The Hong Kong Society for the Blind

Annual Report 2016/17

Beyong the Diamond Jubilee: a Splendid Future for the Visually Impaired

Vision

To provide services to help maximize the capabilities of the visually impaired, facilitate their equal participation in society and improve their quality of life with a view to achieving a harmonious and inclusive society.
 

Patrons and Council Members

Patrons

The Honourable C Y Leung, GBM, GBS, JP

Chief Executive

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

 

Vice-Patrons

Mrs Marjorie Bray

Dr Bessie Chiang

Mrs Helen Kwok

Professor Dennis S C Lam

Mr Clive Oxley, OBE, ED

Professor C K Poon, OBE, GBS, JP

 

Council Members 2016/17  (As at 31 March 2017)

 

Chairman

Miss Nancy Law Tak Yin

 

Vice-Chairman

Mr Michael Szeto Chak Wah

 

Hon Treasurer

Mr Patrick Ng Wing Hang

 

Hon Legal Adviser

Mr Peter Chan Kin Sang

 

Hon Medical Adviser

Dr Kenneth Li Kai Wang

 

Members

Ms Fianna Chi Tan Ning

Mr Chong Chan Yau

Ms Winnie Kong Lai Wan

Dr Vincent Kwan Pun Fong

Mr Lawrence Lai Man Leung

Ms Ida Lam Choi Chu

Mr Lam Wai Pong

Mr Man Hong Lim

Mr Tang Kwong Po

Dr Nancy Yuen Shi Yin

Dr Alice Yuk Tak Fun

Co-opted Members

Mr Peter Lam Chung Yun

Mr Benson Lo Tak Wing

Ex-officio Member

Ms Maureen Tam Ching Yi (Chief Executive)

 

Committees  (As at 31 March 2017)

 

Audit Committee

Chairman

Ms Winnie Kong Lai Wan

 

Members

Ms Christina Fung Sau Man

Mr Lawrence Lai Man Leung

Mr Paul A Moore

Ms Peggie Wong Yuk Yue (since Jun 2016)

Ex-officio Members

Miss Nancy Law Tak Yin

Ms Maureen Tam Ching Yi

Staff Representative

Ms Katherine Szeto Dick Ka (Internal Auditor)

 

Eye Care & Vocational Services Committee

Chairman

Dr Kenneth Li Kai Wang

 

Members

Dr Hui Siu Ping

Mr Joseph Kwan Kwok Lok

Prof Kenneth Sin Kuen Fung

Mr Yan Wa Tat

Dr Nancy Yuen Shi Yin

Ex-officio Members

Miss Nancy Law Tak Yin

Ms Maureen Tam Ching Yi

Staff Representative

Mr Joseph Cho Chun Wah (Director, Clinical & Vocational Services)

 

Factory Management Committee

Chairman

Mr Michael Szeto Chak Wah (until May 2016)

Mr Lawrence Lai Man Leung (since May 2016)

 

Members

Mr Colin Bosher (until May 2016)

Ms Christina Fung Sau Man (since Jun 2016)

Ms Winnie Kong Lai Wan

Mr Christopher Marquis

Mr Michael Szeto Chak Wah

Ex-officio Members

Miss Nancy Law Tak Yin

Ms Maureen Tam Ching Yi

Staff Representatives

Mr Joseph Cho Chun Wah (Director, Clinical & Vocational Services)

Mr Sean Fong (Factory Manager)

 

Factory Site Redevelopment Committee

Chairman

Miss Nancy Law Tak Yin

 

Members

Mr Chong Chan Yau

Ms Ida Lam Choi Chu

Mr Lam Wai Pong

Mr Patrick Ng Wing Hang

 

Ex-officio Member

Ms Maureen Tam Ching Yi

 

Finance & Administration Committee

Chairman

Mr Patrick Ng Wing Hang

 

Members

Mr Eoin D Kelly (since Sep 2016)

Mr Hugh C Kerridge (since Sep 2016)

Dr Vincent Kwan Pun Fong

Mr Peter Lam Chung Yun

Mr Philip Tso Wai Pong (since Sep 2016)

 

Ex-officio Members

Miss Nancy Law Tak Yin

Ms Maureen Tam Ching Yi

Staff Representatives

Ms Kany Wong Kan Ying (Director, Finance & Business Development)

Ms Fannie Wong Siu Fun (Director, Human Resources & Administration)

 

Rehabilitation Services Committee

Chairman

Ms Ida Lam Choi Chu

 

Members

Mr Jason Ho Ka Leung

Ms Virginia Pak Lai Sheung

Mr Tsang Kin Ping

 

Ex-officio Members

Miss Nancy Law Tak Yin

Ms Maureen Tam Ching Yi

 

Staff Representative

Ms Amy Cheng Mi Bing (Director, Rehabilitation Services)

 

Residential Services Committee

Chairman

Mr Lam Wai Pong

 

Members

Ms Shirley Cheung Yuet Mei

Dr Ho Chi Kin

Mr Benson Lo Tak Wing

Mr Tang Kwong Po

Ms Amy Tso Lei Lei

 

Ex-officio Members

Miss Nancy Law Tak Yin

Ms Maureen Tam Ching Yi

 

Staff Representative

Ms Doreen Mui Siu Ping (Director, Residential Services)

 

Publicity & Fund-Raising Committee

Chairman

Miss Nancy Law Tak Yin

 

Members

Ms Winnie Kong Lai Wan

Mr Lawrence Lai Man Leung

Mr Lam Wai Pong

Mr Patrick Ng Wing Hang

Mr Benson Lo Tak Wing (since Oct 2016)

 

Ex-officio Member

Ms Maureen Tam Ching Yi

 

Yuen Long Home Redevelopment Committee

Chairman

Mr Lam Wai Pong

 

Members

Dr Ho Chi Kin

Mr Patrick Ng Wing Hang

Project Consultants

Architect

Professor Patrick Lau Sau Shing

Quantity Surveyor

Mr Anderson Chan Man Hong

Structural Engineer

Mr Ng Kam Tong

E & M Consultant

Mr Raymond Tam Kit Man

Project Management Team

Mr Ricky Ng Kwok Pui (until Oct 2016)

Mr Kelvin Wong Wai Hin (since Oct 2016)

 

Ex-officio Members

Miss Nancy Law Tak Yin

Ms Maureen Tam Ching Yi

 

Other Committees  (As at 31 March 2017)

 

Centralised Braille Production Centre Steering Committee

Chairman

Ms Amy Cheng Mi Bing (Director, Rehabilitation Services)

 

Vice-Chairman

Mr Lai Chi Chiu (Ebenezer School)

 

Members

Ms Fung Hang Foon (Ebenezer School)

Mr Jason Ho Ka Leung (Hong Kong Blind Union)

Ms Kammy Ng Ka Wing (Special Education Support Section 1, Education Bureau)

Mr Siu Siu Hong (Ebenezer School)

Mr Raymond Tang Ming Yin (Special Education Support Section 1, Education Bureau)

Ms Joby Wong Tsz Sin (Hong Kong Blind Union)

 

Observer

Mr Edward Au Yeung Chun Leung (Parent Representative, Ebenezer School Parent and Staff Association)

 

Staff Representatives

Ms Emily Chan Lai Yee (Manager, Information Accessibility Centre)

Ms Lynda Chung Kin Mui (Supervisor, Centralised Braille Production Centre)

Ms Rosa Ng Tin Yu (Assistant Supervisor, Centralised Braille Production Centre)

 

Information Accessibility Centre Users’ Committee

Chairman

Ms Amy Cheng Mi Bing (Director, Rehabilitation Services)

 

Members

Mr Kwan Chi Wai

Mr Terry Lau Shiu Cheong

Mr Lo Keng Chi

Mr Mak Ping Man

Mr Yam Pok Fai

Staff Representatives

Ms Emily Chan Lai Yee (Manager, Information Accessibility Centre)

Ms Chung Fung Kam (Senior Library Assistant, Information Accessibility Centre)

Ms Choi Ling Yam (Assistant Librarian, Information Accessibility Centre)

 

Deafblind Rehabilitation Programme Advisory Committee

Chairman

Ms Amy Tso Lei Lei

 

Members

Ms. Chan Mei Ling (The Hong Kong Society for the Deaf)

Ms Choi Lui Yin (Mental Health Association of Hong Kong Cornwall School)

Ms Chung Suk Han (Caritas Jockey Club Lok Yan School)

Ms. Wong Tin Ling (Ebenezer New Hope School)

 

Staff Representatives

Ms Doreen Mui Siu Ping (Director, Residential Services)

Ms Cansy Li Po Ling (Superintendent, Morning Glory Day Activity Centre

cum Hostel)

Ms Cheung Siu Fan (Social Worker, Rehabilitation Centre)

Ms Andria Cheung Wing Yan (Deafblind Programme Officer, Resource Centre for the Deafblind)

 

Parents Resource Centre for Visually Impaired Children Advisory Committee

Chairman

Mr Edward Kwok Ho Lai

 

Members

Prof Kenneth Sin Kuen Fung

Mrs Ellen Yip Ng So Yue

 

Staff Representatives

Ms Maureen Tam Ching Yi (Chief Executive)

Mr Joseph Cho Chun Wah (Director, Clinical & Vocational Services)

Ms Amy Cheng Mi Bing (Director, Rehabilitation Services)

Ms Penelope Yeung Ho Yan (Supervisor, Parents Resource Centre for Visually Impaired Children)

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Chairman’s Foreword

 

2016 was a very special year for The Hong Kong Society for the Blind (HKSB) as its 60th Anniversary was celebrated.  A number of programmes were held to commemorate this important year.

 

On 6 March 2016, we started our 60th Anniversary celebration at apm in Kwun Tong. We were much honoured to have the then Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung, GBS, JP, to officiate at the Kick Off Ceremony.  Apart from stage performances by the visually impaired to show their talents, there was an exhibition on the development of HKSB in the past sixty years. Furthermore, games were organised for the sighted to experience the difficulty of walking with blind folds on tactile guide path and doing tasks with goggles simulating different vision problems.

 

During the 40th Hong Kong International Film Festival, with the support of Create Hong Kong, we joined the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society to hold a seminar on “Audio Description for Movies” on 26 March 2016. This was the first time that Audio Description was formally introduced to local movie producers and film directors. The speakers included Mr Adrian Kwan, renowned film director who has won a number of awards for his films including “Little Big Master”, and Ms Erica Lee, famous scriptwriter and radio programme hostess.  The overall response of the participants was encouraging.  After that, with the support of the newly opened ViuTV, Audio Description was for the first time provided in a TV programme “Travel in Darkness” which was broadcasted from 6 July to 1 September 2016.  In each of the eighteen episodes of the programme, different visually impaired persons were invited to travel to different places outside Hong Kong.

 

To promote sports for all, we organised tandem rides to allow the visually impaired to enjoy the fun of cycling with a volunteer sighted captain sitting in front as the guide.  The Tandem Ride Carnival was launched on 21 May 2016 at Cityplaza, Taikooshing.  More than 2,000 persons in the public attended the two-day event.  To prepare for the 10km ride in 2016 Pacific Foundation Tandem Charity Ride held on 27 November 2016 at the Hong Kong Science Park, a series of training sessions were held for the volunteer sighted captains and the visually impaired participants in July and August 2016.  The Tandem Charity Ride was successfully held with good response from the participants and sponsors.

 

The Grand Opening of the Jockey Club Yan Hong Building on 9 December 2016 marked another milestone in our provision of quality residential care for the aged blind and other needy persons.  We were very honoured to have the then Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, GBM, GBS, JP to officiate at the Grand Opening.  We were most grateful to the Hong Kong Jockey Club for its staunch support of $205.38M for the project.  Apart from increasing the service capacity to 160, new facilities have been introduced.  With the use of information technology, the aged blind residents can identify their rooms by touching the tablet computers at the entrance with their wrist bands.  In addition, they are able to find out the activities and menu of the day from the tablet computer. 

 

Sixty years have gone by swiftly.  The Hong Kong Society for the Blind has evolved from a voluntary organization providing sheltered employment to the blind to a major rehabilitation organization for the visually impaired in Hong Kong rendering eye care and low vision services, rehabilitation and vocational training, educational support, employment guidance, adaptive technology advisory services, and residential care for aged blind and multiply handicapped persons with visual impairment.  Looking ahead, we shall keep up our efforts to make better use of information technology to develop more barrier-free facilities so as to further improve the quality of life for the visually impaired with a view to help building an inclusive and harmonious society.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank various government departments, donors, volunteers and partner organizations for their unfailing support and encouragement over the years.  I must thank all Council and Committee members for their expert advice and support in our service development.  Thanks should also go to all staff members for their hard work and initiatives to introduce new programmes and make good use of new technology to upgrade our services.  With the support of different sectors in the society, we look forward to further improving our services for the betterment of the life of the visually impaired and others under our care.

Nancy Law

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Chief Executive’s Report

While celebrating our 60th Anniversary in 2016, it was a good time to increase the visibility of The Hong Kong Society for the Blind in the society at this significant moment.  The followings were done to publicize what The Hong Kong Society for the Blind had been striving at in the past sixty years, and how the visually impaired improved their lives after having received our various services catered to meet their multi-faceted needs.

 

The easiest way to reach the public is the website platform.  In 2015, we made use of the Social Welfare Development Fund to revamp our agency website which was then completed in early 2016.  Since the launch of the new website, positive response from browsers received regarding organization of the different sections on agency governance, services, what’s new, knowledge sharing about eye care and how the visually impaired made use of various adaptive aids and apps on mobile phones to lead a normal living as far as possible in the information age.   The new website earned the Gold Award in the Web Accessibility Recognition Scheme 2016 organized by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer in the same year, that every visually impaired person would be able to browse our website without any barriers.

 

A micro-film based on the true stories of two visually impaired persons was produced and released in 2016.  It was shown on the agency website since March 2016, and also on the video wall at selected shopping malls at different time of the year for both publicity and public education purpose.

 

The first story was about a congenitally blind factory worker of the Factory for the Blind.  After working for some years in the Factory, he got inspired by his school teacher that he could be make a difference in life, if he took up the training as a masseur.  The massage training lasted for a year and the man was able to earn respect and praise from his customers by relieving them from muscle and joints pain through his skillful hands.  The second story was about a newly blind technician who suffered from retinitis pigmentosa.  Being the breadwinner of the family, he was much perplexed when knowing that he would not be able to continue the outdoor job as a repair technician.  He was lucky to have an understanding and supportive supervisor who was willing to redeploy him to work indoor as a clerical staff.  This gave him due courage to complete the rehabilitation training offered at the Rehabilitation Centre of our Society.  He learned to use Braille and the computer to read and write emails, and make report for communication with his colleagues and customers.  He also learned to walk with cane without relying on escort during the trip to and from home for work.  The two stories put across the positive message of “Never Give Up”.

 

We were grateful to Miss Margaret Sen who wrote a song for the micro-film.  The song was touching.   Margaret, a talented blind lady, is now studying music therapy overseas.  This is another good example that every visually impaired person has the right to go for their dream and do something different that they long for, just the same as their sighted counterparts.

 

Communication with various stakeholders including our donors and sponsors had been essential to keep them abreast of our achievements and challenges. Following the completion of the Donors Relationship Management study in early 2016, during the reporting year, service visits had been arranged for our donors and sponsors, or engaged them in programmes to meet with our service users and staff.  Besides, major donors and project sponsors were acknowledged on the periodically published Agency e-Newsletter to show our appreciation of their unfailing support to our services for the visually impaired.

 

Having set two strategic directions, namely, a) Shape  “One HKSB” to ensure Impact and Results for the Visually Impaired, and b) Strengthen Customer-Centric Mission and Culture among Staff Members,  as the main themes for the Three Year Programme Plan of the agency from 2016/17 to 2018/19, we had a thorough discussion within the management team in early 2017 to work out concrete actions to be taken.  Subsequently, two working groups were set up aiming to fill service gaps to meet the changing needs of our service users and to cultivate staff members at all levels a “customer centric” mindset for continuous service improvement and growth.

 

The society is changing and so are the needs and expectations of our stakeholders.  We shall continue our best efforts to move forward in partnership with our stakeholders for the benefit and well-being of our service users to live a quality life in an inclusive society.

Maureen Tam

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Highlights of Events and Achievements

 

60th Anniversary Celebratory Events Highlights Video

 

Press Conference on Research Findings - “Swallowing Difficulties in Visually Impaired Elderly Population”   (24 August 2016)

 

To better attend to the needs of the visually impaired elderly, the research team of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) Swallowing Research Laboratory visited 398 residents living in four of HKSB’s residential homes between August 2015 and August 2016. The study focused on ways to improve assessment and treatment for acquired communication and swallowing disorders in the aged blind, aiming to promote multidisciplinary evidence-based assessment and treatment protocols for such disorders amongst elderly with visual impairment in local and regional settings in the coming five years. Preliminary research results were announced at a press conference held on 24 August 2016.

 

Opening Ceremony of the Yuen Long General Eye and Low Vision Centre cum 2016 World Sight Day Vision Screening   (12 October 2016)

 

Following the completion of the “Jockey Club Yan Hong Building” in early 2016, the Yuen Long General Eye Care and Low Vision Centre resumed operation in mid-2016 after a five-year service suspension. The Centre will provide professional eye care and low vision services for people living in Yuen Long District and North Western part of the New Territories.

 

An Opening Ceremony was held on 12 October 2016 (World Sight Day). During which results of vision screening sponsored by L’OCCITANE Foundation for 2,615 kindergarten children were released. On-site vision screening was also carried out for 40 kindergarten students from Yuen Long.

 

Survey on Barrier Free Signage in Shopping Malls for the Visually Impaired (June 2015 to September 2016)

 

From June 2015 to September 2016, the General Eye and Low Vision Centre joined hands with the  Barrier Free Access (HK) Limited to conduct a barrier-free signage pilot study to investigate the effectiveness of various signages in promoting accessibility of the visually impaired in shopping malls. This pilot study gave a preliminary understanding of how barrier-free signages could help the visually impaired to find their way to the shops or facilities inside shopping malls.

 

Centaline Charity Run Carnival 2017 (8 January 2017 )

 

We were delighted to be able to jointly organize the Centaline Charity Run Carnival in the second consecutive year with Centaline Property, Centaline Club and am730 on 8 January 2017 at the Hong Kong Science Park. There were over 1,500 runners, including 100 teams of parents and kids, and 75 pairs of visually impaired and their guide runners. The carnival held on the same day attracted lots of other participants coming for a relaxing and meaningful Sunday with their families.

 

After deducting all the expenses, funds raised was donated to our Information Accessibility Centre for improvement of the library and audio description services for the visually impaired.

 

2016 Pacific Foundation Tandem Charity Ride

 

As the key event of the HKSB 60th Anniversary celebration, two renowned cycling athletes, Ms Jamie Wong and Mr Marco Kwok, were invited as event ambassadors. They greeted the public at the Kick-off Ceremony at Cityplaza on 21 May 2016.

 

From July to October 2016, 100 pairs of sighted guides and visually impaired riders completed a series of tandem training activities.

 

Press conference for the event was held on 28 September 2016. Public enrolment for the tandem charity ride in November commenced afterwards.

 

The much anticipated tandem charity ride – a first of its kind in Hong Kong, was held on 27 November 2016 at the Hong Kong Science Park. Mr Gregory So Kam-leung, GBS, JP, the then Acting Financial Secretary of the HKSAR and Mr Ho Hau-cheung, BBS, MH, Chairman of the Sha Tin District Council, started the Ride. One hundred pairs of sighted and visually impaired riders, joined by around 80 cyclists, made history by completing the 10-km route along Chong San Road in the Hong Kong Science Park. We are also pleased to have Mr Stephen Sui, JP, the then Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare, and Mr Simon Wong, Acting District Officer (Sha Tin) to officiate the Prize Presentation Ceremony.

 

From the Kick-off Ceremony in May 2016 until the Charity Ride in November 2016, the Pacific Foundation Tandem Charity Ride attracted over 5,000 participants.

 

 “The Hong Kong Society for the Blind Jockey Club Yan Hong Building” Grand Opening cum Open Day (9&10 December 2016)

 

“The Hong Kong Society for the Blind Jockey Club Yan Hong Building” commenced services in June 2016.

 

To mark this remarkable occasion, “The Grand Opening for The Hong Kong Society for the Blind Jockey Club Yan Hong Building” was held on 9 December 2016. Mrs Carrie Lam, GBM, GBS, JP, the then Chief Secretary for Administration and Dr Eric Li, GBS, OBE, JP, Steward of  The Hong Kong Jockey Club officiated the Ceremony. Sponsors of main floors and major facilities, and donors of The Rainbow Tree Donation Campaign were also invited to the ceremony to witness the memorable moment.

 

An Open Day was organized on the following day. More than 250 group and individual visitors toured the Building. They were impressed with the facilities and services provided.

 

Commemorative publication  “Hand in Hand 60 Years” (December 2016)

 

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of HKSB, we have published a special commemorative publication - Hand in Hand 60 Years. With a collection of  invaluable photos, audio recordings, texts, newspaper and video clippings, it gave a vivid account of the lives of the visually impaired in the past 60 years.

 

Achievement Highlights

 

Awards and Recognitions Received

 

HKSB has been given recognition in different areas and received a number of awards during the past year. We will keep up the effort to provide diversified services to the visually impaired.

 

2015/16 Family-Friendly Employers
 

2016 Inclusive Environment Recognition Scheme – Progressive Award
 

Awardee  : Health Massage and Treatment Centre

Talent-Wise Employment Charter and Inclusive Organisations Recognition Scheme

2016-17 Friendly Employment Award and Outstanding Mentor Award

2016 innoBrand Award

 

Awardee  : Jockey Club Tuen Mun Home for the Aged Blind

Social Welfare Organisation: Bronze Award

Energy Saving Inspector Award: Bronze Award

 

Awardee  : Ms Ho Shoon, resident of Kowloon Home for the Aged Blind

Youreable Fashion Design 2017

 “Herself + Daughter + Grand Daughters” –“Merit Award”

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Rehabilitation Services

 

148 trainees completed rehabilitation & route orientation training

 

provided 95 times communicator service to the deafblind

 

Rehabilitation Centres

 

The Rehabilitation Centres continued to provide comprehensive rehabilitative training to the visually impaired in Hong Kong. As at 31 March 2017, there were 261 visually impaired persons on the waiting list. During the year, a total of 64 trainees have completed rehabilitation training, with 84 more completed route orientation training. The Centre also provided 75 sighted guide talks to 3,312 participants from schools, various organizations and the public.

 

The two-year Rehabilitation Programme for the Newly Visually Impaired, commenced on 1 July 2015 with funding support from the Community Chest of Hong Kong. It would be completed by end of June 2017. The project aimed to provide emotional support to the newly visually impaired, help them build positive self-images and regain confidence in life. By receiving home-based training, service users were able to acquire better self-care skills. Through participation in group activities, peer support also fostered their social integration.

 

The Way Forward

A major review of the existing syllabus of different subjects would be conducted to better cater to the changing needs of trainees. In addition, more in-depth sharing sessions will be held amongst instructors of different subject areas to enhance their professional growth. Videos will be produced for each skills training subject for more effective knowledge sharing and transfer.

 

With support from the Social Welfare Development Fund Phase 3, a Client Information System will be developed for better communication between the Centre management and the instructors, so that more effective training programmes can be tailor-made for individual trainees.

 

Resource Centre for the Deafblind

 

Deafblind persons suffer from dual sensory loss. It is crucial to provide them with sensory exposures so that they can keep communicating with the outside world. In the past year, the Centre has organized experiential activities such as “Feature Travel to Shatin”, “Goalball Fun Day” and “Laughter Yoga” to bring them new experiences on sports and health. With collaboration and sponsorship from Motivic, we have also organized an “India Culture Tour” to enrich members’ knowledge of the country. In addition, the Hong Kong Broadband Talent CSI Fund IT volunteers taught our members how to use tablet PC in the “Tech without Barriers” campaign. This enabled them to acquire more information and close the gap with the social world.

 

Public Education

 

Funded by the Labour and Welfare Bureau, a half-year public education activity named “The Touchable Rainbow”, was organized in Sham Shui Po District. It reached over 600 people in different walks of life through sharing sessions by the deafblind, roadshows and stall games. A short video featuring self-narration by the deafblind and their communicators was produced to introduce the needs and services for the deafblind persons.

 

Communicator Guide Services for the Deafblind

 

With new funding granted by the Community Chest Time Limited Project 2016/17, “Communicator Guide Services for the Deafblind” continued for another three years starting from 2016/17. The Certificate Courses for Communicator Guide for the Deafblind had been organized to train communicator guides, who assisted the deafblind in the provision of escort services for medical follow-ups, going shopping and attending social activities, to promote social inclusion of the deafblind.

 

The Way Forward

 

In the coming year, the Centre will continue to operate under the “customer-centric” spirit to meet the diverse needs of our service users. Thanks to the support from Man Wah Trust Fund, a new project, “Reach Out to the Needs of the Invisible Hearts”, will be launched in 2017/18 to provide counseling services to deafblind persons and their family members and sponsor the acquisition of adaptive living aids.

 

Service Statistics As at 31 March 2017

 

Rehabilitation Centre

No. of training session conducted	27,089
No. of trainees received training (included those completed and not yet completed)	219
No. of individual assessment conducted	360
No. of attendance in outdoor activities	603
No. of site inspections in the community	11

 

Resource Centre for the Deafblind

Deafblind members’ age profile

20 or Below	23%	34
21-30	10%	15
31-40	6%	9
41-50	9%	14
51-60	18%	27
61-70	17%	25
71-80	3%	5
81or Above	14%	20
Total		149

 

Communicator Guide Service for the Deafblind

Total no. of registered communicators	22
No. of communicator services provided	95
No. of deafblind service users	30

 

Deafblind Training Programme

Total no. of trainees living in hostel	10
Total no. of trainees living in community	6
Total no. of trainees	16

 

Certificate Course for the Communicator Guide for the Deafblind

Elementary (8th batch)

No. of participants	22
No. of qualified communicator	11

 

Elementary (9th batch)

No. of participants	15
No. of qualified communicator	12

 

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Residential Services

619 persons received residential services

 

In line with the two strategic directions adopted by HKSB, namely, “Shape One HKSB” and “Strengthen Customer-Centric Culture”, two additional objectives were set under Residential Services for the Three-Year Programme Plan from 2016/17 to 2018/19. They were: “Service Quality Control and Assurance” and “Innovation and Use of IT”. Below were the major highlights of achievements.

 

Shape One HKSB

Along with the celebration of HKSB’s 60th anniversary, the Yuen Long Home for the Aged Blind also marked its 45th anniversary, whilst the Kowloon Home for the Aged Blind and Morning Glory DAC cum Hostel held a joint celebration for their 30th anniversary. Tuen Mun Home for the Aged Blind also commemorated its 20th anniversary.

 

Apart from promoting internal collaboration, we also emphasize cooperation with outside bodies. We  worked with the University of Hong Kong in the “Partnership for Excellence in Communication and Swallowing Research”, which was launched in August 2015. A press conference on “Swallowing Difficulties in Visually Impaired Elderly Population” was held on 24 August 2016. The research gained wide coverage in newspapers and electronic media, including interviews of the Physiotherapist I and Occupational Therapist I of the residential services by the Television Broadcasts Limited and a Radio Television Hong Kong radio programme that focused on swallowing problems amongst the elderly.

 

Strengthen Customer-Centric Culture

The residential homes have strived to improve basic services to provide client-centered quality care, with clothing, food, living and mobility as the key areas. In the past year, much effort has been put into the enhancement of the quality of meals.Meeting the needs of elderly residents with swallowing difficulties, staff training on elderly’s swallowing problems and feeding techniques was held. The chefs received training for producing tailor-made food, so that they could prepare meals that appeal to residents with swallowing difficulties in terms of appearance, aroma and tastes.

 

Service Quality Control and Assurance

Risk management has been introduced into residential service in the past year to engage different work teams in drawing up risk indicators and checklists. Assessment tools and manuals on nursing care have been standardized. Kowloon Home for the Aged Blind has been renovated to meet fire and building safety requirements of the license.

 

Innovation and Use of IT

The use of IT and innovative facilities had been adopted in the new Jockey Club Yan Hong Building to provide a sample of barrier-free and smart home. Facilities in use include: computerized medication system, computerized nurse call system, one-touch PC tablet hall control system, RFID anti-wandering system, RFID GPS orientation programme for visually impaired persons, RFID orientation for visually impaired residents with PC tablet installed at the entrance of each dormitory, and etc. Specific innovative services and training for demented residents are also available.  

 

Commencement of Jockey Club Yan Hong Building

With Jockey Club Yan Hong Building came into service in June 2016, the Yuen Long Home Redevelopment Project was completed. Residents of the Yuen Long Home moved into the new building on 31 May 2016. They were excited and happy with the new and comfortable home.

 

The Grand Opening Ceremony of the Jockey Club Yan Hong Building was held on 9 December 2016, with Mrs Carrie Lam, GBM, GBS, JP the then Chief Secretary for Administration and Dr Eric Li Ka Cheung, GBS, OBE, JP from the Hong Kong Jockey Club as the chief officiating guests. An open day for the public was held the next day.

 

Other Services in the New Building

Inside the building, the new supported hostel – Home of Delight was converted from the original Bradbury Home with an increase of capacity from 10 to 40 places with full subvention from the Social Welfare Department. Residents of Bradbury Home moved into the new building since June 2016.

 

A new self-financing home for the elderly - Home of Wellness, now provides 40 places for elderlies in need of residential care service.  It adopts an interior design similar to hotel, with comfortable dining and living rooms, a reading corner, an exercise area and an outdoor rehabilitation garden.

 

The Way Forward

Continual Partnership Projects with Academic Institutes

We shall continue to expand collaboration with various academic organizations, namely with the University of Hong Kong on two research projects related to communication and swallowing problems of the elderly, and whole body vibration; an occupation therapy service learning project with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University; a joint effort with the City University of Hong Kong on projects related to daily health care services and engineering; and a collaboration with Tung Wah College on innovative treatment for dysphagia and research study on “Quality of Life of Demented Elderly with Visual Impairment”.

 

Strengthen Customer-Centric Culture

An “Eat Well Live Well Project” with generous sponsorship of HK$250,000 by Mrs Tsao will be implemented in all residential homes. Under the project, we will seek professional dietitian services that cover advice on menus, education and guidance on how to eat well for residents with chronic illnesses, and the design of  nutrition menus for the elderly and the multiple-handicapped blind in residential care. On top of these, new equipment will be acquired and a tasty corner set up in each home. These measures will ensure that the meals are attractive and meeting the special needs of individual resident with different swallowing abilities. 

 

Service Quality Assurance Control

The key to “Risk Management” is to conduct inter-home service quality audits and assign “Risk Managers” to be in charge of monitoring different risk factors, thereby ensuring service quality. Besides, all professionals involved will propose their own set of risk management strategies in drawing up the Individual Care Plan (ICP) or Individual Training Plan (ITP) for service users. Professional staff meetings to share risk handling experiences and training on writing accident reports will be organized.

 

Innovation and Use of IT

The application of virtual reality and RFID technology on services for the elderly with low vision will be further explored.

 

Service Statistics As at 31 March 2017

 

Enrolment

Home	Male	Female	Total
Bradbury Care and Attention Home for the Aged Blind	20	30	50
Kowloon Home for the Aged Blind	N/A	77	77
Yuen Long Home for the Aged Blind Care and Attention Section	27	27	54
Yuen Long Home for the Aged Blind Infirmary Section	11	8	19
Jockey Club Tuen Mun Home for the Aged Blind Care and Attention Section	68	120	188
Jockey Club Tuen Mun Home for the Aged Blind Infirmary Section	8	26	223
Morning Glory DAC cum Hostel Day Training Centre	33	28	61
Morning Glory DAC cum Hostel Hostel	32	29	61
Home of Delight	14	19	33
Home of Wellness Basic Care	N/A	3	3
Home of Wellness Enhanced Care	6	14	20
Home of Wellness Infirmary Care	2	4	6

 

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Employment Services

 

211 persons were being employed at the Factory for the Blind

 

visually impaired masseurs /masseuses provided 35,413 hours of service to customers

 

The Career Support and Development Centre

 

The 15th Massage Training Course

The one-year 15th Massage Training Course ended in February 2017. Eight visually impaired trainees completed the training and six of them were employed immediately upon graduation.

 

Collaboration Scheme on Job Trial

Making use of the fund raised on the 2015 Flag Day, job trial training was provided to 11 visually impaired job-seekers since April 2016. They worked in different job environments such as the Hong Kong Eye Hospital to enhance their job skills and knowledge.

 

Piano Tuning and Basic Repair Training Course

A visually impaired candidate was selected out of eight applicants to receive piano tuning and basic repair training in August 2016. The trainee is expected to complete the course and sit for a certification examination in Guangzhou in October 2017.

 

Recycling of Used Piano Project

Under the support of Man Wah Trust Fund, the project was launched in July 2016. By the end of March 2017, 545 piano owners have expressed interest of donation, with 27 pianos of relatively good quality accepted. So far 22 pianos were sold and one piano was rented out. All the pianos were repaired and tuned by our visually impaired piano turners before sending to the new owners. The project received wide media coverage, hence promoting the capability of the visually impaired and the supportive role of HKSB.

 

Employment of Visually Impaired Members

Over the past year, 58 visually impaired job-seekers received employment placement. They are now engaged in massage, customer services, clerical work, or working as programme ambassadors, security guards, or helpers for the elderly, etc. Amongst them, 25% possessed academic qualifications of tertiary level or above.

 

The Way Forward

The CanDo.hk website of the Centre will be revamped in the coming year to enhance interaction between potential employers and the visually impaired. It will be relaunched in 2017/18 with new features to speed up the job matching process and improve efficiency of job seeking and placement for the visually impaired. Six advanced massage training classes and the 16th Massage Training Course will be conducted in 2017/18. A new class on piano cleaning and simple repair will be held to help the visually impaired to acquire a special skill and increase their job opportunities.

 

Factory for the Blind

 

The total sales volume of the past year reached HK$16,400,000, a 13% increase over the previous year. In order to enhance the ability and competitiveness of our service users, the Factory has strived to develop new job training programmes that meet with the changing needs of the labour market. Last year, two new job training, Laundry and Site Cleansing, were launched and offered 15 placements to our service users.

 

A working group on Service Quality Standards (SQS) was formed last year to monitor the implementation of 16 SQS in the Factory with regular review. 

 

To enhance communication between factory staff and the parents of our service users, the Factory organized its first parent programme in August 2016. The theme was stress management, which aimed to relieve the pressure the parents faced when caring for our service users. Through a seminar hosted by our professional staff and sharing by the parents, the programme helped to establish peer support amongst the parents.

 

To promote social inclusion, a new brand “Mok Cheong Street 19” has been developed last year and 10 types of canvas products were manufactured by our service users under the brand name. Through a series of product exhibitions and promotional activities, the strengths and capabilities of our service users were publicized.

 

The Way Forward

In the coming year, the working group on Service Quality Standards will formulate and execute training plans to strengthen staff knowledge about the requirements of various standards.

 

Exchange programmes played an important role in our long term service development. Therefore, the Factory will organize agency visits and exchange programmes in the coming year to broaden the horizon of our staff, giving them a deeper understanding on the development trend of vocational rehabilitation services.

 

The 2017 Hong Kong Conference of the Workability International and Workability Asia will be held in June 2017. An abstract on “Barriers to employment for visually impaired persons in Hong Kong” has been accepted for presentation at the Conference.

 

Health Massage and Treatment Centre

 

Business Overview

The S.K. Yee Health Massage and Treatment Centre and Bernard van Zuiden Health Massage and Treatment Centre have both achieved surpluses in the past year. Three additional visually impaired staff members were employed.  A total of 26 visually impaired masseurs/masseuses, beauty masseuses and massage assistants are now working at the two centres.

 

Professional Recognitions and Awards

The Centre has won nine awards in recognition of its excellent performance in professional services, social care and support for the visually impaired staff members. To name a few, these awards include: Sisters BeautyPro Beauty Entrepreneur Award 2016 (Diamond), innoBrand 2016 - GOOD SO Outstanding Innovative Social Enterprise, 2016 Tithe Ethical Consumption Movement - Corporates’ Most Loving Social Enterprise Award, Awards Scheme in Promoting Women’s Economic Empowerment (Social Enterprises) - Certificate of Commendation, etc. These awards affirmed our professionalism and boosted the staff morale in providing quality services to the customers.

 

Public Education and Promotion

In order to raise public awareness of the talent of our visually impaired staff members, we have nominated a visually impaired beauty masseuse and a sighted customer service assistant to participate in the “2016 Service and Courtesy Award” organized by Hong Kong Retail Management Association. Both made it into the final. It was a showcase of excellent partnership between the visually impaired and the sighted.

 

Donation from the Community Chest of Hong Kong

The Community Chest Capital Project Fund donated HK$348,845 in support of the renovation of S.K. Yee Health Massage and Treatment Centre and the replacement of a worn-out vehicle that supports the outreach services of the Mobile Massage Team. After renovation, the hygiene and safety conditions of the Centre has seen remarkable improvement, benefiting both the visually impaired staff members and the customers.

 

Staff Training and Development

We are committed to the provision of training and development opportunities to staff members, so that they can constantly upgrade their skill sets to achieve service excellence. Sixteen full-time masseurs/masseuses attended a “Massage Skills Assessment and Recognition Scheme” jointly held with the Career Support and Development Centre.  Two highly experienced massage instructors from Mainland China were invited to assess their performance, aiming to improve their

massage skills and knowledge. This would set the stage for an appropriate advanced massage training courses in the future.

 

The Way Forward

In line with the Centre’s customer centric strategic approach, renovation and service re-engineering will be continued in the coming years. We aim to provide an excellent service environment for customers and a safe and barrier free working environment for our visually impaired staff members, thus enabling them to fully develop their talents.

 

Service Statistics As at 31 March 2017

 

The Career Support and Development Centre

Employment Service

No. of job seekers registered	491
No. of new job seekers	27
No. of counseling service/consultations	3,868
No. of job seekers already gainfully employed	58
No. of interviews under escort	110
No. of job vacancy referrals	530

 

Job Support and Training Activities

No. of loan-out aids/appliances	100
No. of training classes & sessions	7&42
No. of participants	34

 

Computer Zone and Self-study Rooms

No. of facility users by headcount  899

 

Health Massage and Treatment Centres

No. of Visually Impaired staff	26
No. of Sighted staff	14
Total no. of staff	40

 

	Mobile Massage Team	Health Massage and Treatment Centres
Total No. of Customers	3,240	10,535
Total No. of Service Hours	1,385	34,028

 

Factory for the Blind

No. of service users in each section

Assembling	150
Paper Box	33
Sewing	13
Filing Tag	8
Storekeeping	6
Customer Service	1
Total	211

  

Age distribution of service users

20 or Below	0%	0
21-30	14%	30
31-40	14%	30
41-50	36%	75
51-60	26%	54
61 or Above	10%	22
Total		211

 

Classification of service users

Classification

Visually Impaired	22
Hearing Impaired	2
Intellectually Disabled	107
Ex-mentally Ill	78
Physical Handicapped	2
Total	211

 

Sales Proceeds (HK$)

Paper Box	8,193,160
Customer Service	3,205,499
Sewing	2,234,555
Filing Tag	1,527,433
Assembling	1,269,575
Total	16,430,222

 

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Barrier Free Facilities and Adaptive Equipment Services

 

sold 405pcs adaptive equipment

designed & produced 145 pcs of tactile maps

 

Barrier Free Access (HK) Limited

In the year of 2016/17, Barrier Free Access (HK) Limited (BFAHK) has achieved impressive results in the development of environmental accessibility, research and development (R&D) of wireless navigation technology and promotion of social inclusion. BFAHK will further develop its services and products, especially those related to R&D and application of innovative technologies, to strive for an accessible community for the visually impaired.

 

Achievements

BFAHK has continued its efforts in constructing an accessible environment. We have designed and supplied tactile maps and Braille signage for over 100 premises, including shopping malls, MTR stations, parks, recreational areas, government facilities and also in the stations along the MTR South Island Line which commenced service in late 2016. In the past year, BFAHK made full use of the new UV printer to produce tactile maps and Braille signage on different materials. The use of UV printer has enhanced the competitive edge of BFAHK by significantly reducing production costs and shortening production lead time.

 

In April 2016, BFAHK has started a joint R&D project with the Hong Kong R&D Centre for Logistics and Supply Chain Management Enabling Technologies (LSCM) to develop a cloud-based system that can effectively manage the RFID navigation system and other related assistive facilities for the visually impaired. This R&D project has been awarded a grant from the Innovation and Technology Fund of Innovation and Technology Commission that covered about 50% of the expenditure. The project will be completed by November 2017. BFAHK will proactively promote the RFID navigation system to different shopping malls, public transport facilities and government departments so as to enhance the independent mobility of the visually impaired in the community.

 

In October 2016, BFAHK joined the three-day “Love’s Team” Charity Event hosted by the Swire Properties to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of its Community Ambassador Project. Charity sales of handicrafts made by the visually impaired was held to raise funds for BFAHK’s public education activities. Moreover, visually impaired youngsters enjoyed the opportunity to demonstrate their talents and promote social inclusion through live performance.

 

The Way Forward

In the coming year, BFAHK will focus on the promotion of RFID navigation system and the development of related systems and mobile applications to further enhance accessibility. BFAHK will also organize training programmes on smartphone usage for the visually impaired to improve their quality of life through the use of information technologies.

 

Adaptive Aids and Equipment Service Centre

The Adaptive Equipment Service (AES) has been renamed as Adaptive Aids and Equipment Service Centre (AESC) in July 2016, with the introduction of assistive and daily living aids to further enhance its services in helping the visually impaired to lead independent lives. The Centre now has a bigger showroom to display the equipment and aids, enabling better demonstration of usages to service users.

 

The sales for 2016/17 was HK$4,276,940, 29.6% higher than budget forecast. A series of new products were introduced to the existing and potential service users through exhibitions and demonstrations. The product promotional activities have helped more people, especially teachers of special schools and optometrists, to receive up-to-date information on assistive, adaptive and daily living aids that are useful to the visually impaired.

 

Joint sourcing and procurement of aids were carried out with the Vision 2020 Low Vision Resource Centre to increase product varieties and lower costs.

 

The Way Forward

A new joint project will be launched with the General Eye and Low Vision Centre in the coming year to provide free demonstration of daily living aids and adaptive devices to members of elderly centres, where their members are more likely to suffer from low vision. It will promote awareness and early detection of visual defects so that timely management, such as acquisition of useful aids and services is able to improve their safety and their quality of life.

 

 

Service Statistics As at 31 March 2017

 

Barrier Free Access (HK) Limited

No. of tactile maps designed and produced (pieces)	145
No. of customers served (nos)	400
No. of orders (nos)	1160

 

Adaptive Aids and Equipment Service Centre 

 

Units of Equipment Sold	405
Maintenance and Repair Services Provided (number of job orders)	185

Adaptive Equipment Sales 

Repairs and Maintenance	185	31%
Braille and Speech Devices	49	8%
Magnification Software	123	21%
Portable Magnifiers	66	11%
Embossers	4	1%
Desktop CCTVs	71	12%
ScreenReader Software	92	16%
Total	590

 

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Eye Care and Low Vision Services

 

dispensed 12,127 pcs of low vision devices to developing countries

provided 44,670 times of eye care consultation services

 

The General Eye and Low Vision Centre

 

In 2016/17, the General Eye and Low Vision Centre provided quality but affordable optometric and ophthalmological consultations and more than 1,100 cataract and other types of eye surgeries to over 44,000 patients by head count. Besides, consultations had been rendered to 1,317 low vision patients and 16 sessions of low vision training were given to 31 eye care professionals.

 

Training and Public Education

Renowned globally for its provision of quality services and training in low vision, the Centre provided clinical training to final year optometry students from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, ophthalmologists from government hospitals and many other local and overseas service providers for more than 10 years.

 

The following two were the training and public education programmes conducted in 2016/17.

To enhance special school teachers’ understanding about the educational needs of visually impaired students, a one-day training was conducted for 40 teachers at the Education University of Hong Kong in November 2016. Through the seminar and workshop, the participants improved their knowledge and skills in the management of students with visual impairment.

 

In December 2016, working with the Education Bureau, the Centre provided a one-day seminar on supportive services and resources for students with visual impairment for 60 teachers serving children with special educational needs in mainstream schools.

 

The Comprehensive Home and Community Based Low Vision Rehabilitation Services to People with Low Vision in Hong Kong (CLR) Project

 

Thanks to the support from the Community Chest of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the Centre continued the CLR project for the benefit of the needy low visually impaired living in the community. Over 1,750 consultations conducted by optometrists and occupational therapists at the clients’ homes were provided to elderly persons with low vision, to enhance their ability to lead independent lives and improve home safety.

 

Surgical and Consultation Subsidies to the Needy With generous donations from the S.K. Yee Medical Foundation, the Centre has provided subsidized cataract surgery to restore the eye sight of 27 patients with financial difficulties. Around 2,067 patients receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance have had 50% of their consultation fees waived. The services helped to improve the visual and functional abilities of the poor, and allowed them to regain independence and enjoy better lives.

 

Customer-Centric Programme

To further enhance the vision rehabilitation service, the Centre has recruited a full-time social worker since August 2016 to provide counseling service and psychosocial support to its low vision patients. We have also set up a more systematic referral scheme, so that patients can quickly obtain the needy  daily living aids and adaptive aids from the Adaptive Aids and Equipment Service Centre.

 

Vision Screening for Kindergarten Students and 2016 World Sight Day

Vision screening was provided to 2,615 kindergarten pupils under the sponsorship of L’OCCITANE Foundation. The results were published on the 2016 World Sight Day and reported by 18 media.

 

Re-Opening of Yuen Long General Eye and Low Vision Clinic

The satellite clinic of the Centre in Yuen Long was reopened in July 2016 to provide comprehensive optometric and low vision service and appropriate eye wear to residents in the North Western part of the New Territories.

 

The Way Forward

Low vision patients living on Comprehensive Social Security Assistance will receive free low vision examination and devices. The service, to be launched in 2017/18, shall benefit around 120 visually impaired persons.

 

The new Resources and Operation Control System for the Centre will start service in 2017/18.  It will improve service efficiency by speeding up appointment booking, retrieval of information and data analysis.

 

Vision 2020 - Low Vision Resource Centre

The Centre is a major supplier of low vision products to the developing countries. In 2016/17, we dispensed over 12,000 pieces of assessment equipment and low vision devices to 26 developing countries.

 

In response to the growing demands for daily living assistive aids, the Centre introduced more varieties of assistive aids to help our clients to improve independence and their quality of life.

 

To improve the quality of low vision services in developing countries, staff of the Centre and experts from the Brien Holden Vision Institute, University of Melbourne and the LV Prasad Eye Institute have jointly developed training curricular for five different types of personnel essential to low vision services provision. They are: ophthalmologists, optometrists, refractionists, teachers and community-based rehabilitation workers. The curriculum for optometrists was published in 2016 by the Low Vision Working Group of the International Agency (IAPB) for the Prevention of Blindness.

 

The Centre’s product list was revised and placed on the website of IAPB as its Standard List of Low Vision Products to allow more clients to access and place orders.

 

The Way Forward

In the coming year, the Centre and members of the IAPB Low Vision Working Group will work together to produce a service protocol on low vision for children in developing countries. It will also focus on the improvement of customer services, so that clients will enjoy high quality professional support.

 

Service Statistics As at 31 March 2017

 

Vision 2020 - Low Vision Resource Centre

 

No. of low vision devices dispensed to developing countries  12,127 Pcs

 

General Eye and Low Vision Centre

General Eye

	Total No. of Patient Attendance
No. of ophthalmic consultations	23,100
No. of optometric consultations- (including 531 low vision cases)	21,570
No. of major eye surgery	1,137

 

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Education and Community Support Services

 

357,309 virtual visits of Tele-digital Library Services for the Visually Impaired

produced 563 titles of Braille eBooks

 

Centralised Braille Production Centre

All along, the Centralised Braille Production Centre (CBPC) has been producing Braille reading materials for the visually impaired in Hong Kong, with the aspiration to provide them with more up-to-date and a variety of information. On top of producing Braille books, Braille eBooks, magazines, newspaper, and managing the reservation system website, Braille audio text-to-speech eBook had become part of our routine services in the past year with the support from the Community Chest of Hong Kong. CBPC also took up a one-year pilot programme on print-text ePub3 ebooks for visually impaired students with support from the Education Bureau to further explore various reading modes for visually impaired readers.

 

The Ebenezer School started using Unified English Braille (UEB) in their English teaching materials for all of their primary forms as from 2016/17. It would be applied to Mathematics as from 2017/18. Last year, colleagues from the Centre and the School formed a technical committee to solve the confusion caused by using UEB and Cantonese Braille codes side-by-side. The Centre had produced around 50 textbooks in UEB and added UEB version of Goodies for students.

 

Last year, the Centre extensively replaced computers and peripherals, improved the backup and redundancy capacity as well as put into use the self-developed Cantonese Braille conversion system.

 

The Way Forward

In the coming year, CBPC expects further collaboration with more visually impaired parties on the UEB development in Hong Kong, both in terms of technical and promotional aspects. The Centre will enhance its production hardware and software as well as the development of print-text ebooks.

 

 

Information Accessibility Centre

 

System Enhancement

Approved by the Council to make use of the Lump Sum Grant Reserve for revamping of the Library Management System and the Tele-digital Library System in 2016, the two projects started in August. The revamping aimed to enable service users to access needed information more efficiently and effectively. In addition, after deducting operating costs, the sum of HK$238,545 raised in the Centaline Charity Run Carnival held on 8 January 2017, would be used to enhance the Centre’s library and audio description (AD) services.

 

Audio Description Services

The Information Accessibility Centre (IAC) was pleased to provide AD sound track for ViuTV’s travel programme “Travel in Darkness” during broadcast. It was the first TV programme with AD in Hong Kong. It was a major breakthrough in the development of AD service too. The programme broadcasted from July to September 2016 was well received by the visually impaired viewers.

 

Film DVDs with Audio Description

IAC helped to produce AD tracks for the short film collection “A Wall-less World V” (沒有牆的世界V), a DVD set produced by Radio Television Hong Kong for the Labour and Welfare Bureau in July 2016. Besides, with the kind permission from the Universe Entertainment Limited, IAC produced AD tracks for the film DVD “Call of Heroes” which was publicly released in December 2016.

 

Talks and Cultural Workshops

To broaden the horizon of our visually impaired service users, we have organized two talks and two cultural workshops. We continued to collaborate with Read-cycling in organizing talks on different interests for members in April 2016 and March 2017. In addition, IAC invited Music of Travel to conduct a workshop on “A Journey to Japanese Culture” for the visually impaired members in May 2016, and organized another cultural workshop “Why Bhutanese are so happy?” in November 2016, with the aim to give a fresh and holistic experience to the visually impaired participants. The talks and workshops were very interesting and were well received by our service users.

 

The Way Forward

Enhancement of the Library Management System and the Tele-digital Library System for the Visually Impaired are expected to complete by the end of December 2017. It will enable the visually impaired to have better and more efficient library services.

 

To sustain AD services after the funding support from the Community Chest of Hong Kong came to an end in April 2017, IAC obtained a three-year grant from the Swire Group Charitable Trust to start a new project, named “The Magic of Audio Description”, from May 2017 to April 2020. Riding on excellent service records, IAC aims to bring AD to the next level - to advocate for making AD a regular service in the community - such as the incorporation of AD into films during the film-making process, enhancement of cinema facilities for provision of AD, and the extension of AD to TV programmes.

 

Besides, IAC has also acquired another sponsorship that will go into other endeavors in the development of AD services. The focus of the new project would be service sustainability and enhancement of AD training. IAC will summarize our previous experiences in the development of AD by publishing a book and training materials to share with our counterparts in the field of serving the visually impaired persons.

 

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Community Project Grant: Parents Resource Centre for Visually Impaired Children

 

The Centre has continued to provide quality services to members and their families, so that their needs are well catered, while meeting the requirements of the two major funding bodies: the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and the Social Welfare Department. Various innovative projects have made significant impact.

 

The Heart Sing Choir

The Heart Sing Choir has made several stage performances at different occasions and various locations including the apm Shopping Mall, Youth Square and at the Society celebrating the third anniversary of the Choir. It was also being invited by Good Hope Singers to perform at the Let Us Shine Charity Concert held at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. It was their first performance at a formal concert in front of 396 audience including their parents and family members. These performances helped to build up self-esteem and confidence of the performers.

 

HNA Extra-Curricular Activities Subsidy Scheme for Visually Impaired Students

The Scheme aims to enable visually impaired students from low-income families to participate in extra-curricular activities during the school years. HNA Group (International) Company Limited has been the title sponsor of the Scheme since 2015/16 and will continue its annual support of HK$100,000 in 2017/18. In the past year, a total of HK$85,194 was given to 24 visually impaired students aged between six and fifteen to subsidize their participation in extra-curricular activities and artistic advancement courses. HNA has also sponsored the 2016 Summer Variety Show held on 20 August 2016. The outstanding performances by 37 performers have amused 50 audiences.

 

“See Together, Happy Together with the VI” Drama Project

With funding support from the Man Wah Trust Fund, the Centre started this project in October 2015. Under the guidance of the “Wishes” , a professional drama centre, training workshops have been conducted for 12 visually impaired  members and 10 students who served as Integration Ambassadors. Together they created and staged a drama “My Dream” at the 2016 Summer Variety Show, which served as a showcase of members’ capabilities and confidence, as well as their passion for their dreams.

 

The Way Forward

The Centre, founded in 1998, is now entering its 18th year. Our earliest young members have now become adolescents and young adults. In response to the changing demand for supportive community services from these members, and to better articulate the changes, the Centre has secured the approval from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust to change its name.

 

Effective from 1 April 2017, the Centre would be renamed “the Hong Kong Jockey Club Community Project Grant: Family Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired”. Under a new development model, the Centre will continue to provide quality services focusing on three major service components: Centre-based supportive services, Holistic Support Services for visually impaired students, and Parent Training and Empowerment programmes.

 

Volunteer Development Service

 

Volunteer Training and Gathering

At the end of March 2017, the number of active individual and corporate volunteers serving our various departments were 604 and 12 respectively. A volunteer orientation day was organized on 6 September 2016 for 21 new volunteers, enhancing their understanding of the needs of and communication skills with visually impaired persons. One training workshop on Sight Guide Techniques for 24 volunteers was held on 30 September 2016. A training day camp was also held on 18 November 2016, where 115 volunteers learnt the chair dance and the services of the Jockey Club Yan Hong Building.

 

Caring Company Scheme

All of the 21 partner companies and organizations nominated by the Society have been awarded the Caring Company/Caring Organization Logos organized by the Hong Kong Council of Social Services in 2016/17. Our Career Support and Development Centre, Factory for the Blind and Health Massage and Treatment Centre took part in the HKCSS Caring Company Expo held on 10 March 2017 to showcase their services and products to the public.

 

Volunteer and Donor Management System

With funding support from the Social Welfare Development Fund Phase 2, the Volunteer and Donor Management System (“the System”) was installed and gone live since September 2016 for volunteers’ service matching and data analysis. 

 

The Way Forward

Continuous refinement of the System will be undertaken to improve the service matching mechanism of volunteers.  Volunteers training in the forms of orientation day, workshops, day camps and the biennial Volunteers cum Corporate Partners Appreciation Ceremony will be continued to promote volunteerism and their sense of belongingness to HKSB.

 

 

Public Education Programmes

 

With the Equal Opportunities Commission sponsoring part of the expenditures on public education programmes during the past year, we have organized activities for 110 schools and organizations, with over 9,300 participants. 

 

Since 2015, we have been organizing public education programmes for parents and kids which were well received by the parents. In the summer of 2016, we have continued to organize four “Summer Fun” programmes at the Headquarters. Three newly organized “Working Fun” public education programmes were held at the Factory for the Blind. A total of 223 parents and children participated. The parents described these activities as a meaningful and special experience for their children.

 

We have taken part in the AEON “Yellow Receipt Campaign” Phase 9. Service promotion booth was set up on every 11th day of the month from August 2016 to January 2017. In addition, experiential game booths and charity sales were conducted at eight AEON stores between June 2016 and January 2017. Participants were able to experience the daily difficulties faced by the visually impaired and enhance their awareness on the importance of eye care. 

 

The Way Forward

We will continue to organize different public education programmes with more interesting elements, such as setting up game booths in schools and organizing “Summer Fun” at the Jockey Club Yan Hong Building. In addition, a comic book will be published to help the public to understand more about the daily lives and abilities of visually impaired persons. Last but not the least, we will continue to explore opportunities for collaboration with other organizations and commercial enterprises, so as to promote public awareness on the services of HKSB.

 

Service Statistics As at 31 March 2017

 

Information Accessibility Centre

Members 3,075

Tele-digital Library Service for the Visually Impaired Usage Frequency 357,309

	Collection	Loans
Braille Books	13,378 titles	5,841 volumes
Talking Books (titles)	7,062	8,292
Music Compact Discs (discs)	7,138	5,050
CD-ROMs/VCDs/DVDs (discs)	9,098	3,381
Talking Periodicals (cassettes)	N/A	8,655
Braille Periodicals (volumes)	N/A	6,715

 

Centralised Braille Production Centre

Transcribed Braille books	655 titles
Produced Braille eBooks	563 titles
Audio Braille Books	60 titles
Collected Braille eBook Reservation System	5,204 titles

 

Volunteer Development Service

No. of individual volunteers registered	604
No. of corporate volunteers registered	12

Total No. of service hours

Individual volunteers	24,875
Corporate volunteers	4,321

 

Public Education

Public Education Programme

No. of participants	9,367
No. of schools and organizations	110

 

Parents Resource Centre for Visually Impaired Children

Members  347

Member Attendance

Drop-in members	4,169
Visitors	183
Enquires/Referral	100
Toy & Resource Loans	152

No. of Programmes and Attendance

Programmes	183
Attendance	2,578

 

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Our Team

695 staff providing quality services to the visually impaired persons

Management Staff	24	3%
Social Worker & Welfare Staff	60	9%
Supporting Staff	114	16%
Paramedical Staff	122	18%
Clerical Staff	115	17%
Direct Service Staff	260	37%
Total	695