GIRLS’ CLUBS IN HONG KONG

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28999, 14 September 1959, Page 2

GIRLS’ CLUBS IN HONG KONG

Pioneer Work By Lady Caine

When she was living in Hong Kong before the outbreak of the Second World War, in what she described as the heyday of material ease for Europeans, Lady Caine, wife of the director of the London School of Economics and Political Science, started the fltst Hong Kong girls’ clubs. “At first we had no money and no premises,” said Lady Caine, in in interview an Christchurch. “We started work in the courts, where young girls of 10 and 12 were constantly appearing illegally hawking goods on the’streets in an endeavour to earn money for their families. “We raised funds with mahjong parties and were able to rent premises on the waterfront. We had two rooms and a kitchen. They were very solemn girls with no joy in life and one day I decided that we would play musical chairs. We had no music, so I beat time on a huge copper kettle. I was horrified to see two of the girls almost faint. They were so underfed that they did not have the energy to play games. After that we concentrated on feeding them, strengthening them with simple exercises and having them regularly examined by a doctor. Later on we were able to teach them handiwork, crafts and elementary English.”

Lady Caine has also lived in Washington, the West Indies and Singapore, where her husband was vice-cha’scellor of the university. She has vivid memories of the many religious festivals in Singapore. All her cooks were Chinese and for two days at the Chinese New Year they would desert the house completely. During Ramadan, the Moslems fasted between sunrise and sunset for a month. This was particularly hard on the students, said Lady Caine, especially when the festival coincided with examinations.