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Local Programme

Poverty and disparity between the rich and the poor in Hong Kong are becoming more serious than before. The Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report 2020, published by the Hong Kong Government in November 2021, stated that the poor population had increased to 1.653 million persons, while the poverty rate had reached a record high of 23.6%. The gap between the rich and poor has been widened over the years. According to the figures from the 2016 Population By-census by the Labour and Welfare Bureau, the Gini Coefficient then had already reached 0.539, which is significantly higher than 0.4, a sign of severe income inequality.

COVID-19 has led to the rising number of unemployed and underemployed persons, and it has become more difficult for grass-roots families to make ends meet while living on a tight budget. In light of the situation, World Vision Hong Kong has launched our Local Programme in collaboration with professional organisations and partners, and started to provide material support and care towards those in need. We focus on five pillars of work, “Support for Special Education Needs”, “Nutrition and Health”, “Experiential Learning and Learning Support”, “Mental Wellness” and “Living Environment”, to help grass-roots parents and their children become resilient, while allowing the children to develop both their bodies and minds to stay healthy.

Pillars of Work under Our Local Programme

Support for Special Education Needs

Accessible and affordable support is particularly important for grassroots children with special education needs (SEN) and their parents. 

Nutrition and Health

A balanced diet is the basis for the development of children’s intellectual and physical wellness. It is also crucial for breaking the cycle of poverty across generations.

Experiential Learning and Learning Support

Grass-roots children need to have the chance to enjoy diverse and inspiring resources and opportunities for learning, as well as positive family and social relationships to overcome deprivation.

Mental Wellness

The mental wellness of parents and caregivers also plays a key role in the physical and mental development of grass-roots children.

Living Environment

The living environment of grass-roots families is crowded, and basic furniture such as desks and chairs are often lacking. Children have to crouch on the bed to do their homework and take online classes, which affect their physical growth.

Other Projects

In addition to the four pillars of work, we partner with local welfare organisations, churches and professional organisations. We offer timely and specific short-term projects in response to the needs of grass-roots families during different occasions. These projects help parents and children become resilient.



Support for Special Education Needs

Accessible and affordable support is particularly important for grassroots children with special education needs (SEN) and their parents.

Career Orientation and Vocational Training

In view of the ongoing trend of population ageing in Hong Kong, World Vision provides SEN students with corresponding career orientation and vocational training in the field of gerontechnology with regard to their strengths, and assists them in obtaining recognised qualifications. Thereby, the students will be able to not only acquire livelihood skills, but also contribute to society.

Dyslexia Training and One-on-One Tutoring

World Vision provides professional dyslexia training for grassroots children with developmental language delays/disorder and dyslexia, and arranges one-on-one tutoring for students who have received language therapy services and require additional support. Through the use of appropriate teaching methods tailored to their learning needs, we aim to assist them in overcoming learning difficulties in integrated education implemented in a dual-track mode.

Let The SEN Be Heard": Parent Support and Public Education

Parents of SEN children face a lot of challenges and social pressures in their daily lives. World Vision organises various parent-child and educational activities, such as special movie screenings and workshops, to not only provide support for parents but also enhance the public's understanding of the needs of the SEN community, fostering social inclusion.

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Nutrition and Health

A balanced diet is the basis for the development of children’s intellectual and physical wellness. It is also crucial for breaking the cycle of poverty across generations.

Parent-child Nutrition Consultation and Workshop

Nutrition Matters by World Vision comprises a series of activities including nutrition talks, workshops, and one-on-one nutrition consultation, where registered dietitians share knowledge and practical tips on nutrition with local grass-roots children and families, help them develop healthy eating habits, and inspire them to create nutritious and affordable meals, in order that grass-roots children can have a balanced diet and grow up healthily.

Distribution of Nutritious Food

Through World Vision, different types of nutritious food and information on health and nutrition are shared with local grass-roots families for them to access and choose from a greater variety of food. All of the participating parents agree that their children are consuming more food in terms of variety and quantity, and that they have learnt more about health and nutrition.

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Experiential Learning and Learning Support

Grass-roots children need to have the chance to enjoy diverse and inspiring resources and opportunities for learning, as well as positive family and social relationships to overcome deprivation.

Parent-child Relationship Therapy

Due to limited living space, conflicts can easily occur between parents and children from grass-roots families. World Vision provides a series of Parent-child Relationship Therapy training for parents with children aged 2 to 10. The training aims to equip parents with skills to relieve stress and counsel their children, helping themselves and their children better manage their emotions, and promote better parent-child relations. A number of participating parents say that after applying the principles and techniques learnt in the training, they have noticed that their children have become less temperamental and can calm down more easily.

Board Game Groups for Children

World Vision organises board game groups for children, allowing underprivileged children to show their emotions, express their feelings and thoughts through board games, thereby improving their ability to learn and communicate with others.

Parent-child Activities

World Vision organises different parent-child activities, including visits to organic farms, movie days and music shows. In addition to the broadening of horizons, parent-child relationship is also promoted as local grass-roots families may enjoy family time.

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Mental Wellness

The mental wellness of parents and caregivers also plays a key role in the physical and mental development of grass-roots children.

Help Parents Relieve Stress and Care for their Mental Wellbeing

When facing immense pressure in lives, grass-roots parents may easily show negative emotions due to increasing mental pressure. World Vision organised a variety of activities for parents to relieve stress. With the help from counsellors, grass-roots parents learnt about pressure and ways to manage emotions, and care for their own mental wellbeing in order to stay positive when facing adversity. We hope parents may learn about the importance of their own mental and spiritual wellbeing to children's development, and that parent-child relations may improve through early intervention.

Self-help activities for Parents to Serve as Volunteers

World Vision supported grass-roots parents to join volunteering activities and share recipes from their households, giving them the chance to serve those in need while enhancing their own mental wellness. We believe parents could bring their abilities into play and give back to the communities proactively, share their love and care, know their worth, while feeling more confident.

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Living Environment

Grass-roots families tend to live in an overcrowded environment, sometimes even without basic furniture such as desks and chairs. Thus children may have to crouch on the bed to do their homework and take online classes, which affects their physical growth.


Drawing Exhibition by Children Living in Sub-divided Flats

World Vision supported a drawing exhibition by children living in sub-divided flats, in West Kowloon Centre from 21 to 23 September. Organised by Social Work Dream Community Development Centre, the theme of the exhibition was “My Home”. 31 children living in sub-divided flats in Sham Shui Po expressed their feelings and shared their experience about growing up in sub-divided flats, allowing adults to learn more about the living conditions of local grassroots households from the view of children, inspiring visitors to learn to be compassionate and encouraging towards children living in sub-divided flats, and show encouragement towards the children.


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Other Projects

In addition to the four pillars of work, we partner with local welfare organisations, churches and professional organisations. We offer timely and specific short-term projects in response to the needs of grass-roots families during different occasions. These projects help parents and children become resilient.

During the pandemic, World Vision distributed supermarket vouchers and anti-epidemic packs, including masks, sanitisers and rapid test kits for COVID-19 to local grass-roots families. In addition, the distribution of food packs and wellness messages via a food vending machine help meet immediate needs and show encouragement to the families in need.


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