The underprivileged families living in Tin Shui Wai display every sign of multi-generational poverty: malnutrition, low employment, behavioural problems and the severely low self esteem that comes with a poverty subculture.

Sze, one of the Federation's social workers at Tin Yuet Youth SPOT was very direct in her assessment. Asked how she can tell who is poor, she replied:

'It's obvious. Their clothes are ragged and their shoes are falling apart. When it's lunch-time they are still hanging around with nowhere else to go. Probably 5-10% of the pupils in the two government secondary schools in Tin Shui Wai are like this. They collect papers after school and sell them for recycling at $1 a kilogram.'

What are the ways out for them? How can the social workers help?

'There are 4-6 year-olds who come to the centre at night with siblings a few years older. Their parents are not at home and they have nothing to eat. Sometimes they have had no breakfast or lunch. We give them food and look after them till closing time at 10pm. Then it's a case of falling back on neighbourhood support systems that we set up.'

The problem of coping is the worst for single parent families:

'The single mothers get desperate. They have emotional, financial and psychological problems to cope with, as well as the behavioural problems of their children. Single fathers are in an equally dire position. There are Hong Kong men in their 60s or older who have married twice. A second wife is often far younger and if the man loses his job the common pattern is for her to leave him with the kids and disappear.'

There are also schemes funded by donations and subsidies to help children with extracurricular activities, learn IT and receive extra tuition. Some of the parents talked about this. Didi, a single parent on CSSA whose children are taking part told us:

'My two girls are 8 and 9. They go to Sunday classes in arts and handicrafts. They love it and I think they are talented but I won't be able to afford it when the subsidy ends.'

Summer, whose husband recently lost his job, gets a subsidy so that her daughter can go to weekly abacus classes:

'It helps her maths and her concentration but just as important is that she makes friends.'

The opportunity to get out and make friends is vital for these children whose lives are otherwise so circumspect. Another parent, Mrs Lee, spoke of her daughter:

'She's been getting a subsidy for the after school care programme, with extra tutoring and a chance of getting better exam results. Our household income is less than $7,000 a month and the programme costs $1,000. Without the subsidy it's impossible.'

Mr Wong's son joined the same programme with a partial subsidy for two years:

'They have all-round services, not only help with homework. My boy has made friends there, learnt table tennis and how to use the internet. A counsellor helps him too.

These schemes are working quite well but the subsidies are temporary and there is a huge amount still to be done. The most important thing is simply giving the kids time, encouragement and recognition for the efforts they make but donations of equipment and cash also go a long way.

'What they need most is care and attention. They don't really need a structured environment with organized activities, except in the school holidays perhaps, when many of them are sent back to relatives on the Mainland with nothing to keep them occupied. Opportunity is what they lack and we try to give it in every way possible.'

What can you give? Cash donation, old office computers perhaps or English lessons? Please contact Bonnie in the Partnership Office 2123 9598 if you can help.

Counting the poor

The number of children who are defined as poor depends, ultimately, on where the ‘poverty line’ is drawn. In international statistics, that depends on four calculations.* First, household income net of tax is calculated. Second, households are ranked by needs to achieve equivalent living standards (eg a 2-parent family with 2 teenage children is ranked as needing 54% more income than a couple without children.) Third, median household income is calculated. Last, income at the poverty line can be calculated.

In Hong Kong, poverty figures are based on families with 50% of the median income. A family of 4 is defined as poor if the maximum total household income is HK$10,350 per month.** In Britain, monthly median household income in 2004-05 was ￡1512 (approx HK$22,250). The poverty line is set at 60% of median income and was equivalent to HK$13,350 at that time.

24% of British children were classified as poor in the late 90s, casting a curious reflection on our own statistics where 25% of Hong Kong children are classified as poor. However, child poverty can be measured in a number of ways. The international standard measure does not include housing costs whereas Hong Kong, public housing is very generous.

A comparison of trends in poverty in different countries should also take into account PPP (purchasing power parity) or the buying power of the local currency. For example, in Hong Kong, $5,000 bought almost twice as much in 1988 as it did in 1998. However, because of the economic downturn, $5,000 bought exactly the same in 2005 as it did in 1995.*** Although the situation in Hong Kong is serious, when compared to the rest of Asia where nearly half of the children live in extreme poverty without safe drinking water, food, medical services or shelter, we should consider ourselves fortunate.

*The Economist 17 June 2006
**Social Welfare Department, Median Monthly Domestic Household Income, Third Quarter 2006
***South China Morning Post 9 May 2006

The economic dependence on family of Hong Kong youth

A survey* of 535 young Hong Kong people aged 18 to 34 was conducted by the Federation in the second half of November 2006. It showed a trend for the transitional phase from youth to adulthood getting longer and predicted a continuation of this trend.

94.6% of the respondents wanted economic independence as soon as possible, yet a considerable number (19.2%) of those aged 30 to 34 were still dependent on their families for housing and approximately 10% of these said their parents still gave them pocket money. Nearly 60% of all respondents said they had no plan to leave the family home and 30% of these gave lack of finance as their reason.

Among those interviewed, major factors identified for achieving economic independence were a stable income (57.5%) and a full time job (55.6%). 18% considered 30 a good age at which to become economically independent. The study found five potential factors which prevent young adults becoming independent. They are continued higher education, low pay, the willingness of parents to continue providing support, the increasing uncertainty of employment and the rising costs of accommodation.

*A Study on Economic Dependence on Family among Young People in Hong Kong （香港青年對家庭經濟依賴的研究）Youth Study Series no. 36, HKFYG

Federation poll on parent-child conflict

The Federation conducted an opinion poll* with 505 parents and 509 young people aged 10-19. Of the young people, nearly 55% said they had argued with their father and 59% had argued with their mother in the past year. Time spent online was one main reason. Academic results and attitudes to study were other important factors. Over 60% of them said they felt unfairly accused by either their father or mother during conflicts and more than 50% said they couldn’t understand their parents.

Over 60% of parents reported conflict in the past year, attributing the arguments largely to their children being lazy or spending too much time playing online or video games. Of those who had been in conflict with their children, approximately 64% admitted that they couldn’t understand their children and over 48% said they didn’t know how to handle conflict when it occurred. Of the total parents interviewed, 30% said they wouldn’t seek outside help, mainly because they thought they could handle the problem alone.

*http://www.hkfyg.org.hk/yrc/chinese/yr-p154c.html

HKFYG Poll on Hong Kong’s performance at the Doha Asian Games

The Federation conducted an opinion poll* last December, after the Doha Asian Games. Of the 373 young people aged 12-34 interviewed, 22% were proud of the performance of the Hong Kong athletes and nearly 40% felt glad about their performance. 29.2% were most pleased with the athletes’ ability to beat their own previous records.

More than 10% said they were now more interested in cycling, table tennis and badminton but 61.5% thought the HKSAR Government hadn’t dedicated enough resources to nurture local athletes. Because Beijing will host the 2008 Olympic Games, 69.3% said they would like to go as spectators, 38.4% said they would like to go as volunteers and 42.4% said they would like to volunteer help at the HK equestrian events.

* http://www.hkfyg.org.hk/yrc/chinese/yr-p156c.html