2
The social progress of Hong Kong owes much to the
pioneering spirit and dedication of its social 'workers
in both the public and the voluntary sectors. The voluntary
--
or private sector has traditionally played a conspicuous
and valuable role in the provision of social services in
Hong Kong, with the encouragement and financial support of
The Government. Indeed, this sector employs greater numbers
of social workers than the Government.
social work profession in Hong Kong a greater latitude in
This has given the
its speech and action than might otherwise have been possible
in a profession composed largely of civil servants.
Social action can and does take many and varied forms.
However, irrespective of whether it takes the form of
mobilising volunteers to work for the less privileged and
fortunate groups, research and surveys on specific needs
or in planning functions, they all have as their ultimate
goal the solution of human problems or the relief of hard-
ship and suffering. This, in turn, will lead to a steady
improvement in the quality of community life. A responsible
and progressive government encourages popular participation
and responsible social action by the public.
Of course all of us would like to see quick progress:
we are naturally impatient for results. But there are many demands, many desirable objectives and all too often the
resources are simply not sufficient to enable programmes to
be completed in double-quick time. Priorities have to be
decided and that means some programe or parts of programmes
......