Disadvantaged Charity Fund Programme

See, a Form 2 student in a Po Leung Kuk secondary school, used to live with her parents and two brothers. Both her parents were low-income earners. To make things worse, See’s father often gambled away their family’s meager savings. To ease the family’s financial problems, See took on a part-time job (still managing to keep her school grades above average).

However, See’s father continued to gamble and at one stage, physically abused her. The incident was reported to the police, and the family left the father and moved into another housing unit. See’s mother, a construction worker, could not afford the moving expenses at the time. They applied for Comprehensive Social Service Assistance (CSSA) through the Social Welfare Department and in the meantime had to borrow to pay the deposit for the utilities. They had no money to buy essential household items.

The school social worker became aware of See’s situation and assisted her to make an application to the “Po Leung Kuk Charity Fund for the Disadvantaged”. The Fund approved the grant to help pay for essential household furniture items like beds, a wardrobe and a refrigerator. The family has since settled into their new home and is happy to start their new life.

Su came from Mainland China and was married to a Hong Kong resident years ago. They together had a son named Po. Po was granted entry to Hong Kong to join his father at the age of one. However, his father tragically died soon afterwards and Po had to be looked after in a group home until Su was granted entry into Hong Kong. Since her arrival, mother and child have to rely on CSSA to meet their basic needs.

Su has had serious dental problems for many years, missing nine of her upper teeth. This affected her ability to digest foods and caused her much internal pain, and undoubtedly the quality time she could spend with Po. As CSSA policy does not cover dental expenses, she was unable to afford any basic dental treatment.

The Social Welfare Department assisted Su with applying to the Po Leung Kuk Charity Fund for the Disadvantaged for financial assistance. Her application was approved and she went for the dental treatment immediately. Now, she is happy that she can eat without difficulty and suffers no more pain.

Mr. Ho and his family came to Hong Kong from Mainland China. He is the sole income earner in the family - his wife staying at home to look after their three children. Being middle-aged and with little academic qualifications, he could only secure low-paying work with long hours. As his income was not enough to support the whole family, his children were granted CSSA to ease their financial burden.

In a cruel twist, the flat that they were residing in was identified as part of an illegal structure and had to be demolished by the authorities for reasons of safety. Now, the family needed to find another place to live but were ineligible for public housing as they were not permanent residents of Hong Kong.

The family eventually found another flat that they could afford, but it was unfurnished (in their previous flat, the landlord provided the very basic furnishings they lived with). However, they did not have the money to purchase even some basic furniture. A social worker eventually came to see them and helped them to apply for assistance from the Fund. They were very grateful for the grant, which they used to purchase beds, table and chairs, and other essential households. Their living situation has become much more comfortable.