'Useless' youths fuel calls for more funds
PhilaSiu
The Standard, November 23, 2009
Most underprivileged city youths feel useless, a survey has found, prompting calls for the government to do more.
The survey, covering 849 Primary Three to Form Five students from poor families, was conducted by the Boys' & Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong.
About 52 percent of the respondents said they feel “totally useless” while almost 43 percent considered themselves “sometimes useless.”
And about 30 percent believe they are losers.
The monthly family incomes of all those surveyed is less than the median of HK$10,500 and some 40 percent live under the poverty line - with their families earning less than half the monthly median figure.
Association executive director Lilian Law Suk-kwan said the children lack self-esteem and confidence because they lack opportunities to take part in activities and express themselves. The Census and Statistics Department estimates that more than 1.23 million people in the city are living in poverty.
Of these, 210,000 are children under 14 years old.
Wong Kwai-yau, association supervisor for the Sha Tin district, said the Child Development Fund set up in April 2008 with a budget of HK$300 million has failed to help the targeted number of 13,600 children.
So far, only around 700 children have benefited from the fund.
A spokesman for the Labour and Welfare Bureau said the children who are being helped through the fund are the pioneers of the three-year project, launched last December.
The government will conduct an evaluation of the pioneer project first before deciding on the next step, the spokesman added.
Wong said: “The government always encourages teenagers to study hard.
“But how can they [the underprivileged] afford an associate degree that costs more than HK$40,000 a year?”
Law urged the Education Bureau to channel more funds to schools and underprivileged children.
The money may be used to purchase resources to facilitate learning like computers and desks.
It may also be used to give students allowances to pay for extra-curricular activities such as piano lessons, she said.
She pointed to the survey results that showed more than 30 percent do not have a desk at home or reliable computers to complete assignments.
About half the respondents do not participate in extra-curricular activities and 20 percent admit they are unable to control their emotions.
About 15 percent said they eat fewer than three meals a day.
Almost 20 percent said they do not have enough food for each meal.
