experimenting with possibilities of rehabilitation for the physically crippled. The first inmates were admitted on 30th April, 1955 and by the end of the year numbered 190, of whom 38 were dependents. Under the guidance of Mr. Y. C. Wu the Centre made a good start, and classes were established in print- ing, tailoring and carpentry, while bead stringing and plastic bag making were the activities of the sheltered workshops. A school was opened for the children of inmates, and medical attention was afforded by a resident dresser supplemented by the weekly visits of a doctor from Cheung Chau. (See Appendix XV).
64. The principle of the centre is that the physically handicapped should be rehabilitated so that they might at a later stage return to normal competitive existence in Hong Kong. Unfortunately the number of staff was restricted and it has not been possible to provide suitable training for all the inmates. Further it was recognized that not all could respond to such training, and so sheltered workshops were established. The rates of pay were the same as those obtaining in Hong Kong and the participants contributed towards their upkeep in the Centre. Some form of work was required of the inmates and in this way the Centre was maintained, kept clean and supplied with vegetables. The present unemployment problem in Hong Kong has been the most formidable barrier to successful rehabilitation of crippled inmates in the Centre.
65. In the sphere of voluntary activity, the British Red Cross Society started classes for children in the orthopaedic ward of one of the hospitals, and in February 1956 the Society for the Relief of Disabled Children laid the foundation stone of its convalescent home, initially designed to receive 25 crippled children. In the latter part of the year the Hong Kong Society for the Blind was incorporated, its energies being at first devoted to the raising of funds towards the construction of a new centre.
66. By the end of March 1956, some 900 blind persons had been registered by the Special Welfare Services Section of the
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