Social_Welfare_Annual_Report_1958-1959 — Page 15

women have had to assume roles as supplementary earners, leaving their children unattended to play on the streets.

38. With the absorption of western culture, there has been a weakening of social support for the traditional institution of concubinage and until the final acceptance in Hong Kong of modern views on this matter, it will remain a frequent cause of family disharmony. Marriages at the registries or in Churches are, however, becoming much more

common.

39. Family disputes are usually submitted to arbitration, most commonly to officials of the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs, or one or other of the Kaifong Associations which have set up mediation panels. The help of the Social Welfare Department is often enlisted, especially when the welfare of children is concerned. A new development during the year was the setting up of a Marriage Guidance Centre by the Family Planning Association.

40. In cases where family difficulties are due primarily to financial or economic causes, excellent work is done by the Hong Kong Family Welfare Society, whose case workers make a thorough investigation of each family's needs. The aim is to make the family once more economically independent, and this may require a considerable degree of patience and perseverance on the part of the case worker. The Society assisted a total of over 7,000 families during the year by making cash grants and loans, paying school fees, providing food or clothing, and in numerous other ways. It is encouraging that nearly all loans made are faithfully repaid by monthly instalments. Free meals or dry rations are also provided by the Social Welfare Department to destitute families, and further particulars of this form of help are given in Chapter VIII.

41. In Hong Kong's present overcrowded state the biggest problem of many families is how to earn enough to support and educate their too numerous children. More of such families are however beginning to realize the need to limit the size of their families and are seeking the help of the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong. This Association opened clinics in seven more places during the year and reported an increase of over 50% in the number of persons applying for advice. It is making a most important contribution to the solution of Hong Kong's most pressing problem.

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