Head Office: 13/F, Corn Yan Centre, 3 Jupiter Street, North Point, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 3542 5722 Fax: (852) 3542 5709 E-mail: aca@aca.org.hk

Chuk Yuen Centre: 107-108, G/F., Wai Yuen House, Chuk Yuen (North) Estate, Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2351 6060 Fax: (852) 2752 8483

Tuen Mun Centre: 407-409, Ting Cheung House, On Ting Estate, Tuen Mun, New Territories, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2450 2244 Fax: (852) 2457 3782

Editorial Team: Ms Christin Cheng Ms Jody Lam Mr Patrick Wong

May I wish you and your family a prosperous and blessed year of the Snake!

In the past quarter, we concluded what has been achieved in 2011/12 at the Annual General Meeting and shared

with the public on the child abuse statistics and the trends through a press conference. This was widely reported.

They were very concerned about the increase in the number of psychological abuse cases. The definition of

psychological abuse, its causes, and the long term and short term negative impact on the development of the

child were also explored.

On the f irst day of December, our staf f

mem ber s went to Mac au and s pent a

wonderful day there with the staff of ACA

Macau. We not only got to know the city of

Macau better, but the team spirit also became

stronger through the treasure hunt activity.

A week later, the staff and some Executive

Commit tee members at tended the staf f

retreat to evaluate the services rendered and

discussed plans for the future. I must thank the

preparation working group for bringing in a lot

of positive energy and the participation of the

staff in brainstorming new ideas and thoughts.

The annual service users’ gathering was arranged at the end of the year to collect service users’ feedback on the

services they received. Around 180 service users joined the gathering. They appreciated the services ACA had

been providing and shared views on how to make our services better known to the public so that more people will

know where and how to approach us. Their invaluable suggestions were well received and much appreciated.

www.facebook.com/ACAHK

www.youtube.com/user/AgainstChildAbuseHKwww.aca.org.hk

February NewsletterNNN

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Dr Jessica HoDirector

I was invited to speak on “Child Rights and Primary Prevention Approach to Child Protection” at the Prevention of

Child Abuse Symposium organized by the University of Hong Kong. We also welcomed a study tour for a group

of 43 delegates from mainland China for a week. The purpose of this study tour was to understand the child

protective services in Hong Kong. Besides visiting ACA service centres, we arranged for them to meet with related

professionals and visit various service units. I am grateful for the hospitality and generosity of these partners and

collaborators. Without their contribution, the study tour would not have been so meaningful and rewarding. The

delegates appreciated their inspiring and stimulating sharing.

The members of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child are going to meet with the delegates

from Hong Kong in 2013 to review the implementation of children’s rights. I hope that the government will soon

respond to the suggestion made by the Committee in the last review in 2005 by setting up an independent

institute such as a Child Commission to listen to children and deal with matters related to them. This will definitely

be a blessing for the 1.1 million children in Hong Kong in the New Year.

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Summary of Major Activities for October to December 2012Month Project / Title Activity

October to December

Healthy Start Home Visiting Project

v Parent Education Course 2012 on 5 and 12 October

v Parent talk - Whole Brain Learning on 20 October

v Parent Talk- How to Develop Good Interpersonal Relationship on 28 October

v Parent/child Activity: Parent-child Massage Exercise on 24 November

v Visit to Ocean Park on 28 December

Joyful Heart Child Development Project

v Stress Management Group for Spouse and Family members from September to December

v Self-development Group for children from October to December

v Parents & child Art Jamming on 2 December

v Christmas Party at Holiday Farm on 23 December

The Chuk Yuen Centre Family Corner

v “Books and Toys Corner” on every Friday

v Birthday Party on 14 October

v Cooking activity on 25 October

v Parents talk – healthy investment on 3 November

v Parents workshop – stress management on 8 November

v Experiential activity – Happiness in the Dark on 8 November

v Family gathering at Disneyland on 25 November

v Happy lesson – massage

v Christmas gathering on 23 December

Tuen Mun Centre activities

v Parents Education Talk conducted by Professor Norma on 28 October

v Child Protection Carnival at On Ting Estate on 11 November

v Visit to Tree Top Cottage on 25 November

v Good Mothers Sharing Time from 1 November to 6 December

v Visit to Ocean Park on 28 December

Kids’ Dream

v Kids’ Dream’s School Talk on Children’s Rights for S.K.H. Lam Kau Mow Secondary School on 11 October

v Kids’ Dream 6th anniversary activity - “The District in my Eyes” Children’s Artwork Competition

v Balloons Twisting Training organised by Members’ Networking Working Group on 29 November and 22 December

v Kids’ Dream’s Children’s Rights Activity for Queen Mary’s Hospital for Children on 9 December

v Kids’ Dream Christmas Gathering on 29 December

NovemberBless my Home Forever Volunteer Home Visitation Project

Family FUN Tour to New Territories on 25 November

November to December

Child Protection Home Visitation Project for New Arrivals

v Parent-child talk ‘Financial Management and Investment’ & ‘Build up parent-child relationship via games’ on 3 November

v Parent talk for HKSKH Kei Oi Nursery School on 12 December

v Volunteer Sharing on 22 December

December Services Users Gathering On 16 December

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Forthcoming Events for January to March 2013

Month Project / Title Activity

January Tuen Mun Centre Activity Child Protection Bus Tour on 12 January

FebruaryTuen Mun Centre Family Corner Volunteer Group

Spring Gathering on 21 February

January to March

The Chuk Yuen Centre Family Corner

v “Books and Toys Corner” (Every 1st and 3rd Friday)

v Happy lesson – Natural product on 10 January

v Volunteer services- visit elderly on 24 January

v Gather at Ocean Park in Lunar New Year on 23 February

v January to April Birthday Party cum volunteers award on 2 March

Child Protection Home Visitation Project for New Arrivals

v Ocean Park Day Trip on 19 January

vParent talk for Sham Shui Po Caritas Integrated Neighborhood Project on 23 January

v Hub Hong Kong lunch gathering on 26 January

vParent talk for Diamond Hill Baptist Church Bright Blossoms Kindergarten on 26 February

v Family Gathering on 2 March

vParent talk for Po Leung Kuk Kwun Tong Kindergarten-cum-Nursery on 9 March

v Parent talk for ELCHK Ling On Nursery School on 15 March

v Volunteer training on 23 March

Joyful Heart Child Development Project

v Ocean Park Day Trip on 19 January

v Volunteer Sharing on 26 January

v Preparing and printing professional training manual

v “Joyful Heart” Child Development Project Sharing forum on 22 March

Bless my Home Forever Volunteer Home Visitation Project

v Family Sharing Forum “ Love in Parent-child Games” on 6 January

v Family Sharing Forum “Joy in Parent-child Games” on 26 January

v Lunar New Year Gathering Day on 2 March

Healthy Start Home Visiting Project

v Parent Talk: Infant Health Care on 5 January

v Lunar New Year Gathering on 22 February

v Family Outdoor Activity on 24 March

Kids’ Dream

v Macau Children Councilors’ Training on 19 and 26 January.

vKids’ Dream 6th anniversary activity – Exhibition of the Outstanding Artworks of “The District in my Eyes” Children’s Artwork Competition.

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The 33rd Annual Press Conference and Annual General Meeting

The 33rd Annual Press Conference was held on 15 November 2012 to report significant events and statistics for

the year 2011/12 and share concerns and recommendations for child protection.

The Annual Press Conference was followed by the 33rd Annual General Meeting. We were honoured to have Mr

Yam Mun Ho, Ms Jackie Lau, Mr Frederick Lau, Ms Ng Fung Ching, Mr Alex Law and Ms Toby Chan as our guests.

The Long Service Award was presented to Dr Chow Chun Bong, BBS, JP, our Executive Committee member, and

Ms Betty Lau, Ms Glorise Wu and Ms Joyce Leung, staff of ACA in appreciation of their commitment and support

over the past years.

Ms Tiffany Lau, Ms Brenda Cheng, Mr Andy Tsang and Ms Hui Kam Wan were awarded Outstanding Volunteers

of the year for their dedicated service. Appreciation was also extended to all other volunteers, whose dedicated

support we would continue to rely on.

Christin Cheng

Administration Manager

The Award of 10,000 hours for Volunteer Service

ACA was awarded 10,000 volunteer service hours by the Volunteer

Movement, Social Welfare Department. We thanked our volunteers for their

effort and their dedication to ACA services in 2011. Our families benefited

much from their contribution.

Anyone who is interested to join ACA’s volunteer service is welcome.

Yette Tam

Social Worker

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The Hong Kong Jockey Club Community Project Grant - Healthy Start Home Visiting ProjectSponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust

From October to December 2012, the Project organised the following activities:

(1) Parent Education Training CourseA four-session parent education training course was conducted from 21 September to 12 October.

Mr Joseph Wong, our Tuen Mun Centre-in-charge shared the developmental needs of children,

marital communication and effective parenting skills with 20 participants. Some of the

participants were couples. They learnt how to manage their children and improve marital

relationship. They felt all sessions they attended were fruitful.

(2) Parent Talk: Whole Brain Learning On 20 October, Ms Lau Yau Lin, Chief Officer of Child Care Service, H.K.Sheng Kung Hui Welfare

Council, was invited to give a talk on “Whole Brain Learning” for 36 parents. Ms Lau gave lively

demonstrations on some brain gym movements which impressed the participants. The talk helped

participants learn how to boost their children’s brain development, give the education directions to and

release the tension of their children. They were excited and actively participated in the programme.

(3) Parent Workshop: Parent-child Massage Exercise

On 24 November, Mr Cheng Kai Fun, a Chinese practitioner hosted a “Parent-child Massage Exercise” for parents.

Mr Cheng shared the techniques of massage on a dummy. Altogether, 43 parents and children participated.

Through experiential learning, the parents not only learned massage skills on their children, they also learnt how

to enhance parent-child relationships. Mr Cheng answered a lot of enquiries on children’s health issue raised by

the participants. They found the programme informative and insightful.

Project Officer

Novel Ng

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Child Protection Home Visitation Project for New ArrivalsSponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust

Volunteer Training cum Volunteer SharingThe Project has been launched for 6 months since June 2012. In order to strengthen volunteers’ communication

skills and child protection knowledge, Volunteer Training cum Volunteer Sharing was conducted on 22 December

2012. Volunteers participated actively, especially in all roleplay sessions during the training. Most of them

responded that they learned a lot of practical communication skills and gained child protection knowledge

through playing different roles in authentic cases.

In the sharing session, the volunteers were keen on sharing their experience and difficulties encountered during

home visitation. They treasured the sharing and hoped ACA could provide more platforms for them to share and

consolidate their experience so as to render more effective services for the families they served.

Vicky Chan

Project Officer

Daylily ProjectSponsored by the Community Chest of Hong Kong

A single mother Madam Law, service user of the Daylily Project, shared her experience in ACA Annual Press

Conference on 15 November 2012. She expressed her gratitude towards the home visitation services provided

by the project. Another single mother, Madam Lai shared in the Annual General Meeting cum Dinner on 15

November her painful past experience and her thankfulness for the project volunteers who gave her emotional

support in her difficult times.

The Daylily Project regularly provides volunteers with training and experience-sharing sessions. On 17 November

2012, new and experienced volunteers came together to share icebreaking techniques and possible ways to

overcome difficulties during family visitation. The participants indicated that opportunities to interact with and

exchange experience among volunteers were valuable.

Under the sponsorship of the Celestica Limited

and the assistance of the Community Chest

Corporate Volunteer Matching Scheme, a

Christmas Party for the service users of the

Daylily Project was organised on 28 December

2012. Altogether, 39 parents and children

joined the party. Highlight of the party was a

buffet lunch. Many of the participants were very

excited as it was their first buffet. Celestica’s

volunteers gave out presents through games

and lucky draw. All families enjoyed the party

and had a wonderful time together.

Winnie Lo

Social Worker

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Bless My Home Forever Volunteer Home Visitation ProjectSponsored by the Community Chest of Hong Kong

The Bless My Home Forever Volunteer Home Visitation Project has been launched for almost three years in Sham

Shui Po. It is now serving 50 families in need, providing volunteer home visitation, child safety education and other

support services. Through interaction and sharing between volunteers and the families, a supportive and caring

environment was created for the families. A volunteer shared her experience as follows.

“Two years ago, before my first meeting with the Wung’s family (pseudonym), I was concerned about the different

stresses the family had to go through after hearing the social worker’s report. I wondered if I was capable to walk

along with them through these difficult times. Every time I visited the family, Ming Ming (pseudonym) and Ying

Ying (pseudonym) kept running about nonstop and Mrs. Wung felt quite desperate on parenting. All I did was to

accompany them, advised and shared my experiences on parenting with them, especially the safety rules I set up

in my own home. After paying regular home visits and joining the activities organised by Against Child Abuse, we

have now become close friends. What I treasure most with the Wung’s family is the friendship and trust we have

built up in these two years.”

Lo Tak Kin

Social Worker

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Joyful Heart Child Development ProjectSponsored by Operation Santa Claus

The projec t i s sponsored by the

O p e r a t i o n S a n t a C l a u s f o r 2 8

months starting from January 2011.

From October to December 2012,

we organised chi ld ren fo l low-up

group, parents emotional and stress

management therapeutic group and

four parent-child activities.

Children follow-up GroupThe 10 -session children follow-up

group was held for 13 children. They

were provided with a child-friendly

environment to develop trust and self-

confidence. Through story-telling and

other creative activities like drama

performance, clay and crafts making

and drawing, they were encouraged to

express their inner emotions.

Parents Emotional and Stress Management therapeutic GroupEleven parents joined the 13-session parents

emotional and stress management therapeutic

group. They were alert of their irrational beliefs,

negative emotions, unhealthy daily living habits and

their negative parenting skills. Through the group

member’s support, they were able to share their in-

depth personal experience such as their childhood

trauma, family dynamics and the abusive experiences

in their marriage. They gave highly positive feedback

with 100% satisfaction rate.

Parent-child activities(1) Joyful Birthday Party

On 24 November 2012, we organised Joyful

Birthday Party for the families. They enjoyed

both the food and the activities in the party.

Families’ cohesion and relationship were

strengthened.

(2) Parents and Child Art Jamming

On 2 December 2012, it was the first time

for the parents and their children to have

art jamming. The activity helped them

unlock their creativity as well as increase the

interaction between parents and children.

(3) Service User Gathering

Altogether, 12 families and 3 volunteers

joined the service user gathering on 16

December 2012. They shared their views on

the ACA services.

(4) Christmas Party

Ten families and 6 volunteers joined the

Christmas Party at the Holiday Farm on 23

December 2012. Apart from enjoying the fun

of actually making fresh bread and ramen,

the families also had fun in visiting vegetable

farms. All of them received Christmas gifts

and good wishes from our volunteers.

Jessie Lee

Project Officer

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Kids' Dream - Children's Rights ActivitiesSponsored by the Save the Children

Kids’ Dream is the first child-led initiative in Hong Kong to

strive for the rights of children. It was developed and supported

by Against Child Abuse (ACA) and Hong Kong Committee on

Children’s Rights (HKCCR) and was formally launched in August

2006. Its members are mostly secondary school students aged

below 18. This aspired group continues to work closely with the two

agencies in organising and implementing the annual Children’s Council

Project as well as many other child rights related activities.

On 5 October, we organised a talk of children’s rights for around 300 Form 1 to Form 3 students from

the S.K.H. Lam Kau Mow Secondary School. They shared with other participants how they exercised

their rights and undertook their responsibilities in their daily lives.

On 9 December, members of the Kid’s Dream also visited children receiving care in the Queen

Mary Hospital. They taught the children how to play the A Children Thing Card (A.C.T.) and skills in

balloon twisting.

Lee Yu Po

Social Worker

Parent-child Support LineCollaborative partner: Save the Children

Acting in partnership with Save the Children, ACA Parent-child Support Line extends its

service to July 2013. Parents, children, young people, professional and public could have

a channel to seek help and support. From October 2012 onwards, a 4-session training was

conducted for volunteers to help them handle the hotline service. These trained volunteers

have started handling the hotline. If you need our support on issues of parenting, children’s

study, parent-child relationship or other issues related to children’s development, you are

welcomed to call our social workers and trained volunteers.

Parent-child support hotline: 2755 1122Service: 9:00a.m-9:00p.m (Monday to Friday) 9:00a.m-1:00p.m (Saturday)

We will continue to organise different activities, like setting up promotion booths in a public areas, to promote

our hotline service. We hope that our hotline service could reach those in need, including parents, children,

young people, and professionals so that they could get the support they need. Please pay attention to our project

information.

Ellen Pak

Project Officer

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Service Users Gathering 2012 cum Christmas Party

In order to introduce ACA services, to collect feedbacks from service users and to introduce Service Performance

Monitoring System, we organised Service Users’ Gathering 2012 cum Christmas Party on 16 December 2012 at

the Pak Tam Chung Holiday Camp. The event was sponsored by The Body Shop. Altogether, 147 service users

participated.

The occasion acted as an important

platform for the service users to exchange

ideas with ACA and to communicate with

other service users. We had a barbeque,

luck y draw and interac t ive games.

Everyone had a great time.

Yette Tam

Social Worker

The Chuk Yuen Centre Family Corner - Happy momentsSponsored by Zonta Club of Hong Kong II

The Chuk Yuen Centre Family Corner aims at networking the neighbourhood in Wong Tai Sin district. In the

period between October and December, our social worker started using the “Happiness with 7 Principles” in

programmes to create many treasured moments to the families. For example, one of our parents shared and

taught cooking techniques with other parents in October to promote the principle on “Helping others”.

With the sponsorship from UNICEF and The Hong Kong Disneyland, our service users participated in the “Charity

Run” in November. Despite the rainy weather, they enjoyed the activity. Besides, with the support from the Zonta

Club, we organised a talk on “Healthy Parent-child Financial Management”. The talk was led by the staff of Tung

Wah Group of Hospitals and Citibank Hong Kong. They shared with participants the positive attitude on financial

management and skills to set goals with children. Besides, some parents joined a programme of “Happiness in

the Dark” which was organised by the Wong Tai Sin and Sai Kung Community Health Promotion Project 2012.

It was an experiential activity which crossover between “Happiness with 7 Principles” and the “Dialogue in the

Dark”. The activity mainly introduced the “Happiness with 7 Principles” and to experience as blind and their

needs.

Our social worker has conducted the “Happy Lesson” since November. With the theme of “Happiness with good

health”, a stress management workshop was arranged. We hoped that the service users were able to practise

the relaxation skills they learnt in their daily life. In December, with the theme of “Love communication on family

bonding”, one of our committee members shared skills of foot massage with other parents.

We also organised an outdoor activity on “Happy Christmas in the nature”. It provided an opportunity for the

families to enjoy the nature.

Yette Tam

Social Worker

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Child Protection Carnival at On Ting Estate

In order to arouse the public awareness on child protection, ACA

Tuen Mun Centre organised the Child Protection Carnival at On

Ting Estate on 11 November 2012 with the theme of “Community

Inclusion for Child Protection”.The event was sponsored by On

Ting Estate Management Advisory Committee. Activities like child

protection games, child protection exhibition, school performances,

opening ceremony and Tuen Mun Centre open day were arranged.

The manager of On Ting housing estate was invited to be our

officiating guest. Participating parties included 2 local leaders, 4

schools and volunteer groups from 10 NGOs. The Carnival attracted

over 2,000 participants. Through the activities, child protection

messages were widely conveyed and Tuen Mun Centre services were promoted.

Joseph Wong

Tuen Mun Centre-in-charge

Good Mothers Sharing Time 2012

IIn order to enhance parenting skills and knowledge, a six-session Good

Mothers Sharing Time was held from 1 November to 6 December 2012 in

Tuen Mun Centre. Child developmental needs, skills in handling children’s

misbehaviour and emotional problems, listening skills and skills in

conflict resolution were shared. Altogether, 21 parents participated in the

programme. They treasured the relationship built with other participants

through group discussions, role play and experience-sharing sessions.

They also felt their skills in child management and communication had improved. After the course, 16 of them

joined the Family Corner Volunteer Group. They will assist in promoting child protection work.

Joseph Wong

Tuen Mun Centre-in-charge

Talk on “How to train children in good human relationship”

In a society undergoing rapid changes, children often find it difficult to build

up a good relationship with those around them. Thus, parents are much

concerned about their children’s ability to develop their own EQ. In order

to enrich parents’ knowledge and skills in helping their children to enhance

their EQ, Professor Norma Leben, a renowned parent educator, was invited

to conduct a talk on “How to train children in good human relationship”

on 28 October 2012. The talk was partially subsidised by the Social Welfare

Department Tuen Mun District Office. The response was very encouraging

with a total number of 199 participants, including parents, teachers and social

workers. The talk was very stimulating and insightful. All participants were

satisfied with its contents and arrangements.

Joseph Wong

Tuen Mun Centre-in-charge