Social_Welfare_Annual_Report_1961-1962 — Page 23

ped, mentally defective children, mild tubercular patients, cured lepers, shipwrecked sailors and British subjects awaiting repatriation. During their stay at the camp, inmates are encouraged to participate in voca- tional training classes in carpentry, printing, rattan-weaving, tailoring and gardening, or to engage in embroidery, bead-stringing or knitting in sheltered workshops. (see Appendix 16 for further details.)

60. The camp, which was first opened in 1938 to house refugees of the Sino-Japanese War, has a capacity for about 400. By the close of the year plans were well advanced for a new residential welfare centre to be built at Aberdeen to take its place. This new centre, with a capacity for 600 inmates, is expected to be completed during 1962-63.

61. The Department is also responsible for the investigation of attempted suicides referred to it. The Relief Section handles initial, and the Special Welfare Services Section subsequent, investigations and for this purpose the former maintains a seven-days-a-week service at the Happy Valley and Yau Ma Tei Welfare Centres. (see also paragraph 79). During the year 555 cases were referred to the Department, against 549 the previous year. (see Appendix 17.)

62. While public assistance as such falls upon the Department, a number of voluntary agencies also operate supplementary feeding pro- grammes. Chief among these agencies are C.A.R.E., Catholic Relief Services, Lutheran World Service, Church World Service and the Seventh Day Adventist Welfare Service. These five agencies imported between them some 51,000,000 pounds of surplus foodstuffs donated by the American Government during the year. Such quantities appear to be more than sufficient to sustain a well co-ordinated programme of supplementary feeding, and increasing attention is being devoted to channelling foodstuffs into milk and meal schemes for school children. At present, reconstituted milk is being distributed to children at 15 milk bars operated by Church World Service and at the milk bar and mobile van of the Lutheran World Service. A Children's Meals Committee was formed by a number of voluntary agencies through the initiative of the Bishop of Hong Kong, with the aim of providing 10,000 meals a day for school children; the actual feeding is expected to start during next year. The Roman Catholic Church (under the aegis of Caritas) has started a school meals programme, mainly for children in the Aberdeen area. The programme is operated through a mobile canteen and about 1,800 children are being fed regularly.

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