ENG-1952 — Page 144

HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1952

measures in each urban district. By the end of 1952 there were twenty associations. The following figures show their sustained growth :

Number of Associations.

Number of

Members.

December 1949

4

Not recorded

December 1950

14

53,800

December 1951

18

105,400

December 1952

20

209,400

These associations are not official bodies, and there is no official representation on the controlling committees which are elected by the members. The function of the Social Welfare Office is purely advisory, and the remarkable achievements of these associations are a tribute not only to the energy and resourcefulness of the members, but to the hard work of the chairmen and committee members.

The main work of the Kaifongs has been to organize free schools and free clinics, sponsor the recruitment and equipment of local divisions of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, provide and equip children's playgrounds and other recreational facilities, and make lively and well-documented representation to Government on such local matters as water supply, street lighting, markets, hawkers and squatters. During 1952, two new valuable lines of work were started. The first was a widespread mass education campaign in matters of public hygiene and orderly and considerate behaviour towards neighbours. The second was the inception of the ladies sections of the Kaifongs which have organized free maternity services, sewing classes and "Little Mothers Clubs" for the education of young

108