Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)
A non-profit group in Hong Kong is asking officials to increase support services for ethnic minority children. A pilot project showed that more than 95 per cent of participants made progress with support services.
Heep Hong Society said ethnic minority families face many problems when finding help for kids who have special educational needs (SEN). These include language difficulties and not having enough money. They may also have beliefs that make it hard to ask for help.
Government-funded centres help preschool-aged children with special needs. But these kids must have a diagnosis. Government assessments take time; private ones are costly.
The Social Welfare Department said the number of non-Chinese-speaking children getting help for special needs at preschool centres increased to 968 in the 2025-26 school year. This is up from 741 children in the 2023-24 school year.
Heep Hong Society ran a programme called Project Embrace from 2023 to 2025. It helped ethnic minority kids aged six and below through SEN assessments and support services. Oxfam Hong Kong’s study found that 95.7 per cent of programme participants improved in many ways.
