REPORT
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Introduction
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The membership of the Port Welfare Committee is drawn from representatives of shipping interests and Government departments concerned with the operation of the port of Hong Kong and with the welfare of sailors aboard ships calling at the port.
Activities
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The purpose of the Committee is to ensure that proper arrangements exist to safeguard the welfare of visiting seamen of all nationalities and to provide recreational facilities for them. This is achieved by providing financial support for the Sailors' Home and Missions to Seamen, the Apostleship of the Sea and the Danish Seamen's Church, Hong Kong. A brief description of the activities of these voluntary societies is given in the latter part of this report.
All sporting activities for the crews of visiting ships were arranged by the Manager of the Mariner's Club, and the Committee is deeply indebted to him for having undertaken this work voluntarily.
Finance
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To discharge its general responsibilities for seamen's welfare, the Committee continued to pay subventions to the Sailors' Home and Missions to Seamen & the Apostleship of the Sea. These associations are not able to appeal direct to the public for support and apart from payments received for services they offer, such as restaurant facilities and overnight accommodation, the Committee is their only source of funds. The Committee's financial support is therefore vital to them. As the Committee in turn depends entirely on charitable donations its resources are limited.
The major donor to the Committee's funds was once again the Hong Kong Jockey Club (Charities) Ltd., for which we thank them. Regrettably though, because of the many other demands on their money, they feel unable to continue their support in the forthcoming year. The Committee hope that other donors will fill the breach in order to enable this important work to continue at its present level. The total amount collected was $75,821.20 as compared with $104,110 in the previous year. A subvention of $75,000 was allocated to the Sailors' Home and Missions to Seamen and the Apostleship of the Sea, and $5,000 to the Danish Seamen's Church.
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The Missions to Seamen
(contributed by The Reverend W.B. Andrews, Senior Chaplain)
THE MARINERS' CLUB Although a Missions to Seamen building, the two clubs host an Ecumenical team consisting of two Anglican, two Catholic priests and two Danish Lutheran ministers. At all levels we seek to work together, and serve seafarers of all religions, cultures and nationalities. Most of our operating costs are generated through profits made in our club operation i.e. from accommodation, dining rooms and bar facilities. However in a number of important areas of service we are financially non productive, and it is here that we are grateful to the Port Welfare Committee and other friends for their support these are include :-
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