Love @ Po Leung Kuk

For every mother, feeling her baby growing inside of her during the 10 months of pregnancy is one of life’s most incredible journeys. Ms. Yiu, soon to be the mother of Laam Laam, could not wait to welcome her little one and start their small family, Born prematurely at just 26 weeks, Laam Laam’s tiny organs were not yet ready for the world. He spent crucial months in the hospital fighting to survive and he requires round-the-clock care – a ventilator breathes for him at all times.   Laam Laam couldn’t run and jump like other kids in the past 6 years because he had to go to the hospital for various treatments. His ventilator must be monitored constantly. As such, Ms. Yiu had no choice but to leave her job to be Laam Laam’s full-time caregiver. While the financial, physical, and emotional demands soon became overwhelming, money grew tight as the income of Ms. Yiu’s husband alone could not cover Laam Laam’s expensive medical costs.   Professional team of Po Leung Kuk Chao King Lin Early Learning Centre is helping Laam Laam on his muscle training     Thankfully, she heard about the Po Leung Kuk Chao King Lin Early Learning Centre-Special Child Center. When the professionals of the center heard about Laam Laam’s circumstances, a dedicated team of physiotherapists, occupational therapists, childcare workers and social workers were fully geared up to provide holistic support for Laam Laam and his family. His performance on his speech, muscles and eating abilities were weaker than other children of his age at the beginning of training; however after 3 years of time at the center, Laam Laam made tremendous strides in developing his overall abilities.   Ms Yiu feels immensely grateful to Po Leung Kuk and the center for providing her family with comprehensive support She cherishes how their care gave her strength and courage to face each hurdle along this difficult journey. “Because if I did not hang in there with courage, who else could Laam Laam count on?” While uncertainty remains about the future of Yiu’s family, Po Leung Kuk will continue to support children with special needs and their families like Yiu’s family through the Kuk’s full backing in fostering children development and meeting their family needs.   With the assistance of Po Leung Kuk’s resources and generous contributions from donors, we are able to provide adequate and comprehensive training services for underprivileged children and families, safeguarding the children's growth and offering holistic support to families.  

(Chinese Only) 保良局田家炳關愛家庭中心的張詠琳姑娘（Winifred）在阿浩媽媽求助下認識了12歲的阿浩。因患有自閉症譜系障礙及讀寫障礙的緣故，阿浩不懂得用合適的語言去表達自己的想法和感受，亦不太理解別人說話背後的意思，似乎與世界「斷了線」。Winifred與團隊耐心地與阿浩建立關係，阿浩更參加了中心「童夢同行」兒童及青少年生命導向計劃的模特兒培訓小組。起初阿浩難以表達自己對夢想的想法，亦未能明白導師的指示，Winifred與團隊循序漸進，慢慢鼓勵他由動作模仿開始，並將導師的句子分拆，給予清晰的指令逐步教他，從多次模擬綵排中讓他累積經驗。Winifred更透過電話通訊平台，邀請阿浩每天發一張自己擺姿勢的模特兒相給她，從而建立自信及掌握技巧，漸漸地阿浩開始增加了對事物的理解，自信心增加了，更能夠有勇氣踏上舞台扮演模兒。更令Winifred感動的是，阿浩能清晰地表達自己的想法和意向，向她說了一句：「我想做模特兒！」   「阿浩與一般低動機青年一樣，他們需要的不是字典，為他們輸入各種意義；他們需要的是我們的耐心，時刻從他們角度出發，成為『生活字典』，為他們排解疑難，詮釋未來，重新為他們建立意義。低動機青年總讓人覺得反叛/難接觸/懶，但其實每個青少年背後總有一段讓人慨嘆的經歷，聽上來對成年人來說可能是一些雞毛蒜皮小事，但他們就是正等待別人去花時間及耐性聆聽及陪伴走出這局面。」Winifred分享青少年工作的信念。然而，時下青少年已不多活躍於社區中心，大多花時間在手機及網上，Winifred身處的北區亦不例外。因此，要向青少年翻開這本「生活字典」，花時間聆聽他們，Winifred在工作上就要靠使用手機各個通訊平台，線上線下與青少年同行，她更曾試過透過通訊平台勸導離家出走與家人失聯的青年回港與家人修復關係。「青少年服務的核心理念離不開人與人之間的關係，我們著重與青少年關係建立、維持信任、陪伴同行。透過線上線下的互相配合，我們就可以緊貼青少年需要，更快捷有效地回應所需，介入提供適切服務，陪伴青少年成長。」   工作有下班時間，線上關心青少年卻似是無休止，但相信當Winifred與團隊在通訊平台見到阿浩愈見進步的自拍相片，以及見證一個又一個因著他們同行而成長的故事，再累也是值得。為保良局青少年團隊送上支持。

Cathy 2 歲時，因家庭問題入住保良局家舍。性格內斂的她不太擅於與人溝通相處，朋友不多，說話不多，直至遇上了欖球，徹底打開了她的世界。欖球是種簡單的快樂Cathy 從小熱愛運動，自學了乒乓球、籃球等。偶然一次看見別人在球場上打欖球，便被這項運動吸引。   透過本局與香港欖球總會合辦的語文培訓計劃，Cathy 自2013 年起接受欖球訓練，並獲資助到海外參加欖球活動及文化交流，一步步成為青年欖球錦標賽的香港代表。回想當日看見別人在球場上作賽的畫面，她表示，「感覺欖球帶給運動員的快樂是很純粹、很簡單，也是我喜歡欖球的原因」。欖球帶我遊歷世界年僅18 歲的Cathy，已經代表香港到過多個國家參加欖球比賽，如去年8 月到老撾參與亞洲欖球總會20 歲以下亞洲七人欖球賽，她坦言︰「我從來沒有想過我有機會可以代表香港到世界各地作賽，這個夢想對以前那個小女孩來說，有點遙不可及，但現在我覺得我可以」。 運動是種共通語言 去年9 月，Cathy 獲選到訪日本觀摩2019 年世界盃欖球賽，學習頂尖運動員的技術，並與來自世界各地超過一百名年青運動員交流。雖然母語不同，但他們對欖球的熱愛卻打破了語言的限制，成為了他們之間的共通語言，讓她認識了來自泰國，甚至是約旦的朋友︰「以前的我不太自信，但欖球讓我變得健談，使我認識了更多的朋友，謝謝欖球擴闊了我對這世界的想像」。