61. Close liaison is maintained with two voluntary institutions, Pelletier Hall and the Po Leung Kuk. At Pelletier Hall the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, whose Order has long specialized in this kind of work and has similar homes in other parts of the world, provide resi- dential care, education and domestic and vocational training for up to a hundred and sixty girls, mostly between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, who have agreed to enter the home to learn a better way of life. They are taught hairdressing, English conversation, elementary book-keeping, cooking, tailoring and power-machine sewing, typing, knitting, laundering, commercial art and baby-care. In March the Order opened its second home-the Mary Stanton Centre for Girls-situated at Brick Hill, near Aberdeen. This is a residential and day centre offering practical training and recreational activities for 150 girls who, for socio-economic or other reasons, lack personal stability and security or, because of unsuitable environment, require a period of training, with or without residence, in a wholesome atmosphere.
62. Work in this section has a very special interest for social welfare practitioners with a close concern in the workings of the human mind, and despite the sordid nature of many of its problems and the brutaliz- ing surroundings into which inquiries may lead its officers, it remains a popular choice among recruits to the department. It is evident there- fore that lack of startling statistics of achievement does not mean frustration or a lack of sense of reward.
CHAPTER VII
HELP TO THE DISTRESSED
63. 'Between 6.30 and 7.30 in the morning of Sunday, 12th June, Hong Kong awoke to a downpour the likes of which it had never before experienced. During that one hour, 6.18 inches of rain fell on the fishing port of Aberdeen. Radiating in concentric ovals from this point, rain- fall figures of lesser, but equally unprecedented intensity were recorded over most of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, together with large tracts of the adjoining New Territories. It was the peak of a nightmare that lasted for the whole of Sunday and for several days to come. In the 24 hours ending at noon on Sunday, 15.80 inches of rain were recorded at the Royal Observatory; the highest ever daily rainfall for June and equal to the normal amount of rainfall for the whole month. Persistent heavy cloud and intermittent rain lingered more than a week, threatening
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