Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)
Form One student Gordon Jian usually spends time in the bathroom in his cramped home in Sham Shui Po. His sister was given the family’s only desk, so the 14-year-old has no choice but to do his homework and sometimes even eat on the toilet seat.
“When you’re feeling down and want some time alone, it’s impossible. The bathroom is where I go,” he shared. He has lived there with his family for eight years.
The 120 sq ft unit is home to a family of four. It is smaller than a parking space, which is about 160 sq ft.
“Every day, we live on edge because these places are infested with cockroaches and rats,” he said. He added that his ideal home would have three rooms and a living room.
Hong Kong is infamous for its subdivided flats.
As of 2021, 34,000 children under 15 lived in small, cramped flats in Hong Kong. However, most solutions to fix this problem come from the viewpoint of adults. Young people rarely have a chance to speak up about their needs and feelings.
To fill this gap, NGO Social Work Dream invited 50 children residing in Sham Shui Po’s subdivided housing to share their feelings about their homes through drawings. These poignant illustrations were showcased in Causeway Bay for a three-day exhibition in June.
Feeling suffocated
Abby Tang, 26, is the children and youth project leader at Social Work Dreams. She explained that the goal was to provide youth with a space to discuss their experiences.
“They all crave personal space, but many still share rooms with family members. So everything they do is actually fully exposed,” she said.
Adrian Low is the president of the Hong Kong Association of Psychology and a chartered psychologist. He said children may struggle to build a healthy sense of personal boundaries, affecting their ability to regulate emotions and interact with others.
He noted that they might also develop anxiety from the constant exposure to noise and limited opportunities for play and relaxation.
Small homes, high hopes
Another Form One student who took part in the initiative is Matthew Wang Yipeng.
He sketched a layout of his cramped home showing the merged kitchen and toilet, with his bed next to them.
Mattew and his mum have lived in a 100 sq ft unit for about three years. His biggest wish is to get a job one day that allows him and his mother to live comfortably: “I want to buy a flat for my mum.”
He added: “My mum is afraid that I might have emotional issues if I live here, so she always encourages me to study hard ... She also told me that she would work hard to earn money so that I can live in a big flat.”
Use the puzzle below to test your knowledge of the vocabulary words in the story.
Sample answers
Stop and think: Gordon often escapes to the bathroom to eat, do homework, or to just get some alone time
Think about it: Low says that children could struggle to understand personal boundaries and regulate their emotions. They can develop anxiety from noise exposure and a lack of time alone to relax.
Consider: They wanted to give a voice to children living in subdivided homes.
