COVID, A Single Mother and Her Three Young Children in 80 Square Feet of Living Space

Ms. Lee, a single mother of three, lives in a cramped 80-square-foot subdivided flat in Kowloon. She does her best to be a full-time mother while somehow holding down a part-time job, but COVID stretched her to breaking point. Over the past 2 years when school was mostly online, Ms. Lee’s oldest son Michael couldn’t take class because her two youngest children were using the family’s only electronic devices for their schooling.

It turns out Ms Lee’s situation is not unique. A recent study on Tenancy Control of Subdivided Units in 2020 by Transport and Housing Bureau Task Force revealed that as many 226,000 people in Hong Kong face similar circumstances. They struggle with under-employment, poverty and inadequate housing.

To help meet this need we started Christian Action’s After-school Childcare Programme. The program provides internet access, homework supervision, tutoring and mentoring for underprivileged families like Ms. Lee’s.

Today Michael’s family’s financial hardships are no longer hindering his education. He attends our After-school Childcare Programme in Mongkok and our caring tutors and volunteers have helped him catch up. He has been doing so well in fact that he received a letter of recognition from his school!

To help families like Michael’s please visit our After-school Childcare Programme. You can also click here to listen to my segment about Ms Lee on Radio Television Hong Kong's "Thought for the Week" with Hong Kong Christian Council’s John Tanner.