HONG KONG (SE): The Little Sheep Fold Community Service Centre is an initiative of the Mother of Christ Church, Sheung Shui, set up in response to difficulties of the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. The centre gives out food and daily necessities, makes case referrals and offers tutorial classes for children from low-income families.
Located at 17 San Kin Street, the centre was set up on April 11 to assist the efforts of the parish community to better serve the needy.
Deacon Stephen Kwok Ping-fai, of the Sheung Shui parish, told the Kung Kao Po that he did not realise the plight of people living in subdivided rooms until five years ago when the parish conducted visits to the people there. He believes it is only by going into a community that people’s real needs can be known. This was one of the purposes for setting up the community centre.
According to the deacon, around 70 people from low-income families were surveyed with the help of questionnaires to ascertain their needs. The activities of the centre in the coming months are planned on the basis of the survey.
Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the social concern group of the parish has been giving out food and other daily necessities to people to relieve their financial difficulties. Also, in cooperation with the Diocesan Pastoral Centre for Workers, Shek Wu Hui, the parish pays regular visits to people in subdivided flats.
Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the social concern group of the parish has been giving out food and other daily necessities to people to relieve their financial difficulties. Also, in cooperation with the Diocesan Pastoral Centre for Workers, Shek Wu Hui, the parish pays regular visits to people in subdivided flats.
Chan Ka-shun, coordinator of the social concern group of the parish said that people who come to the parish for food packets, often take the chance to share their problems as well. Many of them express their helplessness, saying that although they do not want to rely on charity donations, but they have little choice. They are jobless and have children to care for.
As a result, the parish found it necessary to set up a centre not only to give out food, but to also build up relationships in the neighbourhood.
Chan said that, given their leases, residents in subdivided flats come and go so it was hard to build up any relationships.
Ting, who lives with her husband and son in a subdivided flat in Shek Wu Hui, said she moved house twice in seven years after coming to Hong Kong. She has lived in her current flat for the past four years but does not know her neighbours as they often move.
She came to the Mother of Christ Church to get the donated food to relieve the financial pressure of her family. She shared that she spent most of her time taking care of her son, who is in secondary school, and in her spare time she took part-time jobs in restaurants and construction sites, but there was a shortage of jobs due to the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.
She is also a volunteer in the Diocesan Pastoral Centre for Workers, which gives her a chance to relax. “I came to know other volunteers in the centre who are in similar situations. I can help others. And I can take a break from home and the family problems,” she said.
The community centre is now planning to select coordinators in different neighbourhood areas. They will be responsible for seeking help from the centre when they find their neighbours encountering problems. The objective is to build up long term community networks.
In the second half of the year, the community centre plans to provide day care services for younger children and homework tutorial classes at a low price affordable for low-income families. According to Deacon Kwok, the fees are only meant to pay for the transport cost of volunteers and the operation costs.
The 600 sq. ft. centre, adorned with images of Jesus and sheep, has two rooms with desk and chair, toys, books for tutorial classes. There will also be simple activities introducing the bible to children.
Augustine Yu Siu-po, centre supervisor of the Diocesan Pastoral Centre for Workers in Shek Wu Hui, said parents of newly-arrived families find it hard to help their children with homework due to their relatively low education level and private tuition fees of around $2,000 a month is unaffordable. He believes the tutorial class provided by the community centre should fit the needs of these families.
