}
there is constant interchange and mutual assistance, amounting in effect to interdependence. A glance at the list of financial subventions in Appendix 2 will reveal the degree to which Government relies on voluntary organizations to carry out the responsibilities which the community requires to be discharged for the benefit of its less fortunate members; on the other side, the voluntary bodies in Hong Kong are frequently supported and helped by the Social Welfare Department, in training their own staff, in promoting new ventures, and sometimes by the loan of experienced officers for particular purposes; other Depart- ments of Government co-operate in similar fashion.
84. The needs in this field may appear immense, even limitless, in comparison with the resources which can be deployed to meet them; but we in Hong Kong do have as an invaluable asset in the campaign for social betterment the most friendly spirit of collaboration between official and voluntary bodies. Without this spirit and without the massive and diverse contribution which the voluntary organizations make to the whole, the efforts of the Department itself would bear little fruit.
D. W. B. BARON, Director of Social Welfare.
15th July, 1958.
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