HKSKH Lady MacLehose Centre    香港聖公會麥理浩夫人中心 Services for Ethnic Minorities       少數族裔服務

1. A Tie that Bind -- Our Community of C.A.R.E. & Colour 色彩之城 (社區投資共享基金資助)                                  (Funded by: Community Investment and Inclusion Fund, CIIF)                                   This is the second three-year project funded by the Community Investment & Inclusion Fund (CIIF) of Labour & Welfare Bureau and operated by HKSKH Lady MacLehose Centre with the aim at providing apprenticeship and creating an enabling community environment for South Asians and local Chinese.   Our core strategy laid on comprehensive and multi-dimensional collaborations between business sector, South Asian & local community organization & leaders, schools, universities & vocational training institutes, as well as veterans of our volunteer corps and the Advisory Committee for Multi-Ethnic Initiative (both established since the previous CIIF project). Their concerted effort will deliver the following:   (a) Career Apprenticeship & Reformatory Effort (C.A.R.E.) Initiative (1) Multi-Ethnic Apprenticeship for South Asians Youth (2) Reformatory Trainings for the South Asian Apprentices (3) Coaching Training for the “Masters” (4) Services Team – Grooming South Asian Young Adults to Run Small Cooperatives   (b) Our Colourful Community – Creating an Enabling Environment (1) “A Colourful Hong Kong” Multi-Ethnic Business Endorsement Initiative (2) “My Colourful Pen Pal” A Multi-Cultural & Lingual Exposure Initiative (3) Chinese Language Daily-Life Immersion Experiences for South Asian Families   These services receive ardent response from the ethnic minorities and our efforts paid were much appreciated by the South Asian services recipients.

2. LMC Love-Multi-Culture 愛服飾南亞創藝   Our centre launched the “South Asian Self-Reliance Initiative – An Employment and Business Development Project” funded by “Enhancing Self-Realize through District Partnership Programme” of Home Affairs Department in January 2007.    In response to the needs of South Asian women, our project attempted to help them by harnessing their special skill, strengths and experiences in establishing cooperative using the mode of social enterprise. Through business operation and strategy, we will help them to create employment and working opportunities, such that they might improve their economic well being and eventually became self-reliant.    (a) “LMC – Love Multi Culture” Boutique This project was officially named “LMC – Love Multi Culture” and has started to operate in form of a small boutique in Kwai Chung Plaza since January 2007. Selling clothing accessories and ornaments handmade by South Asian women, we hoped the very existence of the LMC shop could help to propagate the message of “Mutual Care, Love, & Respect” among residents of various ethnicities in the community.     (b) Products Design and Manufacture Team Our LMC shop helped the South Asian women, who were already quite skillful in traditional knitting techniques, to use their skills in producing handmade clothing accessories with ethnical style for sell and got some income back in return. Moreover, LMC will also become a test platform through which South Asian women can learn the know-how of business operation, which included communicate with locals, sells and shop running techniques, product designs and process, etc. so as to improve their self-help ability and employment opportunities.   (c) English tutorial service This project also employed a South Asian man as an administrative assistant to develop community services that have the potential to become self-sustainable through fee-charging, such as English tutorial service, so as to help created more job opportunities for South Asian men in the community.

3. Hong Kong Trans-lingual Services 香港翻譯通服務 (少數族裔翻譯務)        (Funded by: The Enhancing Self-Reliance Through District Partnership Programme, Home Affair Department)                            民政事務署伙伴倡自強- 社區協作計劃資助                              Hong Kong Translingual Service, a newly opened social enterprise, open the way for ethnic minorities in accessing the service at government department, public bodies, as weel as businesses with a goal to create an integrated community by providing written/telephone and on-site intepretation services, etc. We will bridge the language gap between ethnic minorities and government or businesses and the like in order to make sure that ethnic minorities can make use of the services and facilities. We help public as well as community and commercial sectors to translate their promotion and information material in various EM languages thereby creating an equitable environment where ethnic minorities can call Hong Kong their home.   We provide: 1. On-Site Interpretation 到場傳譯 2. Telephone Interpretation 電話傳譯 3. Written Translation 文字翻譯 4. Proof-reading 校對 5. Video conferencing Interpretation視像傳譯 6. One-stop Service(Design+Interpretation+Product Production+Professional Advice)一站式服務   Web-site : http://www.skhlmc.org/em1.htm   (ENG)  http://www.skhlmc.org/em/interpretation  (CHI)

4. People’s Talents Bank for Community Mutual Care 「人人藏寶」 社區互惠銀行       (Funded by: The Community Chest- Bank of China Caring HK- A Heart Warming Campaign)         中銀香港暖心愛港計劃(公益金管理)資助          The People’s Talents Bank aimed at harnessing the unlimited potentials of individuals from disadvantaged groups and, with assistances and advices from the business sector, transforms them into unique skills and products. The disadvantaged individuals can then freely exchange their skills and products with others through the Bank’s platform, thereby relieving each others’ plights while serving the community as a whole

The Group and Community Work Unit of HK SKH Lady MacLehose Centre started to provide services for the ethnic minorities (especially Pakisatni) living in Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung, Tsing Yi district in 2001. At the beginning, our centre only provided adaptation courses, home visits and roadside display for them. Later, it received subsidies from Home Affairs Bureau so that it could launch and maintain a series of integrated services. By the end of 2003, the centre received subsidies from the Community Investment and Inclusion Fund and Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation. Therefore, it could provide more long-term services for ethnic minorities and help them get fitted into the community.

                                                                            Initial Stage – Approaching targets

2001

Services including home visits, roadside resource booth, etc

 

Exploring Stage – Assessment
2002
Conducting researches, e.g. Worked with Hong Kong Polytechnic University to do a research on "The living experiences of Pakistani in Hong Kong"

 

Developmental Stage - Taking remedial steps
2003 until now
Providing multi-language courses, community education, integrated programs

 

Future Development – Sourcing capital from the society
2008 onwards
Receiving subsidies from different sources, e.g. Constitutional ans Mainland Affair Bureau, Labour and Welfare Bureau, Home Affair Bureau, etc

 

 
Community Service Program (From year 2000-2006)

The Integrated Community Service Centre of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Lady MacLehose Centre has organized various services to aid vulnerable groups and arouse the public awareness of the minority in Hong Kong. The following is the past events held:

1. From May to December 2006
Determinants of Access to Health Care for Pakistani Women and Children in Hong Kong Research Project is to identify Pakistani women and children health care needs and how they use health care services in Hong Kong. The project also explores determinants of access to health care services. It is a joint project with Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

2. From July to August 2006
"You and Me" South Asian Family Health Promotion Project is to nurture the concepts of personal health care and medical care to South Asian families by organizing family visits, games, talks and hospital visits.

3. From April 2006 to March 2009
"The Fellowship of Hope" is a grass-root level poverty alleviation project for South Asian ethnic minorities. This 3-year project promotes the ethnic minorities' (i.e. the youth, adults and women) participation in concerns over their employment and education problems in order to seek for a fair chance in society. It is funded by Oxfam Hong Kong Programs.

4. From September 2005 to Present
School Guidance Service is provided for the non-Chinese speaking students studying in Tsing Yi Trade Association Primary School, a local Chinese-medium-of instruction primary school.

After School Tuition class for Pakistani Children is provided. We arrange local Chinese and ethnic minority volunteers to join this project.

Adaptation Classes for South Asian and New Arrival are provided in order to assist them to adapt to Hong Kong life. It is funded by the Home Affairs Bureau.

5. From January to December 2005
"Invaluable Health" Community Service Project aims to train volunteers to arouse the elderly people's awareness of domestic hygiene, food hygiene and infectious diseases. Volunteers have to give families visit, conduct surveys, provide information and organize talks. It is funded by the Hongkong Electric Centenary Trust of Hongkong Electric Company.

6. From April 2004 to March 2007
"Forging a Better Tomorrow" is funded by Community Investment and Inclusion Fund (CIF). Through a range of training schemes, educational programs, hotline and social service provided, this project is to promote self-help, mutual-help and better social integration among South Asians and the locals in the community.

7. From November 2004 to February 2005
Actions Concerning the Legislation Against Racial Discrimination Research is through community study, promotional talks and concern group formation to express the opinions of South Asians' ethnic minorities in regard of their own rights. It is funded by Oxfam Hong Kong Programs.

8. From July 2003 to August 2004
"Life Make Easy in Hong Kong" is a service project for South Asian Ancestry. It enhances local South Asians' abilities in using community resources to solve daily problems. Moreover, it aims to train a group of bilingual trainers to promote this message in ethnic groups. Increasing contacts between the locals and South Asians can foster understanding. This project is funded by The Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation.

9. From February 2002 to April 2003
The Life Experiences of Pakistanis in Hong Kong Research is to explore the difficulties faced by Pakistanis and delineate the macro forces shaping their lives. It is a joint project with Centre for Social Policy Studies, Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

10. From 2002 to Present
Racial Harmony Service Project facilitates contacts, mutual understanding and acceptance between the local and South Asian community. It provides a platform for the Pakistani to communicate with representative of relevant government departments in the district, as well as promotes the concept of Racial Harmony in the community. This project is funded by the Home Affair Bureau.

11. From October 1998
Community Health Volunteer Ambassador Program is organized every year. 20 middle-age volunteers are selected to be the ambassadors to hold talks, fun days and exhibitions in order to nurture the concept of community health in housing estates.