The Council’s Ma On Shan Children and Youth Integrated Service’s 25th anniversary celebrations took place on April 25. Ms. Gloria Lee of the Social Welfare Department, Council Director Dr Jane Lee, JP, and The Revd Hubert Che were guests of honour. More than 100 service users, both past and present, took part in the event to celebrate the integrated service’s 25th year milestone.
At the start of the event, the Ma On Shan Children and Youth Integrated Service Centre invited Ms Gloria Lee and Dr Jane Lee, JP, to officiate the opening ceremony. A group of young people from the centre then put on a dance performance, followed by service users taking turns to share their feelings and experiences on stage. The audience was moved by many of the speakers’ genuine emotions. An introduction to the centre’s services and games concluded the event.
Serving the community as a youth service centre since 1989, the Ma On Shan Children and Youth Integrated Service Centre was established in 1994 to cope with the changing needs of society. It is one of the first integrated youth service centres in Hong Kong. In 1997, the centre was reorganised into the Ma On Shan north and Ma On Shan south centres, providing onsite social work services to schools, reaching out to the community, as well as offering services at the centres. The centres launched late-night services in 2001 and in 2008, began offering counselling services at the centres to victims of substance abuse, extending the Council’s mission to the Ma On Shan community.