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Airport
fun for kids with young volunteers
"Children's Fun & Games"
has been a great success in the past so the Federation's
Youth Volunteer Network (VNET) will be working with the
Airport Authority again in the Departure
Hall every Saturday from October to December and on Christmas
Day. Students
in F4 or above will be recruited and trained this month
to teach children how to make local handicrafts as souvenirs
and play games with them. They will have the chance to
make tourists and their children from around the world
feel welcome in Hong Kong, giving the kids some fun and
their parents some light relief from the stress of travel.
For more information about the Youth Volunteer Network,
please tel 2169 0032 or click here to learn more about
the programme:
http://www.hkfyg.org.hk/yvn/cfng
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ING
sponsors musical youth voluntary programme
ING is
sponsoring the Federation's Youth Volunteer Network to
organize a musical programme
entitled "樂聲「義」重奏 " this September and October
and on Christmas Day. 150 students from junior secondary
school who play instruments will be recruited and
trained to make
visits to children's
hospitals and youth centres where they will perform for
children with disabilities and those from disadvantaged
families. Well known comedian, Jim Chim, will teach the
youngsters how to communicate with music and body language.
The aim is to give them
some
experience
of cooperative communication and build up their sense
of belonging to their community through contributing
to its well-being. More informtion from YVN at
2169 0032 or click here:
http://www.hkfyg.org.hk/yvn
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Project
on Parent-child Conflict Mediation
This new major project for
parents and their children is funded by Operation
Santa Claus which is managed jointly by the South
China Morning Post & Radio Hong
Kong 5. It will provide a wide range of services
which will include hotlines, professional counselling,
family interviews,
joint parent-child activities and workshops. We hope
these comprehensive services and the associated training
will help solve parent-child conflicts at home, improve
family relationships and bring harmony and peace. Please
contact the Parenting Unit, tel 2402 9230, for more information.
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| Upcoming
events |
| 46th
HKFYG Annual General Meeting
|
21 September 2006
6:00pm
Duke of Windsor Social Service Building Auditorium
Guest of Honour:
Ms Sandra Lee Shuk-yee, JP
Permanent Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food |
2006
Hong Kong Beach Festival now recruiting youth
volunteers
|
International Women's Beach Volleyball
and Beach Handball Challenge
Events at Kowloon Park:
3-5 November: Handball
10-12 November:
Volleyball
As a supporting organization for the 2006 Hong Kong Beach
Festival, the Federation is helping to recruit 170 F.6
or older youth volunteers.
Deadline for applications: 18 September 2006
Please contact the Youth Volunteer Network at 2169 0032
or click here for more information: http://www.hkfyg.org.hk/yvn/2006hkbf/
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| The war on drugs |
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|
Alarm bells rang at the
Federation this summer when the police announced that young
drug users were up by over 30 per cent. The news came out
a few days after the tragic death of a 13-year-old caused
by a cocktail of hallucinogens. Now, the biggest ever haul
of the hallucinogenic drug, ketamine has been made in Hong
Kong. These events are taking place against a background
of unprecedented increase worldwide in the number of young
girls picking up the drug habit* and when Hong Kong children
of just 8 years old getting hooked. We are very concerned
and need more resources to tackle the problem.
|
Why do teenagers
take drugs? For some, it all starts with drinking. For others,
it's a question of fashion and undesirable peer influence.
In Mongkok discos, drugs are cheaper and easier to find than
ever, so how can youngsters be motivated to give them up?
We believe that the concerted efforts of parents, schools,
the police, social workers and the medical profession are
needed to teach young drug-takers the error of their ways.
Reformed addicts also make excellent teachers. Whatever your
background
you
can
help us raise awareness.
Please contact Luk Wai-kwok, 2402 9230 for more information
on services for this group.
See this week's Feature Story for an interview with girls on
Project Pretty – our latest rehabilitation programme being
sponsored by Operation Santa Claus.
|
| Feature
Story |
| Gently gently: giving
girls alternatives to drugs Federation
outreach workers look out for teenage girls who experiment
with drugs or tend to get mixed up with the wrong crowd.
They are exposed to more risk than their male peers because
of their vulnerability. In the US, there has been a dramatic
increase in the number of girls picking up the drug habit*
and we are alert to the same trends here. That's why
HKFYG started running Project Pretty (PP).
|
First, PP helps girls with
problems build a positive self-image. Next, it offers training
to encourage them back on the right track. Ultimately,
it aims to show them a different way of life where they
can help others and be completely integrated. About 100
girls have volunteered so far. They have a host of optional
activities to choose from which range from job-hunting
techniques to reading tarot cards. Some were referred by
the police, others were found by outreach staff in discos
and a few are school dropouts. |
At first contact, the girls are offered
a free health check-up. They are often worried about the
adverse effects of drugs and alcohol and want to know if
their
blood pressure, pulse, lung function and body fat levels
are normal.
"I've never been able to afford a health check before,"
said Lara, "I jumped at the chance."
"...and I wanted to do the makeup classes," said Zuku,
"I'm 21 and I work as a waitress. I didn't know
a thing about
makeup but I feel so much better now – and people tell
me I look better. I've learned how to make friends
and that
helps at work too." |
 |
| Zuku heard about PP from Ah Kwan, social worker
at the HKFYG Youth Support Scheme in Tuen Mun: |
"Zuku learned some basic communication skills as part of
vocational training with us at Tsuen Wan," says Ah Kwan.
"She says she wants to work in customer services eventually
– although for now her ambition is to be a DJ actually! Either
way, she sees that getting along with people matters a lot."
Ah Tung, a 14-year-old IVE student joined PP in July: |
 |
| "I wanted to learn the circus tricks," she says. "A
social worker called Anna told me about them. I used to
spend all
my time playing video games when I went home to avoid having
rows with mum. I thought this would help kill time. Actually,
the best thing is that we put on some performances at primary
schools and taught the kids how to juggle. It made me feel
really happy to see them enjoy it so much." |
| All the girls are offered sex education too.
They mostly come from depressed areas and many are educationally
deprived. With PP they build self-esteem, learning skills
such as makeup, find new friends and learn positive ways
to release tension such as modern dance and kickboxing. |
| "I went for the kickboxing," said Trista. "It
makes me feel good. All the tension goes and I feel great,
so relaxed afterwards." |
| Queenie, an HKFYG outreach worker, found Trista
in Wong Tai Sin: |
| "She's only a Form 4 student but was always
hanging out with her friends in the park. She said her parents
wouldn't be home and that she got into arguments with them
when they were. To begin with, she lacked motivation and
when she started the kick-boxing she was a bit scared because
she didn't know anyone. That didn't last long." |
| "I didn't want people laughing at me," said
Trista, "then I realized I was quite good at it and I felt
a lot more confident. Just learning something new made me
feel a lot better. I didn't really think it would change
much at home..." she hesitated ... "but actually
things are getting better there too. I go home quite early
now and I had a summer
job. That made me see how hard my parents work. When they
get home late I understand and we talk more." |
| It's early days for the project and the girls
are still a bit reluctant to say how it's going for them
but several, like Trista, have started work, boosted by an
improved self image and the job skills training they got
with PP: |
| "The chance to perform in public felt really
great. The people in the audience loved me and it was fantastic
being able to please them." |
| We are looking for another 150 girls to take
part and we need professionals do the training. Some of the
girls have already volunteered to come back and befriend
the newcomers, passing on what they have learned. We need
your help too. If you would like to offer any expert skills
or professional advice, your time or cash sponsorship so that
we can expand the scale of our work, please email yar@hkfyg.org.hk. |
| Facts & Figures |
Underage
smokers
Official figures released in August this
year show that 14.8% of 15-19 year olds in Hong Kong are
smokers and almost 60% of all regular smokers pick up the
habit in their teens.* This compares quite well with figures
from the US,** where 23% of all teenagers smoke, but badly
with Canada, where just 8% of the 12-17 year olds were
smokers according to latest statistics.*** |
|
|
70% of all young smokers
have their first cigarette between the ages of 10 and 14.
The youngest smoker found by a recent Hong Kong survey
was just 4 years old. Almost 90% of tobacco retailers in
Hong Kong turn a blind eye to underage buyers ."When you
have money, there is always a way to buy cigarettes," said
a Form 5 student**** who also said it was easy to just
buy single cigarette at $2 each if a whole pack was too
much.
|
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Eat
well at breakfast or learn badly
Eating the right food for breakfast can have
a dramatic effect on learning capacity according to evidence
released at the end of August by Duke University researchers
in the US.* 4,000 primary school children were checked
for the difference made by eating the right food before
they went to school. Significant effects on short-term
memory, understanding new information and verbal fluency
were found. |
|
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Brain power |
Breakfast food examples |
Result |
Low glycemic index (LGCI)* |
Oatmeal, wholegrain bread, banana |
Prolonged raised blood sugar |
High glycemic index |
sugared cereal, potato chips, doughnuts |
Quick rise then drop in blood sugar mid-morning |
Difference: |
20% better memory
with LGCI* |
|
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This news is timely. It comes when a poll
study** on 6,735 kindergarten children by the Hong Kong
Council of
Social Service and the Chinese University has just shown
that 20% of them go to school hungry. Family income affects
the pattern, with nearly half of those from families with
an income of under HK$5,000 having no breakfast at all compared
to 10% of those from the HK$10,000+ income bracket families.
In an Australian study,*** where 25% of all school children
skipped breakfast, the same link with income level
was found.
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