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SOCIAL WELFARE

Although the sense of obligation towards the aged still remains strong in the community, the continuing impact of urban industrial conditions on the family system is bound to result in a greater need in future for accommodation in homes for the aged. It is encourag- ing to record that accommodation for the aged in voluntary homes rose from 1,300 to 1,600 during the year.

The nucleus of essential rehabilitation services for the handi- capped has been established but, for these to flourish, greater com- munity acceptance of handicapped persons and their needs is urgently required. Unless employers are willing to provide wider employment opportunities, these services cannot achieve their aim of restoring the handicapped fully to the community. The human and economic needs of the handicapped are best served when they become self-supporting and can thereby make a contribution as self-reliant members of society.

While advances in services for the handicapped are particularly encouraging, real progress has also been made in providing voca- tional training courses for others who, because of personal or family difficulties, sickness, poverty or lack of education, are unable to compete effectively in the labour market and need further train- ing and assistance to enable them to realize their full potential. Voluntary agencies have been most active in this field and now provide extensive facilities for training in a variety of skills. These include automobile engineering, refrigeration machinery mainte- nance, electrical trades, diesel engine operation for fishermen, navi- gation for coxwains, tailoring, embroidery, typing and shorthand, laundering and hotel trades. Eligible trainees are generally selected by interview and home visit or on reference from a voluntary organization, with the object of choosing for training those people, especially young people, who most need guidance in finding the occupation for which they are best suited and advice on the oppor- tunities provided in different trades. As examples of work by voluntary agencies in this field, the Hong Kong Christian Welfare and Relief Council, on which are represented 26 Protestant Churches and agencies, operates a Practical Training Centre in the Wong Tai Sin Community Centre and trains over 500 students a year; the Lutheran World Service provided some 700 boys and girls from poor families who could not secure admission to secondary schools with one-year courses in day and evening classes;