Articles by
Steve Dennie

Travel Articles

Hong Kong: The Youth Centers

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March 1996

Some notes from downtown Hong Kong.

• At night, the sidewalks were busy with people, most of them young people.
• Often, I saw two girls walking along, one with her arm through the arm of the other. In the States, that would definitely draw stares, but not here (except by foreigners like myself). During the next two weeks, I would see girls walking like this many times--not only in Hong Kong, but in Macau, China, and even Thailand. I was assured it meant nothing. Nor did it mean anything when I would see two men walking together, one with his arm atop the other's shoulder. But I never got used to the sight.
• A man in a double-breasted business suit walked hand in hand with a girl wearing bluejeans and a sweater. There were always loads of lovebirds on the street at night.
• An older guy shuffled along in shorts and sandals and a blue short-sleeve shirt with a big stain in back.
• People here obey the "Walk" and "Don't Walk" pedestrian lights. Violators can get fined...or run over. Hong Kong drivers, I was told, don't watch out for pedestrians.
• People might be lined up three deep at a bank of ATM machines.
• I saw very few children on the street.
• I watched a guy ride past on a bike to which were attached five propane tanks, all bigger than the standard propane tank attached to my grill back in Indiana.
• A Pizza Hut delivery scooter buzzed by with a big square box on the back.
• I noticed that people dress pretty much the way they do in the States. In fact, it's not as weird as you would find in the States. No colored hair. The guys mostly sported conservative cuts cropped above the ears.
• I passed a shop with two glass containers filled with crawling-squirming lizards. Yum. Snakes slithered in another container. Yum.
• I went down one side alley where numerous vendors sold birds, birds, birds, all colors and sizes, chirping away. Three furry kittens were snuggled up in a cage, some Shitzu dogs in another cage. An uncovered cake pan sitting on a countertop contained thousands of grubs--bird food, I supposed.
• On Friday night, we wandered through a street market where you can get a Rolex watch for $30, and three music CDs for $10, with greatest hits collections by artists like Mariah Carey who, I knew, had never put out greatest hits collections. In a building containing several dozen small computer shops, you could buy a computer CD with all the major programs on it--PageMaker, Photoshop, Freehand, Illustrator, Norton Utilities, Word, Excel, on and on and on. Cost: $70. That's because it's all pirated.
• I passed a place called "The Meticulous Employment Agency Company."
• I walked around for two hours, and only saw a few Caucasians. And often as not, when I got close enough to hear them talk, I realized they weren't speaking English.
• I paused at the entrance to a little playground where four Chinese teens were playing basketball. One of them immediately asked, "Want to play?" I shook my head no. They began playing two-on-two. I sort of felt they were show-boating for the American, with the weak behind-the-back pass, the awkward double-pump heave in the general vicinity of the basket, and the roaming pivot foot.
• I should have played. I'm out-of-shape and out-matched in the States now. But in Hong Kong, I could have been a dominant player. A real ego boost. Lost my chance. I watched for a few minutes and then, without having seen either team make a basket, moved along.

* * * * * *

Imagine living in an apartment complex with 75,000 people. You've got your own stores, schools, theaters, restaurants, clubs--even your own Seven-Eleven store. Sure, your apartment measures just 30-by-30 feet, but you gladly waited five years for the chance to get it, so you're not complaining.

In Hong Kong, several million people live in these sprawling complexes, which are called "estates." And they have provided the best opportunities for the United Brethren church to start new congregations. Three of the last four churches started by Hong Kong Conference have begun in these estates. Lots of people to reach. And you can't beat the price.

Property is terribly expensive in Hong Kong. For instance, our Ling Ying church occupies one apartment in a new building on Hong Kong Island, and would like to purchase the three adjoining apartments, which would alleviate the over-crowding they now face and give them room to grow. But to buy those unfinished apartments, it would cost them $10 million...so they'll stick with just the one apartment for now, thank you.

But the estates give churches the chance to occupy a much larger space at no cost.

Every estate includes at least one children and youth center which offers a variety of programs for residents. The function is primarily secular--activities, tutoring, study areas, classes, seminars, cooperative services with the local school, the arts, games, etc. Most staff members, particularly the head person--the Centre in Charge--hold specialized college degrees (often in Social Work). The Hong Kong government pays workers' salaries, along with equipment and other operating costs.

Each center needs a sponsoring entity, and that's where we enter the picture. We sponsor a youth center at three estates in Hong Kong, and in return, can use space in the center for church activities. This partnership has enabled Hong Kong Conference to add more churches--a total of eight, now--and to reach a lot more people.

K. K. Chen, a banker, has attended the St. Luke's United Brethren church in Kowloon for 28 years. In addition to his regular job, he gives general oversight to the conference's three youth centers. Each center is actually governed by a committee from the local church, but K. K. keeps his eye on the big picture and applies for additional sponsorships.

The first such center, at Sun Choi Estate, opened in 1983. Other centers opened at the Tin King Estate in 1990, and at Whampoa Estate in 1993. K. K. took us to all three.

* * * * * *

The Sun Choi Estate is located in what passes for the suburbs of Hong Kong. Before the estate opened in 1983, the area was mostly undeveloped. No longer. Everything's newer here than in the city, less congested, with nice roads and modern buildings--most of them other estates--spread over the landscape. Mountains provide a backdrop in three directions.

A sign outside the center says "St. John's Church of United Brethren in Christ." A small reception area just inside the single full glass door features a three-seat sofa, a small TV, a trophy case, various magazines. People can borrow Monopoly, Chinese checkers, Uno, and other games at the counter.

The room to the right is about half the size of a typical schoolroom in the United States. A number of plastic chairs are stacked up. At one end, a cross hangs out from a red velvet backdrop. This is the church--the smallest "sanctuary" of any of the United Brethren churches in Hong Kong.

Going to the left from the reception area, a hallway passes two rooms. One is a game room in front, and two small enclosed rooms in back--one the pastor's office, the other a tiny kitchen with a double sink, refrigerator, and two hot plates. In the next room down the hall, two teenage boys are banging a ping pong ball at each other. They're good, very good, slamming nearly every serve.

Verena Hui became Sun Choi's Centre in Charge in September 1993. She holds a degree in Social Work from the University of Hong Kong. She's wearing bluejeans and a sweatshirt, and sports a pixyish short haircut and glasses. Very personable. Fluent in English.

Children and youth come to the center to play games, to study, to participate in special activities organized for them. Verena says they sponsor picnics, do tutoring, host counseling groups, and organize family camps "so they can improve their parent-child relationships." Six fulltime employees, all paid by the government, manage the center.

"We are applying for funding from the government to have a large-sale renovation," Verena tells me. "It's over ten years old, so everything is very old." The renovation would cost $800,000. They're awaiting the government's verdict.

I walk outside, past some older people sitting on stone seats beneath trees planted in the cement, and find myself overlooking a basketball court. As I watch, two lines of young boys file onto the court and stand facing one basket, where a handful of older boys are still shooting hoops. The younger boys are all wearing red blazers, with light blue shirts and what looks like blue sweatpants with a light blue stripe down the side, and sneakers. Recess time, perhaps? All students in Hong Kong, as well as in Macau and China, wear uniforms.

I turn around and walk across a sprawling, park-like courtyard area, a beautiful fountain in the middle. Surrounding me are at least eight apartment towers, most of them 27 stories tall, some apparently newer than others. Clothes hang from poles and lines outside of nearly every window--shirts, pants, underwear, towels, all on public display. Apartments filled with people with no Christian background.

* * * * * *

If you drive outside of the city into the New Territories, you find yourself amidst mountains and sparsely populated mountainside--not at all the common image of Hong Kong. Every few miles you pass through a quaint village. And here and there, you come upon a large city. One of them is called Tin King. Here, we have a church and youth center in the five-year-old Tin King Estates.

We arrive at Tin King at 4:00 on a Tuesday afternoon. It's a busy place. As we enter the lobby, about six kids are playing games off to the right. A drawing class is in progress, with perhaps 20 kids sitting at wooden desks attentively watching their teacher. There's a big library and study area, a room reserved especially for teenagers, a ping pong room. In the large office work area, a young man sits at a computer using Microsoft Word to type Chinese characters onto the screen. I peer through the window of one door and watch a girl practicing the piano. Upon noticing me, she stops playing and sits still, hands to her sides. When I move along, she resumes playing.

Agnes Lam, a single woman who appears to be around 30 years old, heads the Tin King Children and Youth Center. She oversees a staff of eleven fulltime and two part-time people. Agnes graduated from college with a degree in Social Work three years ago. After teaching for a year in a primary school, the Tin King church hired her as Centre in Charge.

Agnes has a strong concern for the health of Chinese families. In fact, someday she'd like to be a family counselor.

The youth center, she says, targets ages 6-25 with a wide range of activities (including, last December, a tour into China which enabled kids to explore their heritage). However, she says, "We also offer services for the family to educate the parents about their parenting skills and strengthen their relationship. That means we can help the youngsters develop."

For example, they started a women's group through which they discuss parenting skills. She'd like to reach fathers, but that's difficult, since Chinese culture places child-raising responsibilities on the mother while the father remains detached.

"Some women think that the father's role is not to take care of the children. It is the mother's role. It is not so good." In Hong Kong, more and more women work outside the home, but at Tin King, most mothers still remain at home to care for their children. They accept this role, since their husbands so often work long hours at the office and travel several more hours to and from work.

"The family culture has changed," Agnes says. The divorce rate is 16% and rising. Even two years ago, she says, attitudes were more conservative, and couples would remain together rather than divorce. But now, divorce is prevalent. Kind of like the United States 30 years ago.

"Many husbands work in China, and they just go to their home for maybe one or two days a month. So I think the relationship is not so good." Often, husbands will keep a mistress in China or make use of prostitutes.

The rising divorce rate, of course, increases the number of single parent families. In one school where Agnes helped teach, over half of the students were from single-parent homes. This, she notes, leads to delinquency and other problems. And it increases the importance of her work.

* * * * * *

Now, K. K. takes us to the Whampoa Estate, the newest one. This is where he keeps an office.

Our red Toyota Crown taxi stops in front of a building in the heart of Kowloon which says Whampoa Plaza. K. K. points to the second floor, identifying where the youth center for the Whampoa Estate is located. The buildings surrounding us are bright, new, fancy. To live here, you need some money. This estate is not for the common man.

The elevator opens onto a brightly lit reception area with a sign saying "Church of the United Brethren in Christ Whampoa Children and Youth Centre." A woman sits at the yellow-top reception desk talking on the phone. Behind her, several people are busy working at desks in the open office.

To the right, about 20 teenagers are gathered in a circle in a large room which, obviously, serves as the church sanctuary. Streamers and balloons hang from the ceiling, perhaps remnants of a Christmas or New Year's celebration. At the other end is a platform bearing a huge wooden pulpit; a piano stands to the side.

This being Saturday afternoon, the youth fellowship is meeting. The pastor, wearing a suit and tie, rises from among the group to welcome us.

To the left of the reception area is an open lounge with small tables and a pop and juice machine. Three girls are playing Uno at one of the tables. In a room across the hall, a young boy is practicing on a shiny black Yamaha piano.

There's a big kitchen, a classroom in which a young woman is sitting at a table tutoring a teenage boy, several offices. A dozen young girls, surely no more than five or six years old, are in the dance studio, right leg stretched upward onto the wood railing which rings the room, head pressed to right knee, arms stretched out to toes. Brenda, their petite instructor, walks among them offering help.

Further down the hall is a big room which includes a library and a study room. About ten teenagers sit at the desks in the study area on this Saturday afternoon. A girl standing on a stool reaches up to grab a book off the shelf; she can take it home for two weeks. Sitting in a basket on the corner of the checkout desk are brochures from Huntington College, on the other side of the world.

It's a big place. There's even a darkroom for the Photography Club.

All of the youth centers are concerned about parent-child relationships, and sponsor various types of activities and programs to improve parenting skills. Doris Wu, the Centre in Charge at Whampoa, is very pleased with the group in which parents and children, together, learn and discuss topics related to education, the nurture of children, and the pressures children face. "We want to make their family life happier," she says.

They also hold programs outside the center. Like the cultural camp, which brings together secondary school students and foreigners who are studying in Hong Kong (from Australia, New Zealand, India, and other places). "They have a good opportunity to enjoy themselves and also to communicate with each other to learn more about different cultures," Doris explains. "They can play together, and also they will discuss some topics. Examples of the topics are sex and love, how they perceive sex and love in their culture."

Doris holds a degree in Social Work, and is now working on a Master's in Public and Social Administration. Her family goes back four generations in Hong Kong.

"I think the main function of the children and youth centre is to develop the children and youth in life. We cannot see dramatically the changes, but we try to help them know what is right and what is wrong, and also we want them to internalize what are the social wrongs and the right attitude toward the community."

* * * * * *

Before erecting a new estate, an elaborate plan is drawn up detailing everything that will be required in this mini city--shops, social centers, schools, etc. The city then notifies Hong Kong Conference (and many other approved groups) about the proposed Estate, and invites them to apply to sponsor the youth center. The whole process, from applying to actually beginning the work, takes three to five years.

The government, having granted the United Brethren church the privilege of operating three youth centers, clearly looks with some favor on us. But what will happen in 1997, when China assumes control of Hong Kong? What will be their attitude toward churches? Will a communist government be open to letting a church sponsor a youth center in a new estate? Will they invite us to apply to sponsor centers at new estates?

There are many unknowns. I watched a TV program one night in Hong Kong about the impending turnover. China's leader, Deng Xiou Ping was interviewed, along with others. In the show, Chinese officials made their attitude very clear: "Thank you for your opinions, but in 1997 Hong Kong will belong to us, and we will run it as we like."

They have said they won't make any major changes for 50 years. But who really knows?

However, the people of Hong Kong, in general, are not very worried--or at least aren't letting themselves worry. The people of Hong Kong Conference certainly aren't fretting over the prospects. Rather, they keep looking for new opportunities to expand. And any time they learn about a new estate going up, you can bet they'll get their name on the list to sponsor the youth center. It's a great way, they've found, to plant a new United Brethren church right in the midst of Hong Kong's future generations.

* * * * * *

Next: Part 3