98. Plans for yet another Community Centre to be built at Chai Wan with funds raised locally by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service during World Refugee Year, were being pushed ahead by the Council as the year ended.
99. These Community and Social Centres have been designed as focal points for community activity. Each of those so far opened is in quite a different setting, with its own needs and problems, yet they still all have the same purpose, namely to promote the well-being and development of the people themselves and their social integration into the community of Hong Kong,
CHAPTER XIII
OFFICIAL AND VOLUNTARY CO-OPERATION
100. The concept of welfare as a partnership between Government, acting on behalf of the community as a whole, and voluntary organiza- tions administered by citizens acting in their private or individual capacities, is well-known and generally accepted. A third dimension not exclusive to Hong Kong but certainly characteristic of its welfare services is the work of international organizations many of which are sponsored by religious bodies. Stirred by the great need, these organiza- tions have contributed large sums of money, quantities of material goods, and devoted and enlightened personal service. The combination of responsible local bodies, international organizations and the Govern- ment has meant that substantial progress has been made in providing for the physical needs of people and in assisting them to achieve a measure of independence. The Social Welfare Department acknowledges with warm appreciation the contribution of its voluntary partners in the field of social welfare in Hong Kong.
101. The effects of World Refugee Year are still apparent and Hong Kong will benefit for many years to come from the generous contri- butions which were then made from overseas for social service projects. Many voluntary agencies have been able to expand and improve their services as a result of such contributions, while the Department has been able to make much more rapid progress in certain directions than would otherwise have been possible, notably in the development of community centres. It is inevitable that the provision of substantial capital funds should throw an additional burden on local resources for recurrent expenditure and for staff sufficiently well-qualified to
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