Daily Giving Service

A few weeks ago a group of Year 12 students from Diocesan Girls School offered to conduct an English camp at our Mong Kok Centre for New Arrivals. They were very surprised to discover just how determined the learners were to overcome their disadvantaged backgrounds!

DGS students are known for their excellence. In fact, 43 DGS girls have won The Hong Kong Outstanding Students Awards since its inception in 1985, more than any other school in Hong Kong. The school not only encourages excellence, it also nurtures a culture of giving in their students. The school motto is a play on the school name: DGS - Daily, Giving, Service.

Thank you Mother, from John

In obedience to their motto, Rachel Leung brought seven of her school friends together to present an English Language camp to the children from our Mong Kok Centre for New Arrivals. They used games and fun activities as a platform.

Rachel received a Hong Kong Outstanding Students Award in 2012 and says:

I think a person's contribution is not simply reflected by how many awards he or she earns, but also by how much he or she can give to society. At DGS we are nurtured to share what we are given. Since I have been given the privilege of studying in an English medium school, I wanted to share that privilege with our community and to extend a helping hand to children from the mainland with single parents. My biggest and most pleasant surprise was their eagerness to meet strangers. We were warmly welcomed and they enjoyed playing with us a lot, which we highly appreciated. However, we faced a huge challenge when we tried to use English as the medium to play with them, because they were quite reluctant to speak and often ignored our instructions. Surprisingly, after a few days, they were more used to an English setting and started to speak in English, so we think that our hard work paid off.

The DGS students helped the children complete their homework before the fun started. Eunice, another DGS student commented: "I was surprised that the students were more willing to invest time in their studies than spend the day having fun at Ocean Park or Disneyland!"

Like all students in Hong Kong, the primary school students from Mong Kok Centre must also compete for places in top secondary schools. In fact some are in the top 15% of their primary schools! They all come from disadvantaged backgrounds, and have little chance of attending costly tutorial classes. This reduces their chances of winning a place in a good secondary school. Fortunately Christian Action's services ensure that these children are able to compete with their more privileged contemporaries!