centre for Families

HKFYG Youth Wellness Centre

This Centre was set up with support from government in 2009. It provides a one-stop service to familie. It helps those worried about safety online or concerned about possible addiction, online friendships with strangers, cyber-bullying, online pornography or copyright piracy. Trained Internet Ambassadors help promulgate the message about staying safe online and the Be NetWise Parents Handbook provides guidelines for use at home.

The HKFYG Youth Wellness Centre, a 3-year pilot project in Tuen Mun, is a collaborative initiative with the Hospital Authority (New Territories West Cluster) and will probably start offering services by mid-to-end of November 2010. It is run by a multi-disciplinary team including a psychiatrist, a clinical psychologist, social workers and a psychiatric nurse, offering one-stop clinical assessment and treatment to young people aged 10-30 who suffer from symptoms associated with drug addition, problematic gambling, alcoholism, smoking and internet addiction. It advocates the concept of wellness and healthy living through educational programmes organized in schools and communities. A gambling treatment centre was run by HKFYG in Tuen Mun from 2007-2009 with support from the Ping Wo Fund.

Web http://benetwise.hk

Email ywc@hkfyg.org.hk

Future at stake

Shine 2010 - 2010 World Cup good news (Flickr/Creative Commons)

Photos by Lisa Kong (About.com: Addictions),

Most people never get rich or powerful but society rewards those who do, and wanting a lot of money is considered perfectly normal. That’s where the appeal of gambling lies. For some gamblers, it’s a land of makebelieve too. The HKFYG Youth Wellness Centre will help bring the real world back into focus.

Problematic gamblers served by HKFYG Youth Wellness Centre

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Identifying needs, targeting problems Wesley, a 26-year-old engineering graduate, spends time with friends these days when he’s not teaching. It wasn’t always like that. He has been dealing with a gambling problem ever since he went to university.

“I live with Dad and my little sister, but for years, rather than chat with them I watched football on TV. Then I found out about online betting.”

To begin with, his online soccer winnings more than covered his bets.

But he gradually increased his bets, believing more and more that he could guess the results accurately, feeling proud of his wins and the admiration they brought him.

By the time he left university he was doing little else apart from gambling. His anxiety mounted as soon as he tried to stop. Then he started to lose, first a little, then a lot. Always believing that with one more bet he could win it all back again.

“I thought I had mastered a real skill. It made me feel so good for a while. In fact it was just a game of chance and I was addicted to it.”

He borrowed $60,000 from a loan shark and was unable to repay.

He started getting threatening phone calls and noticed that he was developing odd habits, like constantly wanting to wash his hands. He had terrible headaches and was always forgetting things. That’s when he realized things were out of control.

He called HKFYG for help. His counsellor, Roland, recognized the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder associated with gambling addiction. He gradually convinced Wesley that believing gambling was a way to riches was believing a myth. He also tried to persuade him to see a doctor but without success. Wesley was convinced that a medical record would spoil his chances of getting a decent job for ever.

Further reading

University of Hong Kong Social Sciences Research Centre.

Report on a study of Hong Kong People’s Participation in gambling activities. Home Affairs Bureau, HKSAR Government, 2005. http://www.hab.gov.hk/file_manager/en/ documents/whats_new/gambling/KeyStat_200514_e.pdf

So instead, Roland gave advice about handling finances more wisely and with his encouragement, Wesley got his first full-time job at a tuition school. At least the salary meant he could start paying off his debts. All seemed to be going well for a while, but then Wesley got stressed out at work and started gambling again. He was lucky and won $10,000. But success went to his head and yet again the situation got out of control.

“Sometimes when the stress at work just gets too much for me. I start gambling again, but keep on losing. Ultimately, when I’m at my most desperate, I think I might lose myself.”

Wesley now recognizes that gambling can destroy his life and he is back at work again. He has made some good friends in the past twelve months. Some of them have had a gambling problem too.

They reinforce each others’ efforts to stop betting. Roland keeps in touch with him and still believes there is a way to get him out of the cycle of win-lose. At least he now understands that when he loses, gambling again is not the only answer, that others can understand what it’s like and can help him see that every time he places a bet he is also putting his future at stake.•

Problematic gambling

Problem youth gambling in Hong Kong starts as early as 12 years old, with an average bet of HK$6271 according to a survey at Chinese University completed this year. The habit can become as addictive as alcohol or drugs when gamblers start to lose touch with reality. Betting on card games is the most popular form among Hong Kong youth but online gambling has added to the problems. Illegal online soccer betting in Hong Kong is estimated to be worth HK$60 billion.

A 2008 report from the Home Affairs Department stated that almost 70% of the Hong Kong population indulge in gambling of some kind.2 A survey conducted by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Prevention and Rehabilitation of Pathological Gambling Association interviewed 900 secondary school students in 2006 and found that the problem of pathological gamblers is at its most serious in Tuen Mun, home to the HKFYG Youth Wellness Centre.

Visit http://www.hkfyg.org.hk Sources 1 South China Morning Post (29 June 2010).

2 South China Morning Post (3 March, 21 March 2010).

All names and some of the circumstances surrounding the people in these stories have been adjusted to protect identities.

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Feature

Internetscope

This new feature section is for opinions and news about the online world of the internet, where young people feel is so at home. All contributions are welcome.

Reaching out in cyberspace The internet has become the major source of information and communication for young people. It provides a strong social and cultural environment, and a forum for active participation. It lets them contribute and share opinions, thoughts and feelings, quickly, easily and they do so much more readily than they if they are required to do so face-to-face.

The Federation’s Web Positive outreach online counselling service has evolved in response.1 The service involves searching the internet for youngsters who keep blogs about personal problems of serious concern. These problems may involve stress or depression. Counsellors use key words to find them and, when they identify young people who seem to be in need of help, they make contact. If a relationship based on trust develops they follow up the initial contact via messaging, emails or hotline services, as appropriate.

or service, enables young people to retain some sense of control over their lives. It involves their proficiency on the internet. It harnesses their special ability to articulate feelings in writing, and it enables outreach social workers, educators and others to contact young people who might otherwise be inaccessible, via blogs and MSN, as well as other forms of messaging. They can make contact in real time, with immediacy and privacy because each is in their own familiar environment. Furthermore, because this form of internet support service has potential 24-hour access, the positive impact is immeasurable.

“…potential 24-hour access, the positive impact is immeasurable.”

Outreach in reach

In North America, Australia and some parts of Europe, the provision of online youth services, including counselling, is already gaining ground. It has been observed that adolescents, especially those who are troubled, depressed or suicidal, often isolate themselves, preferring to spend a lot of time on their computers, chatting or emailing friends and even empathetic strangers – unsurprisingly in this age of self expression and catharsis. Secrets and troubles are shared, confessions made and sometimes self-harm or suicide pacts agreed upon.2 In fact, there are easily accessible, specific suicide sites and forums.3,4 The internet, for these young people who feel trapped or isolated, is sometimes very literally their only lifeline.

Opening up this medium as a vector for counselling, for reaching out to youth-at-risk who are otherwise hidden from view, was mentioned in the Hong Kong Chief Executive’s 2010 Policy Address. The advantages are enormous. Most obviously, this type of internet counselling, assistance

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Online counsellors use keywords to search for troubled youngsters

Feature Training for professionalism

An important factor when considering online outreach services is the professionalism of online counsellors. The reason why this is so important is that it requires skill-sets and competencies that are different from the more traditional forms of face-to-face guidance and counselling. First, the professional must be quick-witted enough to recognize the difference between a genuine case and a prankster.

Second, she or he needs to be familiar with the typical cyber-vernacular used by youth today, with its acronyms, short-hand and emoticons.

Proficiency in these will allow a counsellor to develop a genuine rapport quickly. It will mean that both the counsellor and the counselled will be speaking the same special “language”, the language that youth use to communicate with one another on the internet.

Third, the professional needs the skill of “reading” between the lines of responses, especially when using chat software. They need to be able to discern hesitation, regret, inarticulateness and nuance, to know when to start or stop typing, giving the young person on the other end of the line the dominant role in the conversation.

Quiet investment, rich returns

This is an exciting endeavour, but one which needs the commitment of the Government. It is necessary for Government to partner organizations like the Federation that are slowly developing their own online service provisions on the internet. It is also necessary for government not to diminish the real importance of such an initiative by loud, inappropriate or flashy public relations exercises. Rather, what is needed is quiet investment in education and training of highly specialized personnel who can maximize the potential of web counselling. These could very well be qualified social workers, but they could also include educators, youth workers and perhaps even volunteer counsellors.

Reaching out to “hidden” youth, those who don’t normally seek out help, identifying youth-at-risk via their own self-expression, online, is really a viable, attainable and potentially revolutionary form of service and intervention. It should be given the highest priority and governed by the highest standards of quality control and commitment. Only by making such an investment will tomorrow’s young people be able to begin looking forward today towards the caring, connected society of the future.•

Finally, no matter how confident a young person might seem, protected by the anonymity of the cyber world, the professional needs to remain consistently cognisant and sensitive to the fact that a vulnerable young person is in need and they are reaching out for reassurance and help.

“…it requires skill sets that are different from face-to-face guidance and counselling…”

Note and sources 1

HKFYG Web Positive social workers use search engines to seek blogs by using keywords such as “unhappy”, “feeling sad”, “depressed” and “suicide”.

Then, they broawse recent articles on the blogs retrieved in the searches to assess whether the bloggers are emotionally disturbed. If so, they try to leave caring messages in order to encourage them to talk about their problems. They do not disclose their identity to begin with in case this acts as a disincentive to further communication. Once a trusting relationship has been formed, the social workers reveal their identity and may follow up by MSN or hotline. From June 2009 to August 2010, HKFYG Web Positive professional staff visited 14,239 blogs, followed up 8,460 of those blogs and engaged 982 bloggers successfully in online conversation.

2

Fox, G. “Lonely hearts end life in suicide pact”, The Telegraph , 24 September 2010. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/8021337/Lonely-hearts-end-life-insuicide-pact.html (accessed 29 October 2010). Story about the dark side of the internet and two women who made a cyber-suicide pact; highlights the reality and frequency of such pacts.

3

“Suicide pacts and the Internet”, British Medical Journal 329:1298, 2 December 2004. http://www.bmj.com/content/329/7478/1298.full (accessed 29 October 2010)

4

Harding, A. “Japan’s Internet ‘suicide clubs’, BBC , 7 December 2004. http:// news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/4071805.stm (accessed 29 October 2010)

This article by Rosanna Wong appeared in modified form in South China Morning Post on 8 November 2010.

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Feature

City space

Sporting chance The link between exercise and weight control is indisputable. Given the growing problem of overweight children in Hong Kong, it is salutary to compare the views of two Hong Kong parents on the pros and cons of physical education in the timetable. What do you think?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US,1 one of the most effective ways to combat obesity in children is to encourage schools to implement a high quality programme of physical education (PE) in conjunction with healthy eating plans and general good health education. This view was also expressed at the International Conference on Childhood Obesity: Evidence and Practice from Exercise Science, held in Hong Kong in November 2008.2 Would parents like more PE for their children at school? The two in the following dialogue disagree.

On the start line A recent report3 on obesity among Hong Kong children states that the problem rose from 16.7% in the 1996-1997 school year, to 22.2% per cent in 2008-2009. Obesity in children and young people is not unique to Hong Kong. In fact, the most visible face in the fight against childhood obesity is probably that of the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama.4 When she launched the initiative to combat the problem, she called obesity “an epidemic and one of the greatest threats to America’s health and economy.” Replace “America” with any city or country and the statement stays on target.

Mrs Lim, mother of two boys, aged 9 and 11

“I understand the problem of childhood obesity and the need for children to be physically active. But isn’t that the parents’ responsibility rather than the school’s? It’s up to parents to ensure their children eat a healthy, well balanced diet, get enough sleep and exercise.

“Children go to school to learn, to study and to acquire the knowledge and skills that will make them competitive. They do not go to school to run around the playground! I think the idea of PE in schools is

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completely unnecessary. It takes away valuable learning time.

“We place very high expectations on the children. We want them to excel in their studies and outside the classroom, at music or art for example. That they snack in between is only natural if they are tired and hungry. I honestly believe that as they grow older, they’ll become more conscious of their looks and take steps to lose weight if necessary.

“I’m also against PE in the curriculum because I believe it can categorize children negatively. Not all children are sporty and some find it hard to run around, let alone understand the rules of games and sports. If children who have no aptitude for sport are forced into it during the school day, they may be ridiculed or even bullied.

“If parents want children to do sport it should be outside school hours.

There are so many after school activities that involve some sport or the other. I just see no need to have a PE hour during the school day just for the glory of one or two children at the expense of the others.

“Physical education in school is really a waste of time!”

Feature Mrs Wong, mother of two teenagers, a boy and a girl

“I am so happy to see that PE is part of the curriculum at my children’s school. I believe very strongly that youngsters should have the opportunity within their school week to be physically active. I understand that not all are good at sports, but that’s not the point. The point is to get moving and get the blood pumping.

“We live in a city where there is neither much space for physical activity, nor is there a culture that appreciates children being active. This is desperately unhealthy. Young people should not be expected to sit all day in the classroom and then either plonk themselves in front of the TV or the computer or have to attend tuition classes without having any form of physical exercise whatsoever.

“I’ve heard some parents at my children’s school argue that those who are interested in sports should do them as an extra-curricular activity.

That makes me mad. We are not talking about sport or physical exercise as an extra, but something that must be incorporated into the young

person’s routine daily life from an early age. As adults we are all aware of the health issues and the ill-effects of a sedentary lifestyle. So why wouldn’t we want our children to learn about this now, rather than later?

“Maybe I’m unusual, but I honestly believe that if young folk get used to some kind of PE on a regular basis, then their mood improves, their health is better and their brains work better!

“I am all for PE in schools. I worry about obesity and believe that exercise is a lifestyle choice for the better. It benefits youth as they grow into young adulthood and can do nothing but good.”• We would like to keep this discussion going. What’s your point of view? Please write to youthhongkong@hkfyg.org.hk and let us know.

Enough support for sport?

Best foot forward: HKFYG 50th Anniversary Walkathon

On Sunday 28 November, thousands of people joined in the HKFYG 50th Anniversary Charity Walkathon. The kick-off, with the Chief Secretary for Administration, The Hon Henry Tang, GBM, GBS, JP as Guest of Honour, took place at Hong Kong Science Park Amphitheatre in Shatin. From there, along the Tolo Harbour Cycle Track, families and friends made their way to Taipo Waterfront Park. Proceeds are going to the Youth Support Fund to help young people with special needs.

Web http://walkathon.hkfyg.org.hk

Sources 1

Centre for Disease Control, “ Make a difference at your school” at http://www. cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/keystrategies/index.htm (accessed 29 October 2010)

2

See website to the conference: http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/spe/obesity2008/ album.html (accessed 29 October 2010)

3

Editorial, South China Morning Post, “Schools hold the key to winning war on obesity”, 25 October 2010 .

4

See, “Michelle Obama to launch initiative fighting child obesity” in USA Today, 20 January 2010, on http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/201001-20-michelle-obama-obesity_N.htm (accessed 29 October 2010)

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Arts & culture Dancing comes in many shapes and forms at HKFYG. Programmes took off with the Hong Kong Youth Dance troupe, as part of the work of the Leisure, Cultural & Sports Services unit. In this roundup of news and views from Hong Kong’s world of young, talented dancers, we hear about their motivation to dance, what dance gives them, and what they give to others through their dancing.

Why I dance

by Sugar Chan, member of Hong Kong Youth Dance I have been dancing since I was in secondary school. I started because most of my friends danced. Now, I can’t imagine life without dancing. For me the experience is almost spiritual, but it also helps me feel connected with the world.

The first dancing group I ever belonged to was the HKFYG’s Hong Kong Youth Dance troupe. It was set up in 2008 and provides its members with regular training in dance techniques.

It also gives us a platform on which to perform Hip Hop, Jazz Funk and Modern Dance.

I have been one of the troupe for three years and it has been a truly unique experience. I didn’t just learn dance steps and techniques, I made friends and became myself. For this, I have to give credit to my teachers, Andy Wong, Frankie Lui and Larry Cheng. I learnt so much from them, both in dancing or in self-awareness.

“Feeling young at heart and having fire in my body gives me the biggest drive to teach youth people to dance. I keep reminding myself to reassure them.

Always to tell them how good they are, to reinforce all their efforts rather than [only] performances.” Frankie Lui

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Arts & culture My dance teachers have been my life teachers. Not only did they teach me how to perform on stage they also kept asking me, “What are you doing there? Who are you? “Why do you perform? Is it just for yourself or are you trying to attract attention?”

Youth Dance with HKFYG

The Hong Kong Youth Dance (HKYD) troupe, formed in 2008, is at the core of youth dancing at the Federation. Another example is Project Dancing which runs at the Jockey Club Farm Road Youth SPOT.

Those questions meant a lot to me as I was growing up and I have asked myself the same questions many times. As a teenager, they were transformative and helped me realize how I really felt about performing. I understand now that I don’t dance just to please the audience. I also dance for myself. I dance because I am. •

A group of about 30 young dancers formed HKYD about three years ago. They have been perfecting techniques of Modern Dance, Hip Hop and Jazz under the tutelage of choreographer, Andy Wong, as Sugar Chan relates. He is now forming two new groups from the original HKYD and both will start performing in 2011. HKYD will grow considerably as a result. The two groups of dancers will perform by invitation or to entertain underprivileged and handicapped people in the community.

The bigger group is known as Dancing Angels. It was first formed

by Andy in 2005 and will have a complement of 70 dancers aged between 17 and 40 by January 2011. Members from various professions are invited to join and they perform mainly Modern Dance.

The second group are the HKYD Ambassadors Recruitment of budding dancers aged 14-25 is taking place now. Their focus will be Hip Hop and Jazz.

Contact Michelle Ho, tel 2395 5753 Web http://hkyd.hkfyg.org.hk

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Arts & culture

Project Dancing: an integral programme for youth

The aim of this project at HKFYG’s Jockey Club Farm Road Youth SPOT is to cultivate youth development by integrating professional dance training with life-planning, career development, volunteer services, competition and performance. Project Dancing was established in 2008 and has grown from a small group with 10 members to four groups with a total of over 40 members. The dancers perform at schools and functions open to the public.

They say...

“Dancing helps me build up my self-confidence. It gives me lost of energy. All my worries go away. It’s so relaxing. I love dancing. I love the stage. I can dance anywhere, anytime. If you haven’t danced, you haven’t lived! Trust me, try it!”

Lillian “I really feel dancing has a magic power. When I’m troubled dancing can make me forget my problems. If I see myself in the mirror when I dance, I think I see the real me.” Po-lam “When I was young, I was always desperate to learn to dance. I am often sick and it makes me feel stronger. I’m so happy to have the chance to dance.”

Maisy Contact Terrence Zee, tel 2715 0424

Joint School Dance Competition

The Joint School Dance Competition has been run by the Federation with sponsorship from You.C1000 for the last three years. It takes place in the summer and in 2010, 77 secondary school dance teams took part. Instructors from some of Hong Kong’s famous dancing schools served as judges.

Web http://dance.hkfyg.org.hk

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Arts & culture

Dance for your life

Dance is also a feature of outreach work at HKFYG. Window, a former drug abuser, teaches teenagers break dancing for an HKFYG outreach project designed to help young offenders to reintegrate. It is called Project Shine. Window says break dancing for him is like life itself, the best form of self-expression.

“We now have a sports centre for break dancing. Before it was built, we danced in the open. I understand what these teens think since I have been through it all myself. Break dance lets them express their true selves.”

Window For more on Project Shine, see the story of Wing on page 8.

Flash Dance

A big HKFYG dance project involved 100 young volunteer dancers recruited as Flash Dance Ambassadors. Called the Flash Dance Project, it was co-organized by the Federation at the invitation of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council and was a highlight of the 2010 Hong Kong Dance Festival. They were given free training by a team of choreographers in Hip Hop, Jazz Funk and Modern Dance. They performed in eight different venues throughout Hong Kong, from August to November, culminating in the opening performance at the launch of Operation Santa Claus on the G/F piazza of the HSBC headquarters in Queen’s Road Central. The shows were televised by TVB and RTHK. Web http://csu.hkfyg.org.hk/chi/flash.html

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Travel

Welcoming the New Year with lights: Diwali

by Anaita Tejpal

Diwali means “Festival of Lights” and it celebrates the triumph of good over evil. Although it is an Indian festival, its spirit is embraced across the world. In Hong Kong, a culturally diverse place with people from all sorts of backgrounds, Diwali is celebrated by people of varying nationalities, with Diwali parties in numerous restaurants and Bollywood songs in many homes.

Celebration, a time of joy, happiness and enjoyment Everyone looks forward to Diwali, or Deepavali. It is the Hindu New Year when people get together to celebrate culture and heritage.

Students across Hong Kong embrace diversity by getting involved in cultural activities. One example is the annual Diwali Ball at West Island School.

The Diwali Ball is an entirely student-led event which involved more than 150 performers this year. They danced Bollywood numbers for an audience of 350 people, taking pride in being a part of the show and showcasing both talent and culture. It was a night when families came together, both to socialize and celebrate the achievements of their daughters and sons. Students of all age groups, nationalities and backgrounds gave up their time to rehearse for months in order to make the show both successful and memorable.

Raising awareness of Indian culture and traditions Each year a concept is chosen and this year it was the Indian version of the game show, “Who wants to be a Millionaire?” which is known in India as “Kaun Banega Crorepati?”. Entirely scripted, directed and stagemanaged by students, the show was about the achievements of a family participating in the game, but it was also intended to raise awareness of Indian culture and traditions by the nature of the questions asked.

Cultural diversity is a prominent feature of Hong Kong and people support their peers by celebrating with them. During the Indian New Year, they dine out together in Indian restaurants or attend a Diwalithemed party. Diwali is extremely important for Indians across the world and by wearing Indian clothes or greeting friends on Facebook, one can show appreciation for their culture.

For me, Diwali is extremely important. I celebrate my culture and background, I wear Indian clothes and I participate in cultural rituals with my family. Having lived in India and celebrated Diwali there every

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Photos by Mystic Musings, San Sharma (Flickr/Creative Commons)

Diwali traditionally marks the return of Lord Rama, and goddesses Sita and Lakshmi, to the kingdom of Ayodhya which was illuminated in celebration. Today, homes are lit with small clay lamps, new clothes are bought and sweets are distributed to neighbours. Diwali is a time of sharing gifts, spreading happiness, and bringing smiles to faces.

year until I was 9, I find myself missing the delicious, sweet Indian mithais and the sound of firecrackers which fills the air.

Despite the fact that Hong Kong embraces cultural diversity, I do still miss the distinct feeling of Diwali that I remember in India. Dancing to the Bollywood beat and eating Indian delicacies are a good substitute and definitely an enjoyable way to celebrate, but for me the true Diwali scene can only be experienced in the streets of India, amongst individuals bustling with energy, singing and dancing.

Nevertheless, Diwali is the celebration of lights. It marks the start of a new and prosperous year. Even if firecrackers do not shoot across the sky, bright candlelight decorates every Indian household. Buy yourself some traditional Indian clothes and make sure to celebrate festivities and the amazing culture of your friends. Embrace diversity. It is all around you. •

Travel

The Chinese experience: Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong

by Au Ka-lam Singapore is a multiethnic society with a multicultural atmosphere unlike Hong Kong. I went to markets with my aunt, where we chatted with local people and with the entire family I went to food centres where we ate Peranakan food, a melting pot of Chinese, Malayan and Indonesian.

It was all a great opportunity to experience life like a real Singaporean.

I believe that life is to be enjoyed, and travel helps us appreciate it. We experience different cultures, meet lovely people and try out tasty foods.

There are so many ways to enjoy travel and make life more meaningful at the same time.

Shopping and eating In Singapore, for example, where I spent two weeks at my uncle’s home, I went to many famous places like Little India, Chinatown and Katong.

Taiwan was different again. In Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung I saw typical commercial downtown areas. But the small villages brimmed over with peace and the hospitality of the Taiwanese people. In some ways it seemed like visiting mainland China. People looked like same. Roads and buildings seemed similar, but you knew that really they were quite different.

Costume and communication Clothes and language reveal other aspects of cultural difference that you can see when you travel. Although Hong Kong people are usually smartly turned out, the young Taiwanese are sometimes described as being even more stylish whereas Singaporeans tend to be casual.

However, youth in Singapore and Taiwan both have an advantage over Hong Kong where language is concerned. Singaporeans are more fluent in English than Hong Kong youth and Taiwanese speak better Putonghua. Travel makes you realize how important it is to speak languages well.

Photo by Sengkang (Wikimedia Commons)

Home and away There is no doubt that Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong all have their advantages. People can enjoy a life of peace and prosperity in any of them. But without having visited all three, I wouldn’t know how fantastic the world is, or be so grateful to live in Hong Kong, even if it does have more serious air pollution than the others. Travel widens our horizons. Above all, it shows us we should cherish and treasure what we have. •

Note West Island School is part of the English Schools Foundation which caters to a diverse range of students.

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Feature

In the loop

Dress to impress!

by Asia Bibi

Why does looking good matter so much, especially for young people, and most of all for girls? Is fashion the driver? Does being fashionable make you feel self-confident? One of the in-crowd? We asked a couple of young ladies, and this is what they said.

Fascination and obsession Walking round a crowded Hong Kong shopping mall with people all dressed up is fascinating. The other day for example, I was out with my best friend and we were gazing at one beautifully dressed girl after another, when she said, “I’m going to buy the latest Gucci handbag soon and a Marc Jacob dress for the party.” “Are you insane?” was my immediate response. “It’s gonna cost you a fortune!” Yet, she went on mumbling about the design and ignored me altogether. It just goes to show how obsessed the majority teenagers are in Hong Kong when it comes to fashion and shopping.

There’s no question that keeping track of the latest trends has become a priority for Hong Kong teens. The textile industries can make the most of this. Teenagers like to just buy what they fancy. That means they boost

demand and the suppliers respond, so that’s good for the economy!

Savvy choice, fitting in Brand-name goods are pricey but you can often get something similar and cheaper in the local shops. Keeping up with fashion also helps teenagers fit in with their peers, as they mostly want to buy similar clothes and other things. If they don’t, they usually feel left out and that can lower self-esteem. If you want to keep on hanging out with peers, you have to dress accordingly.

Inevitably, “Made in China” products make life for Hong Kong youth easier. You can buy “look-alikes” of big brand names easily here and satisfy your passion for new fashion at a fraction of the price. Although teenagers are more likely to recognize the look of a certain brand, they are less likely to be statusconscious about the price, so they are quite happy to have a copy. e-fashion shopping option Long gone are the days when everyone used to walk the streets for hours to shop. While some still prefer traditional shopping, online shopping has given shoppers another way to fill their wardrobes with must-have items. Not only is “e-shopping” convenient but it can be done from another part of the world. Of course you can always bargain too, and that’s certainly an option for less well-off young people.

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So why exactly does one crave to look the best?

Celebrities play an important part. They are some of our role models. Some fashion trends in Hong Kong show that there is an obsession with things Japanese here. Young people are always talking about learning Japanese, travelling to Japan and having bangs and cute dresses like the ones Japanese models and TV stars are wearing. Following the trend plays a crucial part.

To make the dream of owning these products a reality, most teenagers choose to shop in places like Mongkok where the small packed stores, cheap prices and variety of clothing to choose from makes the experience worthwhile. Indoor shoppers never have to leave disappointed. There are so many options in Hong Kong it’s impossible to list them all.

The list would be never-ending.

Feature Mirror mirror on the wall So, is this enthusiasm and passion for fashion really worth all the effort you have to make?

It may boost your self-esteem there is a price you have to pay for being fashionable. We all are made differently, with different shapes and sizes, so what looks good on one may not look good on another. Many teenagers start suffering from eating disorders, either because they eat less than is healthy for them or because they eat unhealthy food. Not eating enough, just to make sure you can fit into that

dress, surely isn’t a wise decision, but peer pressure is so high that some teenagers feel forced into such habits. Personally I believe that you should wear what makes you feel confident. Be who you are and wear what you are, if you look like someone else then who needs you? •

And who says beauty is all about sizes, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.

A chance to re-invent your self Multi-culture and couture Hong Kong, with its international environment, is a combination of different cultures reflected in the way people dress.

Most of the inspiration and ideas come from Japan, Korea or the west, rather than Hong Kong itself, which does not have much of a tradition for local and innovative designs.

the courage and the imagination to use the latest trends to your advantage and create your own special look, with your own particular flair.

In Hong Kong, being fashionable can be an expensive business. If people want to keep up with the latest trends, they have to spend a lot to get imported clothes and just to ensure an ever-changing “look”.

Fashion is not about spending lots of money and looking the same as everyone else. Fashion is all about having fun!

by June Leung

Really, fashion is a way of re-inventing yourself. It provides an opportunity to try something new and change your identity or mood as you change your look. •

Seriously fashionable Those who are very serious about fashion tend to buy lots of magazines and study the different trends. They are also the type of people who buy only brand name clothes or will even go abroad to shop. Just to keep up!

However, I believe that what makes a person fashionable is not simply copying trends and looking like an advertisement come alive from a magazine, but inserting your own personality into what you wear.

Courage, imagination, flair I think that if you want to be noticed, if you want to be really fashionable, you need to have

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Kaleidoscope

The founding of the Federation

by George Stokes

George Stokes is a man of compassion and commitment. Still tall and upright despite the 50 years that have passed since he founded the organization, George has an enduring loyalty to Hong Kong youth. His memories of the 1960s bring alive once more the resettlement crisis when he was here in his late 30s.

“The 1960s were a most interesting and challenging time for me. I came to Hong Kong from London at the invitation of InterChurch Aid, which is now called Christian Aid. I was given the names of a committee who would guide me. The help of Peter Tsang, the Field Secretary, was especially useful, not only because of language but because he had great understanding of the Chinese people and history.”

“One day an American from a charity arrived. He said, ‘If I had some money, what would you do with it?’ We were well-prepared. The plan was right there in the drawer. We got our camp. That was the start of the present day Sai Kung camp.”

I am so proud of my part in the work of the Federation. Now it has grown so large, it meets so many needs in the community, has so many different activities and such a keen, enthusiastic staff that I am proud

It was World Refugee Year and I saw an exhibition about the difficulties

still to be thought of as an honorary member. I celebrated the 45th

that people from China were facing in Hong Kong. They had so

anniversary with you. Now, 5 years on, we celebrate the 50th. May the

little. I wanted to help them. The hillsides were teeming with children

good work continue for another 50 years.•

from squatter huts, dressed in snowy white school uniforms, carefully laundered by desperately poor, labouring parents. All they had were a bucket, a bar of soap and a standpipe in the street.

“I remember standing in Wanchai as the trams rattled past feeling alone, illiterate and completely culturally ignorant. There followed a period of learning about the place and the people, and discovering the needs of the young.”

After a time of research and finding people to help we began training youth leaders and trying to find places where we could open clubs. By the time I left in 1970, the foundations of the HKFYG were established.

The Federation's 45th anniversary celebration

We drew up plans, unrealistic though they seemed at the time. One idea was for a camp in the countryside, with canoeing and dinghy sailing. We knew there was no money for it but we did costings and put them away in a bottom drawer.

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Image by Hong Kong Observatory

Kaleidoscope

Photo by Eternal1966 (Flickr/Creative Commons)

Hillsides with squatter huts

Old Wanchai trams

Mr. Stokes at the Federation's 25th anniversary

Clear objectives, solid foundations

In the 1965-66 Annual Report, Mr Stokes wrote that one of the Federation’s objectives was “to foster the public recognition of and support for youth group work, youth groups being for young persons of 14 years and upwards and designed to provide them with character-training and healthy interests, and to inculcate a sense of responsibility and self-sufficiency.”

The beginnings of the Sai Kung camp (above and below)

One of the other objectives at that time was the promotion of other youth groups, and this work is still reflected in its English name today. Although HKFYG no longer has this role, its work of fostering young people, supporting their healthy, rounded development as well as helping to instill in them the “sense of responsibility and self-sufficiency”, referred to by Mr Stokes, continues undimmed. As he said, “The most important thing is that the foundation we laid 50 years ago is still firm. The details are different but the ethos is exactly the same.”

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Advertise in Youth Hong Kong Youth Hong Kong is for all who are concerned with young people. Published four times a year, it focuses on themes such as the internet, education, careers, health, the environment, arts and culture.

Please visit youthhongkong.hkfyg.org.hk for details on advertising rates. For more information, please contact Andrey Leung (3755 7041) or email youthhongkong@hkfyg.org.hk.

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By courtesy of FormAsia Books Ltd - Hong Kong

Publisher The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups www.hkfyg.org.hk • www.u21.hk

香港青年協會

Address Youth Hong Kong 21/F, The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups Building, 21 Pak Fuk Road, North Point, Hong Kong Tel: 3755 7084 • 3755 7284 • Fax: 3755 7155 Email: youthhongkong@hkfyg.org.hk • Website: youthhongkong.hkfyg.org.hk The title of this journal in Chinese is Xiang Gang Qing Nian 香港青年