*********************************************************
The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, today (June 10) visited Central and Western district to take a close look at community support services for elders. He also visited disadvantaged families to emphasise the Government's care for the well-being of underprivileged children and the importance attached to promoting family core values.
He first went to the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui St Luke's Settlement Neighbourhood Elderly Centre where a comprehensive range of support services is provided to help the clients lead a healthy and enriched life in the community. He was glad to learn that the centre provides various healthy-lifestyle and lifelong learning programmes for the elders and encourage them to contribute to society through participation in volunteer work.
Considering Hong Kong's ageing population, Mr Cheung noted that "Ageing in place" had been adopted as the core of the Government's elderly policy. The aim is to enable elders to remain in the community by providing the necessary support services to meet their needs and to enhance their quality of life.
Apart from services like the neighbourhood elderly centres for more active elders, the Government is also committed to enhancing support for frail elders through centre-based day care services and home-based home care services, Mr Cheung said.
Government spending on social security, elderly care and medical service for elders amounted to $39.6 billion in 2011-12, representing 16.4% of the total recurrent expenditure, he added.
Mr Cheung later visited two families and conversed with members of different generations on a range of topics, such as how they have overcome life's challenges and built up self-value through family love and mutual support.
The development of the two children in the family of three was particularly close to Mr Cheung's heart. He was pleased to learn that the elder brother, a junior secondary student, had benefited from the Child Development Fund programme and had started to realise his ambition of learning a musical instrument.
Mr Cheung pointed out that the Child Development Fund was implemented through joint efforts of the family, the private sector, the community and the Government to enhance the long-term development of children aged 10 to 16 from a disadvantaged background.
Using three major components, namely personal development plans, a mentorship programme and targeted savings, the programme seeks to reduce inter-generation poverty by helping children develop an asset-building habit. Asset-building broadly encompasses a more positive and forward-looking attitude, greater self-confidence, resilience and improved inter-personal and social networking skills, which will ultimately enhance the youngsters' resource management ability and enable them to better plan for their future.
In his visit to another family, Mr Cheung listened to the female head of the household sharing her story of bringing up two children on her own, their active participation in voluntary work, and her decision to quit work to help look after her grandchild. Mr Cheung said that it demonstrated the essential role of women in the family and society.
He added that children nurtured in harmonious families would grow up to become healthy and responsible citizens. Therefore, it has been the Government's policy to promote family values and support a pro-family environment.
Ends/Friday, June 10, 2011
Issued at HKT 18:35
NNNN
