working as partners, with the opportunity for an important experiment. The first of a series of Community Centres was approaching completion at the end of the year in Wong Tai Sin Resettlement Estate, financed by a donation of over a million dollars from the Government of the United States of America. To this large five-storeyed building, on the plan of a primary school of 24 classrooms, are to be transferred some services, such as a family casework centre and a mothers' club, which are already functioning elsewhere in the Estate. Added to these will be a day nursery for the care of 200 children of working mothers, vocational training courses and other group work for young people, a library and facilities for adult recreation and entertainment of many kinds; at least four voluntary organizations will co-operate with the Department in these activities. The underlying aim is that the provision, under one roof, of a variety of services which are known and valued by the inhabitants of this estate should encourage them to use this building as a focus for their collective social needs and so for the development of a community spirit in the Estate. A second donation of similar size has been made by the United Kingdom World Refugee Year Committee and will be used to build another Community Centre at Tsuen Wan, a rapidly growing industrial town of over 100,000 people on the mainland fifteen miles from Kowloon, which at present has scarcely any social welfare facilities. Further substantial donations have since been received or promised from overseas under the World Refugee Year appeal, both from Governments and from public subscription; and much support from abroad has reached voluntary organizations operating in Hong Kong. The scale of international assistance and the interest and concern shown in Hong Kong have been most encouraging. In brief, the result of the appeal has been that several important projects which could not have been financed with local resources for several years are now on the way to being realized; fresh impetus has thus been given to social work in Hong Kong, and a spur to further effort.
4. It is fortunate that these developments have been accompanied by a favourable internal trend in the economy of Hong Kong, leading to a distinct improvement in wage rates and considerably increased opportunities for employment. The people of Hong Kong are notably industrious and want nothing better than stable work at wages which will provide properly for their families. More work at better wages at once relieves the pressure of social needs, not merely in relief and public assistance but in other fields. Whether this improvement will continue
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