casework office, special services for handicapped children, and a communal assembly hall. These services and facilities are provided not only for the purpose of meeting some of the basic welfare needs of the population living in the area but also to provide them with a focal point for social, cultural, recreational and other activities.
22. A second and more important aspect of the work of these centres lies in their development of various interest groups and social clubs, with the object of encouraging people to develop, through their participation in a common activity, a feeling of their individual ability to make positive contributions to their groups which later matures into a sense of responsibility towards their community. Thus the staff of each centre directly encourage the formation of a great variety of groups and clubs for people of all ages, sharing such interests and activities as Chinese boxing, music, judo, fencing, chess, dancing, drama, photography, painting and calligraphy, various sports and many other rewarding pastimes. With the advice and help of the staff of the centres each group is encouraged to elect its own leaders, to decide on its own programmes and to extend its interest to people who may wish to take part in these activities.
23. The fruits of successful community and group work are incapable of quantification but encouraging signs amongst different age groups of better social cohesion and their willingness to assume civic responsibility are beginning to show. Adult members continue the tradition of entertaining old people by contributing financially and by mobilizing resources in the area; of extending their own programme activities to the community by organizing concerts, displays, com- petitions and exhibitions of various kinds; and of responding to community-wide projects and fund-raising to help people in need. Youth members are offering their services to lead younger groups participating in seasonal projects as volunteers, raising funds with their regular activities in support of charitable causes, and by organizing activities in their immediate communities and in the New Territories for children. Child groups also contribute in a smaller way by organizing activities for other children.
24. The provision of communal services and facilities and the formation of interest groups are complemented by yet another process in community work, namely, the involvement of different, possibly divergent, sectors of the population in activities designed to well them into a more integrated community. The centres therefore organize or
8
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.