ENG-1958 — Page 235

SOCIAL WELFARE

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of those affected have been able, with Government assistance, to find other work. Many thousands of families are obliged to depend upon the earnings of irregular and unskilled labour for their livelihood; poorly paid and under-nourished, they have no material or physical reserves and remain above the level of desti- tution only by dint of constant effort. There is here a vast field for relief work.

During the year there was a considerable increase in the amount of outdoor relief provided through the Department. An average of nearly 3,000 people received a free cooked meal every day at one of the six departmental welfare centres and some 3,250 shares of dry rations were distributed regularly to about 1,600 families to be cooked at home. The recipients were the physically handi- capped, the sick (particularly sufferers from tuberculosis and their families), widows with dependent children, and others who were shown on detailed inquiry to be unable to support themselves, whether temporarily or permanently.

The North Point Relief Camp, the only Government institution with accommodation for the destitute and disabled and their dependants, provided limited indoor relief. The average population of the camp was between 400 and 500 and the turnover about 40 per month.

Voluntary welfare organizations played an important part in the work of public assistance. The Lutheran World Service gave free medical treatment to many needy persons, particularly refu- gees, supplied some 90,000 people with supplementary foodstuffs through eleven centres in the urban area, and gave a number of cash grants. Church World Service and the Catholic Welfare Committee of China both distributed food on a large scale; the former helped to finance a variety of relief projects, while the latter assisted welfare clinics with part of their medical supplies. C.A.R.E. (Co-operative for American Remittances to Everywhere, Inc.) financed a number of 'self help' projects and distributed some 250,000 food parcels. Locally-made machinery has been installed by several voluntary bodies for manufacturing noodles from im- ported relief food including a proportion of milk powder, thus providing a nutritious and easily prepared addition to the diet of those in need.