Kely Support Group
Encyclopedia
The KELY Support Group stands for Kids Everywhere Like You. It is a non-governmental organization
with charitable status, that tries to offer non-judgmental support to young people, from early teens to late twenties, in Hong Kong
.
It is a bilingual charitable organization in Hong Kong that provides a range of harm reduction services that tries to inform, empower, and build peer support in young people. Its approach is to encourage young people to help themselves by providing peer support
through positive contact with other young people.
to drugs and alcohol and realized that she had found support by telling her story to her peers. She was at school in the USA and upon her return to HK was astounded by the abundance of drugs in the HK school system. She eventually set up an informal self-help
group which offered help to individuals with addiction problems. South China Morning Post's Barry Grindrod told her story under the name Kely to protect her anonymity and from the overwhelming response she received, the organization began. Kely grew quickly with over 20 media stories in the first year and thousands of dollars in donations.
Since 1991, Kely Support Group has been providing drug education and counseling support in schools in Hong Kong following the model of peer support. Between April 2005 and May 2006, the organization has collected 391 surveys from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Drug InfoCentre (DIC) (香港賽馬會藥物咨詢天地/香港赛马会药物咨询天地) workshops. 89% of students surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that the program made them more aware of the negative effects of illegal drugs.
(CAS) in all of its programs, which emphasize on learning by doing real tasks that have real consequences and then reflecting on these experiences over time through CAS. CAS is a framework for experiential learning, designed to involve students in new roles. All the programs organized by KELY aim to follow this principle. KELY's services aim to help young people gain a better understanding of the adolescent issues and build positive attitudes towards these issues.
Service provisions
The program has been expanding due to the effort made by older students who have gained the skills and knowledge from it. They pass on their skills and knowledge to the younger peers by conducting workshops and organizing campaigns in their schools. In 2005, KELY offers 145 training sessions to 2,951 pupils.
and eating disorders. The workshops can be on one single topic or a combination of several topics, depending on the students’ needs.
Similar to the Peer Support Training Programme, the workshops are composed of interactive activities such as role plays, case studies and games. Students learn about the topic and acquire positive attitudes towards it through experience and enjoyment.
More details.
Basically, there are three main features which make their counselling and hotline services popular among the youth:
The KELY Circus School aims at developing the non-academic skills of the youth. It teaches young people circus skills such as juggling
, stilt walking, unicycle
riding and plate spinning
as well as magic tricks. The School operates in the forms of regular workshops and summer projects, which enable students to engage in artistic performances and later pass on their skills to other students.
In 2005-2006, a programme named "Get Active! Be Empowered! Social Circus Programme" runs in 30 local secondary schools, providing training of circus skills to more than 600 students. More importantly, the project outreached well over 70,000 participants. Through performing the circus skills learnt at school and in the community, participants promoted the message of active and healthy life style to their fellow schoolmates.
, oral and written words, and sound and touch as a means to widen and deepen ways of self-discovery and expression.
In Jan 2006, KELY led a series of workshops called ‘Movement-based expressive art therapy
’ in the Hong Kong Youth Arts Festival. Through art and movement, participants understood more about themselves and further developed their self-expression. First, participants gained a better understanding about themselves by drawing oil pastel
pictures and writing words to reflect on themselves. Besides, participants developed self-expression by discussion each other’s pictures. Finally, participants drew again to express their feelings at the end of the session. Teachers of the participating schools claimed that children with behavioral problems seem to benefit from the workshops.
etc. It consists of a series of Harm Reduction Workshops as well as the delivery of specially-designed Harm Reduction Cards.
KELY runs Harm Reduction Workshops in English on common adolescent topics. So far, KELY has been providing a total of 378 Harm Reduction Workshops in 27 schools and organizations, involving up to 12, 547 participants.
Since 2004, a guided study tour of the new Drug Information Centre has been incorporated in the workshops. The study tour is composed of two sessions – debriefing and sharing – which try to raises pupils’ interests in knowing more about drugs and related problems. Just in 2005, KELY succeeded in organizing 20 visits to the Centre.
In addition, talks with guest speakers from the Alcoholics Anonymous
and Narcotics Anonymous
are also incorporated in the workshops. These speakers were drug users or alcohol addicts before and they shared their real-life experiences with the students. After listening to the speakers, students become more aware of the risks of drug
and alcohol abuse
.
Hong Kong (O). It is a bilingual project composed of CSKO (conducted in Cantonese) and ESKO (conducted in English), hoping to meet the needs of both local and international schools. The SKO Project consists of a series of interactive workshops and seminars on the topics of depression, suicide
and other adolescent concerns. In the project, young people are taught ways to cope with stress and pressure and are encouraged to seek peer support
in face of depression and stress
. In addition, participants are given many opportunities to build their leadership
, teamwork
and communication skills, helping to boost their self-confidence
and widening their peer network.
This project makes good use of peer influence in asking the participants to run projects in their schools so that they can pass on the skills and knowledge they acquired in the project. It is hoped that through peer influence, young people's awareness of the problems of depression and suicide can be raised, and hence they could provide support to each other.
Hong Kong jointly organized the ‘Youth Suicide Prevention Programme’ for students in both CMI (Chinese as the Medium of Instruction) and EMI (English as the Medium of Instruction) local secondary schools as well as international schools. The programme adopted the approach of peer support
– young participants were encouraged and trained to listen to, care for and help each other.
In 2002, 45 secondary schools took part in the programme with nearly a hundred senior students helping to bring the issue of suicide
up to their peers. Other than interactive workshops, senior students tried to educate their peers by devising projects and dramas and running teacher training sessions on depression and suicide
. As the programme enabled contacts among various secondary schools, students were able to widen their peer connection network and build up confidence so that they can provide support to their peers and family.
KELY hopes to hold YSPP in every local secondary school. The funding needed to facilitate these programmes comes from places like the Outward Bound Trust, the Jackie Chan
Foundation and the Matilda Sedan Chair Race Charity Fund, to cover the costs in training each participant to recognize and handle despair, hiring coordinators and training volunteers.
) and a local university (Chinese University of Hong Kong
) with the help of 26 young voluntary workers.
There were 109 youth participants in total from four organizations, namely Christian Action, Hope Worldwide, Parents of Autistic Children in Mainstream Education and the Caritas Hong Kong
(Community Centre in Aberdeen). While enjoying the programs, the participants also build friendships with each other.
"The Coca-Cola
Project" was successfully held on 30 December 2005. It was held mainly for enhancing the awareness of 'Get Active Be Empowered' among students from 30 secondary schools, educating them about healthy and active lifestyle and encouraging them to lead such a lifestyle. The programme was run by KELY Support Group in partnership with Swire Coca-Cola HK Limited (SCCHK), supported by Hong Kong School Sports Federation. The programme included regular physical exercises, workshops and interactions with youth ambassadors.
In order to help the youth from minority ethnic groups to get used to staying in school, KELY launched the Skateboard Project, which provided after-class-training on skateboard
ing and rollerblading. It also included team building activities, anger management, problem solving and conflict resolution skills. Besides, participants were given opportunities to perform in the local community and provide training to their peers at schools.
The aim of this In-Sense project was to give the youth an opportunity to reflect on their self-identity and body image
instead of only accepting those thrust upon them from the society. At the end of a series of summer workshops, the participants put on a theatrical performance which they designed, planned and organised all by their own.
This project enables the participating youths to reexamine their values and look at how external forces can have an impact on their views of themselves. It also helped them to explore their creative, dramatic and cinematic skills.
View more
KELY Support Group launched a "Dress Up Your Bear Bear" Campaign which was organized by Ho-Sum Organization, and joined with Hong Kong society for Protection of Children, Hong Kong Family Welfare Society, Hong Chi Association,in April 2004.
KELY and another four charity partners held five events together. This project attracted the attention and received the support of over 100 members from various professions, from students to housewives. Therefore, over 100 bears were sent out to the kids who need to express their gratefulness to those who care about and love them.
The paintings are now on-the-go travelling around different schools in Hong Kong for display.
KELY has been receiving generous donations in the annual charity ball. The ball aims at providing financial support to enable KELY to continue its valuable service to the youth of Hong Kong.
Operation Santa Claus is an annual fund-raising concert jointly organized by RTHK’s English Programme Service (Radio 3) and the South China Morning Post
.
In the year 2001,a concert was held to celebrate Christmas - a splendid tree lighting ceremony and the performance of Starlight Capriccio.Also in that year,KELY Support Group became one of Operation Santa Claus’ beneficiaries and received a donation of HK $3.6 million.
The Peak
put up an outdoor fund-raising concert with local bands. Booths selling food and beverages were also set up in order to raise fund for KELY. The event was complemented with the KELY Circus School members, who encouraged the youths to participate and experience the unique and powerful KELY spirit.
KELY's Have A Hug Day took place on December 14, 2001, which was a special occasion for heartfelt hugs amongst young people and their peers. The Hug Day project was aimed to raise awareness of a more positive communication attitude among young people in Hong Kong.
On that day, participants wore badges which would light up when they received a hug. Each badge was sold for HK $10.00, half amount of which would be directly dedicated to the charitable body. The event succeeded in raising a total amount of HK $63,337.90.
What's more, the world's largest group hug was formed at South Island School
on this
meaningful Hug Day.
The Matilda Bazaar and Sedan Chair Race is held annually in November. It raises money for needy charitable organizations in the local community. Since 2000 (from 2000 to 2006), the KELY Support Group has been one of the beneficiaries of Matilda Bazaar and Sedan Chair Race.
from two main institutions: Cirque De Monde and the National Institute of Circus Arts
.
(香港社會服務聯會﹝簡稱社聯﹞/香港社会服务联会（简称社联）), KELY receives no financial subsidy from the government or The Community Chest of Hong Kong
(香港公益金), relying instead on the generosity of the general public and corporate sponsors.
, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Hong Kong Bus Shelters, German Swiss International School and even Yoga Society of Hong Kong.
View the complete list
aims at helping to develop a peaceful and wealthy Asia-Pacific
environment with the experience of over 50 years.Being classified into the category of Children and Youth, Asia Foundation provided KELY Support Group with financial support.
In 2004-2005, KELY provided a self-defence programme for girls, namely ‘Power Tough!’ The programme aimed at training ‘tough’ girl, and therefore, self-confidence and self-esteem
building formed the crucial part of the programme.
Goldman Sachs supported the youth by sponsoring a graduation outing to Treasure Island on Lantau. Participants from the Delia Memorial School were invited to the outing in which they had to take part in ‘tough’ physical activities such as hiking
, kayaking
and swimming. Besides, Goldman Sachs staff also volunteered to be the mentors of the students.
Read more about the 'Dying to be Thing' booklet
In 1997-1998, KELY was granted HKD 75, 125 to run the project ‘The Low-Down on Drugs’. KELY used the funding to produce a booklet on drugs. In order to attract more youth to read up on drugs, the booklet is bilingual and color-printed. Moreover, the booklets are handed out to schools, libraries, agencies that work with drugs problems and any one who made a telephone enquiry about drug-related information.
In 2002-2003, KELY was granted HKD 112, 000 to run an anti-drug programme, namely ‘Hop Hop Hoops’. The programme was conducted in English, hoping to reach out to international school students and ethnic minority youths who do not speak Cantonese.
The programme aims at helping young people to build healthy interests so that they would stay away from drugs. Hence, ‘Hip hop
Hoops’ offers workshops on two healthy and drug-free interests: basketball and hip-hop dance. More importantly, the programme consists of a series of drug education sessions in parallel with the dance and basketball sessions.
In 2004-2005, KELY continued to run ‘Hip Hop Hoops’ in the Sear Rogers International School.
. It also delves into local issues including education, employment, environment and pop culture.
The magazine is distributed at no cost to over 500 secondary schools, youth agencies and various public libraries in Hong Kong.
View the newest issue
cards to promote the healthy and positive lifestyle in young people. In 1999, KELY outreach workers had distributed 10,000 ‘harm reduction’ cards printed in English and Chinese on the topics depression, sex
and alcohol
. Frequent party-goers became the target group in the distribution of the cards, and hence KELY staff attended rave
and dance parties on a regular basis to hand out the cards.
The cards are specially designed. They are pocket-sized with colorful cartoons on one side and information on the other.
Some of the card designs are as follows:
KELY wished to persuade young drug users to reduce their dosage. However, the 'harm reduction' warnings on the cards (see above) received criticisms from the public. For instance, director of Christian Zheng Sheng Association, Jacob Lam, commented on the cards negatively, "If there is no definite message to tell them about drugs are drugs no matter how little is being taken, it won't cut craving. Young people might also think it is acceptable to do it within a certain limit." In response to the criticisms, KELY argued that each card still ends with a warning that ‘not to do them at all’ is the best way to be free of the side effects of drugs. It also stresses that possession of drugs are illegal and could mean jail.
Regarding the criticisms over the issue on KELY's harm reduction cards, spokesman from the HKSAR Narcotics Division showed a neutral attitude, "We do not comment on private initiatives but we do welcome different approaches."
Watch the video.
Listen to the program.
, KELY has attracted the attention from various kinds of press:
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
with charitable status, that tries to offer non-judgmental support to young people, from early teens to late twenties, in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.
It is a bilingual charitable organization in Hong Kong that provides a range of harm reduction services that tries to inform, empower, and build peer support in young people. Its approach is to encourage young people to help themselves by providing peer support
Peer support
Peer support occurs when people provide knowledge, experience, emotional, social or practical help to each other. It commonly refers to an initiative consisting of trained supporters, and can take a number of forms such as peer mentoring, listening, or counseling...
through positive contact with other young people.
History
KELY was founded in 1991 by Samantha Martin, daughter of successful Hong Kong business persons; who was overcoming her addictionSubstance use disorder
Substance use disorders include substance abuse and substance dependence. In DSM-IV, the conditions are formally diagnosed as one or the other, but it has been proposed that DSM-5 combine the two into a single condition called "Substance-use disorder"....
to drugs and alcohol and realized that she had found support by telling her story to her peers. She was at school in the USA and upon her return to HK was astounded by the abundance of drugs in the HK school system. She eventually set up an informal self-help
Self-help
Self-help, or self-improvement, is a self-guided improvement—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. There are many different self-help movements and each has its own focus, techniques, associated beliefs, proponents and in some cases, leaders...
group which offered help to individuals with addiction problems. South China Morning Post's Barry Grindrod told her story under the name Kely to protect her anonymity and from the overwhelming response she received, the organization began. Kely grew quickly with over 20 media stories in the first year and thousands of dollars in donations.
Since 1991, Kely Support Group has been providing drug education and counseling support in schools in Hong Kong following the model of peer support. Between April 2005 and May 2006, the organization has collected 391 surveys from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Drug InfoCentre (DIC) (香港賽馬會藥物咨詢天地/香港赛马会药物咨询天地) workshops. 89% of students surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that the program made them more aware of the negative effects of illegal drugs.
Mission
KELY’s mission is to empower young people to live happy and fulfilling lives, as well as to help them realize their full potential. Through its peer support approach KELY fosters attitudes of care and support among today’s youth.Structure
Other than two patrons and seven board members, Kely Support Group has seven paid staff. This small group environment helps to build a tight-knit community which better serves the youths in Hong Kong.Board members
- Emeritus Chairman - Mr. Andrew Jones
- Chairperson - Mrs. Diane Bohm
- Secretary - Weir and Associates
- Treasurer - Mr. Martin Hills
- Member - Ms. Fern Ngai, Ms. Philoria Ng and Mr Paul Tchen
Staff
- Executive Director - Mr. Chung Tang
- Communications and Development Assistant Manager - Ms. Derry Yuen
- Youth Services Coordinator - Ms. Palin Ngaotheppitak
- Youth Services Officer - Mr. Fai Chan, Mr. Ivan Ng and Mr. Frankie Lam
- Administrator - Mr. Kelvin Chee
Services
KELY incorporates Creativity, Action, ServiceCreativity, Action, Service
Creativity, action, service is a mandatory core component of the IB Diploma Programme. It aims to provide a 'counterbalance' to the academic rigour of the educational programme. Before the 2010 examination there was a 150 hour requirement, with an approximately equal distribution of creativity,...
(CAS) in all of its programs, which emphasize on learning by doing real tasks that have real consequences and then reflecting on these experiences over time through CAS. CAS is a framework for experiential learning, designed to involve students in new roles. All the programs organized by KELY aim to follow this principle. KELY's services aim to help young people gain a better understanding of the adolescent issues and build positive attitudes towards these issues.
Service provisions
Peer Support Training Program
This program aims at developing the youth into a positive and independent individual. It normally has 8 to 10 sessions, each lasting up to 2 hours. Instead of giving lectures or seminars, the programme consists of a great variety of experiential learning such as role plays, exercises and discussions which are all highly interactive. Most important of all, the program is conducted by a group of well-trained peer support members. These peer helpers possess additional insights into life as well as valuable skills in developing positive relationships. Through interactions with the peer team, the attitudes and behavior of the participants can be influenced positively.The program has been expanding due to the effort made by older students who have gained the skills and knowledge from it. They pass on their skills and knowledge to the younger peers by conducting workshops and organizing campaigns in their schools. In 2005, KELY offers 145 training sessions to 2,951 pupils.
School workshops
As KELY has established a wide network in both local secondary schools and international schools, it makes use of the network to offer workshops which focus on major adolescent concerns, for instance, drug abuseDrug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
and eating disorders. The workshops can be on one single topic or a combination of several topics, depending on the students’ needs.
Similar to the Peer Support Training Programme, the workshops are composed of interactive activities such as role plays, case studies and games. Students learn about the topic and acquire positive attitudes towards it through experience and enjoyment.
More details.
Peer Talk
Peer Talk is a casual peer gathering which provides the opportunity for young people and the KELY staff to interact. Discussions surround topics like teen/adolescent problems, relationship/family issues, sexuality, etc. The gathering is conducted in a fun, relaxing manner, and its participants are free to contribute, join in or just listen at their own will.Counselling and hotline management
KELY provides counselling, hotline calls and E-hotline services for young people aged between 12 and 25. It offers 75 client sessions and referrals on common adolescent concerns such as bullying, drug-related problems and eating disorders etc.Basically, there are three main features which make their counselling and hotline services popular among the youth:
- Bilingual hotlines (Chinese and English) which meet the needs of local and international schoolInternational schoolAn International school is loosely defined as a school that promotes international education, in an international environment, either by adopting an international curriculum such as that of the International Baccalaureate or Cambridge International Examinations, or by following a national...
pupils. - Free-of-charge counselling services.
- Staff can be easily contacted through the programmes KELY launched in schools. As KELY is independent from the school, pupils would find it safer to talk due to confidentiality.
Outreach projects
Other than providing services, KELY Support Group offers a variety of well-designed and interesting projects, which help the youth to develop into an all-rounded individual by providing fun, educational and challenging activities.KELY Circus School
馬戲表演藝術團/马戏表演艺术团The KELY Circus School aims at developing the non-academic skills of the youth. It teaches young people circus skills such as juggling
Juggling
Juggling is a skill involving moving objects for entertainment or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling, in which the juggler throws objects up to catch and toss up again. This may be one object or many objects, at the same time with one or many hands. Jugglers often refer...
, stilt walking, unicycle
Unicycle
A unicycle is a human-powered, single-track vehicle with one wheel. Unicycles resemble bicycles, but are less complex.-History:One theory of the advent of the unicycle stems from the popularity of the penny-farthing during the late 19th century...
riding and plate spinning
Plate spinning
Plate spinning is a circus manipulation art where a person spins plates, bowls and other flat objects on poles, without them falling off. Plate spinning relies on the gyroscopic effect, in the same way a top stays upright while spinning...
as well as magic tricks. The School operates in the forms of regular workshops and summer projects, which enable students to engage in artistic performances and later pass on their skills to other students.
In 2005-2006, a programme named "Get Active! Be Empowered! Social Circus Programme" runs in 30 local secondary schools, providing training of circus skills to more than 600 students. More importantly, the project outreached well over 70,000 participants. Through performing the circus skills learnt at school and in the community, participants promoted the message of active and healthy life style to their fellow schoolmates.
KELY BodyArtMoves Program
This program lets participants express themselves and build up their own positive self-identity by integrating intuitive dance and movement, visual artsVisual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
, oral and written words, and sound and touch as a means to widen and deepen ways of self-discovery and expression.
In Jan 2006, KELY led a series of workshops called ‘Movement-based expressive art therapy
Art therapy
Because of its dual origins in art and psychotherapy, art therapy definitions vary. They commonly either lean more toward the ART art-making process as therapeutic in and of itself, "art as therapy," or focus on the psychotherapeutic transference process between the therapist and the client who...
’ in the Hong Kong Youth Arts Festival. Through art and movement, participants understood more about themselves and further developed their self-expression. First, participants gained a better understanding about themselves by drawing oil pastel
Oil pastel
Oil pastel is a painting and drawing medium with characteristics similar to pastels and wax crayons. Unlike "soft" or "French" pastel sticks, which are made with a gum or methyl cellulose binder, oil pastels consist of pigment mixed with a non-drying oil and wax binder...
pictures and writing words to reflect on themselves. Besides, participants developed self-expression by discussion each other’s pictures. Finally, participants drew again to express their feelings at the end of the session. Teachers of the participating schools claimed that children with behavioral problems seem to benefit from the workshops.
Harm Reduction Project
KELY runs the project on topics such as drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, sexuality and depressionClinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
etc. It consists of a series of Harm Reduction Workshops as well as the delivery of specially-designed Harm Reduction Cards.
KELY runs Harm Reduction Workshops in English on common adolescent topics. So far, KELY has been providing a total of 378 Harm Reduction Workshops in 27 schools and organizations, involving up to 12, 547 participants.
Since 2004, a guided study tour of the new Drug Information Centre has been incorporated in the workshops. The study tour is composed of two sessions – debriefing and sharing – which try to raises pupils’ interests in knowing more about drugs and related problems. Just in 2005, KELY succeeded in organizing 20 visits to the Centre.
In addition, talks with guest speakers from the Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
and Narcotics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous is a twelve-step program modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous describing itself as a "fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem," and it is the second-largest 12-step organization...
are also incorporated in the workshops. These speakers were drug users or alcohol addicts before and they shared their real-life experiences with the students. After listening to the speakers, students become more aware of the risks of drug
Drug
A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...
and alcohol abuse
Alcohol abuse
Alcohol abuse, as described in the DSM-IV, is a psychiatric diagnosis describing the recurring use of alcoholic beverages despite negative consequences. Alcohol abuse eventually progresses to alcoholism, a condition in which an individual becomes dependent on alcoholic beverages in order to avoid...
.
Joint SKO Project
The project is jointly organized by the Samaritans (S), KELY (K) and Outward BoundOutward Bound
Outward Bound is an international, non-profit, independent, outdoor educationorganization with approximately 40 schools around the world and 200,000 participants per year...
Hong Kong (O). It is a bilingual project composed of CSKO (conducted in Cantonese) and ESKO (conducted in English), hoping to meet the needs of both local and international schools. The SKO Project consists of a series of interactive workshops and seminars on the topics of depression, suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
and other adolescent concerns. In the project, young people are taught ways to cope with stress and pressure and are encouraged to seek peer support
Peer support
Peer support occurs when people provide knowledge, experience, emotional, social or practical help to each other. It commonly refers to an initiative consisting of trained supporters, and can take a number of forms such as peer mentoring, listening, or counseling...
in face of depression and stress
Stress (medicine)
Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
. In addition, participants are given many opportunities to build their leadership
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
, teamwork
Teamwork
Teamwork is action performed by a team towards a common goal. A team consists of more than one person, each of whom typically has different responsibilities....
and communication skills, helping to boost their self-confidence
Self-confidence
The socio-psychological concept of self-confidence relates to self-assuredness in one's personal judgment, ability, power, etc., sometimes manifested excessively.Being confident in yourself is infectious if you present yourself well, others will want to follow in your foot steps towards...
and widening their peer network.
This project makes good use of peer influence in asking the participants to run projects in their schools so that they can pass on the skills and knowledge they acquired in the project. It is hoped that through peer influence, young people's awareness of the problems of depression and suicide can be raised, and hence they could provide support to each other.
Youth Suicide Prevention Program (YSPP)
In 1998, the KELY Support Group, the Samaritans Multilingual Branch and Outward BoundOutward Bound
Outward Bound is an international, non-profit, independent, outdoor educationorganization with approximately 40 schools around the world and 200,000 participants per year...
Hong Kong jointly organized the ‘Youth Suicide Prevention Programme’ for students in both CMI (Chinese as the Medium of Instruction) and EMI (English as the Medium of Instruction) local secondary schools as well as international schools. The programme adopted the approach of peer support
Peer support
Peer support occurs when people provide knowledge, experience, emotional, social or practical help to each other. It commonly refers to an initiative consisting of trained supporters, and can take a number of forms such as peer mentoring, listening, or counseling...
– young participants were encouraged and trained to listen to, care for and help each other.
In 2002, 45 secondary schools took part in the programme with nearly a hundred senior students helping to bring the issue of suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
up to their peers. Other than interactive workshops, senior students tried to educate their peers by devising projects and dramas and running teacher training sessions on depression and suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. As the programme enabled contacts among various secondary schools, students were able to widen their peer connection network and build up confidence so that they can provide support to their peers and family.
KELY hopes to hold YSPP in every local secondary school. The funding needed to facilitate these programmes comes from places like the Outward Bound Trust, the Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
Foundation and the Matilda Sedan Chair Race Charity Fund, to cover the costs in training each participant to recognize and handle despair, hiring coordinators and training volunteers.
Friendship program
KELY has held a total of 19 friendship programs, out-reaching 876 participants from both primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. This program mainly aims to make promotions of a friendly and caring school environment. It also helps to improve the friendship among students with different characteristics and personalities.Summer program
During the summer holiday in 2005, KELY organized three Summer Programs to raise the youth’s awareness of the environment through experience and enjoyment. They were specially designed by two internship students from an overseas university (Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
) and a local university (Chinese University of Hong Kong
Chinese University of Hong Kong
The Chinese University of Hong Kong is a research-led university in Hong Kong.CUHK is the only tertiary education institution in Hong Kong with Nobel Prize winners on its faculty, including Chen Ning Yang, James Mirrlees, Robert Alexander Mundell and Charles K. Kao...
) with the help of 26 young voluntary workers.
There were 109 youth participants in total from four organizations, namely Christian Action, Hope Worldwide, Parents of Autistic Children in Mainstream Education and the Caritas Hong Kong
Caritas Hong Kong
Caritas Hong Kong is a charitable organisation of Caritas founded by the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong in July 1953. It started with relief and rehabilitation services to the poor and the distressed after the Second World War. It nowaday expands to involve social service, education service,...
(Community Centre in Aberdeen). While enjoying the programs, the participants also build friendships with each other.
Coca-Cola Project
可口可樂計劃/可口可乐计划"The Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
Project" was successfully held on 30 December 2005. It was held mainly for enhancing the awareness of 'Get Active Be Empowered' among students from 30 secondary schools, educating them about healthy and active lifestyle and encouraging them to lead such a lifestyle. The programme was run by KELY Support Group in partnership with Swire Coca-Cola HK Limited (SCCHK), supported by Hong Kong School Sports Federation. The programme included regular physical exercises, workshops and interactions with youth ambassadors.
Skateboard Project
滑板計劃/滑板计划In order to help the youth from minority ethnic groups to get used to staying in school, KELY launched the Skateboard Project, which provided after-class-training on skateboard
Skateboard
A skateboard is typically a specially designed plywood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability, used primarily for the activity of skateboarding. The first skateboards to reach public notice came out of the surfing craze of the early 1960s,...
ing and rollerblading. It also included team building activities, anger management, problem solving and conflict resolution skills. Besides, participants were given opportunities to perform in the local community and provide training to their peers at schools.
KELY In-Sense Project
啟勵自我認識計劃/启励自我认识计划The aim of this In-Sense project was to give the youth an opportunity to reflect on their self-identity and body image
Body image
Body image refers to a person's perception of the aesthetics and sexual attractiveness of their own body. The phrase body image was first coined by the Austrian neurologist and psychoanalyst Paul Schilder in his masterpiece The Image and Appearance of the Human Body...
instead of only accepting those thrust upon them from the society. At the end of a series of summer workshops, the participants put on a theatrical performance which they designed, planned and organised all by their own.
This project enables the participating youths to reexamine their values and look at how external forces can have an impact on their views of themselves. It also helped them to explore their creative, dramatic and cinematic skills.
Drug education programmes
藥物教育講座計劃- Since 1991, the KELY Support Group started running drug education workshops in international schools. Under the funding from the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Goldman Sachs, individual schools and the public, KELY managed to run the workshops in 15 international schools.
- Since 1999, the Narcotics Division has been providing funds for the KELY Support Group to run drug education workshops in local schools - both primary and secondary. In 2001 to 2002, KELY ran 250 drug education programmes, outreaching 38,000 local pupils.
- Since 2002, the KELY Support Group received new government funding from the Narcotics Division, and hence offered drug education workshops to all international schools (a total of 40) in Hong Kong, reaching out to 8,000 students.
View more
Dress Up Your Bear Bear Project
愛心Bear Bear著靚靚計劃/爱心Bear Bear着靓靓计划KELY Support Group launched a "Dress Up Your Bear Bear" Campaign which was organized by Ho-Sum Organization, and joined with Hong Kong society for Protection of Children, Hong Kong Family Welfare Society, Hong Chi Association,in April 2004.
KELY and another four charity partners held five events together. This project attracted the attention and received the support of over 100 members from various professions, from students to housewives. Therefore, over 100 bears were sent out to the kids who need to express their gratefulness to those who care about and love them.
Art On-the-Go Project
KELY Support Group created 3 enormous murals on 7 May 2005 with the help of students from schools across Hong Kong. The three murals defined different characteristics in young people- Friendship, Teamwork and Support. No matter seen alone or together, these paintings show the world the best side of us, and the little things we can do to make this world more beautiful.The paintings are now on-the-go travelling around different schools in Hong Kong for display.
Charity Ball
年度慈善晚會/年度慈善晚会KELY has been receiving generous donations in the annual charity ball. The ball aims at providing financial support to enable KELY to continue its valuable service to the youth of Hong Kong.
- On 7 October 2005, the first Charity Ball was held at the Island Shangri-LaShangri-LaShangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. Hilton describes Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains...
Ballroom. CircusCircusA circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
was the main theme of the ball, which highlighted the contribution and diverse talents of young people in Hong Kong. - On 27 October 2006, "15th Anniversary Fundraising Charity Ball" was successfully at Island Shangri-La ballroom with a new theme - VenetianVeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
Masked Carnival.
Operation Santa Claus 2001
聖誕老人愛心大行動2001/圣诞老人爱心大行动2001Operation Santa Claus is an annual fund-raising concert jointly organized by RTHK’s English Programme Service (Radio 3) and the South China Morning Post
South China Morning Post
The South China Morning Post , together with its Sunday edition, the Sunday Morning Post, is an English-language Hong Kong newspaper, published by the SCMP Group with a circulation of 104,000....
.
In the year 2001,a concert was held to celebrate Christmas - a splendid tree lighting ceremony and the performance of Starlight Capriccio.Also in that year,KELY Support Group became one of Operation Santa Claus’ beneficiaries and received a donation of HK $3.6 million.
KELY Carnival
啟勵嘉年華會/启励嘉年华会The Peak
Peak Tram
The Peak Tramway is a funicular railway in Hong Kong, which carries both tourists and residents to the upper levels of Hong Kong Island. Running from Central district to Victoria Peak via the Mid-Levels, it provides the most direct route and offers good views over the harbour and skyscrapers of...
put up an outdoor fund-raising concert with local bands. Booths selling food and beverages were also set up in order to raise fund for KELY. The event was complemented with the KELY Circus School members, who encouraged the youths to participate and experience the unique and powerful KELY spirit.
KELY Have A Hug Day
擁抱愛心慈善日/拥抱爱心慈善日KELY's Have A Hug Day took place on December 14, 2001, which was a special occasion for heartfelt hugs amongst young people and their peers. The Hug Day project was aimed to raise awareness of a more positive communication attitude among young people in Hong Kong.
On that day, participants wore badges which would light up when they received a hug. Each badge was sold for HK $10.00, half amount of which would be directly dedicated to the charitable body. The event succeeded in raising a total amount of HK $63,337.90.
What's more, the world's largest group hug was formed at South Island School
South Island School
South Island School is an international school founded by the English Schools Foundation of Hong Kong, located at 50 Nam Fung Road, Aberdeen, Hong Kong...
on this
meaningful Hug Day.
Matilda Bazaar and Sedan Chair Race
明德醫院慈善賣物會暨抬轎大賽/明德医院慈善卖物会暨抬轿大赛The Matilda Bazaar and Sedan Chair Race is held annually in November. It raises money for needy charitable organizations in the local community. Since 2000 (from 2000 to 2006), the KELY Support Group has been one of the beneficiaries of Matilda Bazaar and Sedan Chair Race.
- In 2000 to 2001, KELY trained participants from the Delia Memorial School (地利亞修女紀念學校) to be one of the 50 running teams in the race. The Matilda Bazaar and Sedan Chair Race donated HKD 50, 000 to KELY for continuing to run and develop the KELY Circus School.
- In 2006, Matilda Bazaar and Sedan Chair Race raised fundings for the Group in running 150 workshops on "Body Image and Healthy Eating", which benefited 4,000 local students.
Staff training
In order to provide professional and quality services, KELY’s staff and volunteers receive specific training.Circus skills
KELY Circus Skill is the most popular among all services provided by KELY. To provide professional training to the young participants, KELY staff received training on circus skillsCircus skills
Circus skills are a group of pursuits that have been performed as entertainment in circus, sideshow, busking or variety/vaudeville/music hall shows. Most circus skills are still being performed today. Many are also practiced by non-performers as a hobby....
from two main institutions: Cirque De Monde and the National Institute of Circus Arts
National Institute of Circus Arts
The National Institute of Circus Arts is the only government-accredited institution that provides professional training in contemporary circus arts in Australia. It is a subsidiary of Swinburne University of Technology and is based at the university's Prahran campus.NICA is a registered cultural...
.
- In 2001, two KELY’s outreach workers were sponsored by Cirque De Monde to receive professional training in circus skills. They learnt circus skills such as basic acrobaticsAcrobaticsAcrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports...
and jugglingJugglingJuggling is a skill involving moving objects for entertainment or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling, in which the juggler throws objects up to catch and toss up again. This may be one object or many objects, at the same time with one or many hands. Jugglers often refer...
. The outreach workers also succeeded in bringing back some circus trainers to Hong Kong to teach students acrobatic skills in KELY Circus School. - In 2004, one of KELY’s Youth Workers also completed a training course at the National Institute of Circus ArtsNational Institute of Circus ArtsThe National Institute of Circus Arts is the only government-accredited institution that provides professional training in contemporary circus arts in Australia. It is a subsidiary of Swinburne University of Technology and is based at the university's Prahran campus.NICA is a registered cultural...
in MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
under the same sponsorship ,which enabled him to share the skills learnt with his colleagues so that they can pass on to the youngsters. - In 2004 fall, Andrea Ousely of Cirque De Monde provided a series of circus workshops to KELY’s staff, which offered professional training and practical skills sharing. Most importantly, the workshops inculcated KELY staff with the social message of the circus workshops, that is, how circus skillsCircus skillsCircus skills are a group of pursuits that have been performed as entertainment in circus, sideshow, busking or variety/vaudeville/music hall shows. Most circus skills are still being performed today. Many are also practiced by non-performers as a hobby....
can assist the youth in developing life skills as communicationCommunicationCommunication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
, teamworkTeamworkTeamwork is action performed by a team towards a common goal. A team consists of more than one person, each of whom typically has different responsibilities....
and expressionEmotional expressionIn psychology, emotional expression is observable verbal and nonverbal behaviour that communicates emotion. Emotional expression can occur with or without self-awareness...
.
Peer support
KELY believes that Peer Support is one of the solutions to solve adolescent problems. To learn about the peer support, KELY invited Dr. Trevor Cole to provide workshops on peer support to the staff and board members.- In April 2004, Dr Trevor Cole offered a Needs Assessment Workshop on peer support for KELY staff.
- In May 2004, Dr Trevor Cole conducted an introductory workshop to KELY board members on peer support.
Professional knowledge
KELY staff have been working hard to enrich their professional knowledge on common adolescent problems. The following are some of the training received by KELY staff in 2004 to 2005:- Depression: KELY staff received training from the Hong Kong Psychological Services Centre on ‘Raising an Optimistic Child’ and Art TherapyArt therapyBecause of its dual origins in art and psychotherapy, art therapy definitions vary. They commonly either lean more toward the ART art-making process as therapeutic in and of itself, "art as therapy," or focus on the psychotherapeutic transference process between the therapist and the client who...
. - AIDS: KELY staff attended meeting with AIDSAIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
Concern to get more up-to-date information about the virus. Besides, KELY staff also paid visits to the Addiction Medical Centre in Aberdeen to learn more about AIDSAIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
patients and their problems. - Eating Disorders: KELY staff sought consultations from professional nutritionist – Gabrielle Tuscher – about the issue of eating disorders.
- Suicide: KELY had two of their youth workers took part in a training offered by the Hong Kong Samaritans on suicideSuicideSuicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
and related problems.
Sponsors
As a full member of The Hong Kong Council of Social ServiceThe Hong Kong Council of Social Service
The Hong Kong Council of Social Service is a council coordinating NGOs in the social service field in Hong Kong, established in 1947...
(香港社會服務聯會﹝簡稱社聯﹞/香港社会服务联会（简称社联）), KELY receives no financial subsidy from the government or The Community Chest of Hong Kong
The Community Chest of Hong Kong
The Community Chest of Hong Kong is an independent, non-profit organisation. It was established on 8 November 1968 in Hong Kong. As one of the most important charities in Hong Kong, The Community Chest serves as an umbrella organisation to provide grants to a wide range of community projects...
(香港公益金), relying instead on the generosity of the general public and corporate sponsors.
Non-governmental sponsors
The list updated sponsors of Kely Support Group is a long one which includes American Women's Association, Classic Car Club of HK (1989) Ltd, Environmental Protection Agency, Hard Rock CafeHard Rock Cafe
Hard Rock Cafe is a chain of theme restaurants founded in 1971 by Americans Peter Morton & Isaac Tigrett. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll memorabilia, a tradition which expanded to others in the chain. In 2006, Hard Rock was sold to the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and...
, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Hong Kong Bus Shelters, German Swiss International School and even Yoga Society of Hong Kong.
View the complete list
Asia Foundation
As a non-governmental organization, Asia FoundationAsia Foundation
The Asia Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental organization professing a commitment to "development of a peaceful, prosperous, just, and open Asia-Pacific region." The Foundation supports Asian initiatives to improve governance, law, and civil society; women’s empowerment; economic reform...
aims at helping to develop a peaceful and wealthy Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean...
environment with the experience of over 50 years.Being classified into the category of Children and Youth, Asia Foundation provided KELY Support Group with financial support.
The Goldman Sachs Foundation
As a leading global investment banking, Goldman Sachs makes contribution to the local community by setting up the Goldman Sachs Foundation. The Foundation aims at educating excellent and innovative youths. It also aims at improving the lifelong productivity of young people worldwide. To help the youth in Hong Kong, Goldman Sachs (Asia) Foundation has been sponsoring KELY to provide Peer Support Projects.Power Tough! – Self-defence for Girls Project
In 2004-2005, KELY provided a self-defence programme for girls, namely ‘Power Tough!’ The programme aimed at training ‘tough’ girl, and therefore, self-confidence and self-esteem
Self-esteem
Self-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame: some would distinguish how 'the self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, the...
building formed the crucial part of the programme.
Goldman Sachs supported the youth by sponsoring a graduation outing to Treasure Island on Lantau. Participants from the Delia Memorial School were invited to the outing in which they had to take part in ‘tough’ physical activities such as hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, kayaking
Kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...
and swimming. Besides, Goldman Sachs staff also volunteered to be the mentors of the students.
OXC
OXC stands for Origin X Creative Ltd, an "advertising, design and production company", which provides support for communities through social services. It provides KELY Support Group with "sponsorship, volunteers, consultation and design services".- It sponsored the publication of 'Dying to be Thin' - a bi-lingual booklet on eating disorders. (2003)
- Peer Power Puzzle (2005)
- Wanchai Live (2005)
Read more about the 'Dying to be Thing' booklet
Beat Drugs Fund
In 1996, the HKSAR Government has established the Beat Drugs Fund. As suggested by the name, Beat Drugs Fund provides financial support to local organizations to beat drugs in the community. As one of the grantees, the KELY Support Group has been receiving government funding to design and run projects on Drug Preventive Education.The Low-Down on Drugs
In 1997-1998, KELY was granted HKD 75, 125 to run the project ‘The Low-Down on Drugs’. KELY used the funding to produce a booklet on drugs. In order to attract more youth to read up on drugs, the booklet is bilingual and color-printed. Moreover, the booklets are handed out to schools, libraries, agencies that work with drugs problems and any one who made a telephone enquiry about drug-related information.
Hip Hop Hoops: An Anti-drug Youth Empowerment Programme
In 2002-2003, KELY was granted HKD 112, 000 to run an anti-drug programme, namely ‘Hop Hop Hoops’. The programme was conducted in English, hoping to reach out to international school students and ethnic minority youths who do not speak Cantonese.
The programme aims at helping young people to build healthy interests so that they would stay away from drugs. Hence, ‘Hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
Hoops’ offers workshops on two healthy and drug-free interests: basketball and hip-hop dance. More importantly, the programme consists of a series of drug education sessions in parallel with the dance and basketball sessions.
In 2004-2005, KELY continued to run ‘Hip Hop Hoops’ in the Sear Rogers International School.
MATCH Magazine
MATCH is a publication of KELY Support Group. It is a youth magazine produced by secondary school students in Hong Kong, aiming at promoting free expression, creating interest in current affairs and providing learning experience in the media field. MATCH helps teenagers deal with issues such as sex, relationships, drugs, and eating disorders throughcreative writingCreative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
. It also delves into local issues including education, employment, environment and pop culture.
The magazine is distributed at no cost to over 500 secondary schools, youth agencies and various public libraries in Hong Kong.
View the newest issue
Harm Reduction Cards
KELY has published a series of controversial harm reductionHarm reduction
Harm reduction refers to a range of public health policies designed to reduce the harmful consequences associated with recreational drug use and other high risk activities...
cards to promote the healthy and positive lifestyle in young people. In 1999, KELY outreach workers had distributed 10,000 ‘harm reduction’ cards printed in English and Chinese on the topics depression, sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
and alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
. Frequent party-goers became the target group in the distribution of the cards, and hence KELY staff attended rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
and dance parties on a regular basis to hand out the cards.
- Card Content
The cards are specially designed. They are pocket-sized with colorful cartoons on one side and information on the other.
- Street heroin is often cut with lots of crap, so if you are unsure of the strength, do a little first and try not to do it alone.
- Ice is usually 90 per cent pure, can take as little as seven seconds to hit your brain and gets you there for anything from 8 to 24 hours.
- ‘E’ (Ecstasy) is not physically addictive but it can become a habit. If you find you need to take more to get the same buzzBuzz-People:*Buzz Aldrin , American pilot and astronaut, second person to set foot on the Moon*George Beurling , Canadian World War II fighter pilot*Buzz Hargrove , National President of the Canadian Auto Workers trade union...
, then it’s time to give it a rest.
Some of the card designs are as follows:
- Responses from the public
KELY wished to persuade young drug users to reduce their dosage. However, the 'harm reduction' warnings on the cards (see above) received criticisms from the public. For instance, director of Christian Zheng Sheng Association, Jacob Lam, commented on the cards negatively, "If there is no definite message to tell them about drugs are drugs no matter how little is being taken, it won't cut craving. Young people might also think it is acceptable to do it within a certain limit." In response to the criticisms, KELY argued that each card still ends with a warning that ‘not to do them at all’ is the best way to be free of the side effects of drugs. It also stresses that possession of drugs are illegal and could mean jail.
Regarding the criticisms over the issue on KELY's harm reduction cards, spokesman from the HKSAR Narcotics Division showed a neutral attitude, "We do not comment on private initiatives but we do welcome different approaches."
Other publications
- KELY Promotional Video: With the help of students and volunteers, KELY Support Group has created a video to promote itself.
Watch the video.
- Teen Time: On November 22, 2005, Radio 3 of RTHK broadcasted a program about the KELY Support Group. The program used various ways including interview of teenagers, pop songs and discussion on hotlines to introduce KELY.
Listen to the program.
External links
- KELY Support Group Official homepage
- KELY Support Group Annual Report 2004-2005
- Holistic Hong Kong - Features
- OXC--Sponsor and cooperator of Kely
- MATCH magazine
- A Suicide Providing Website--Kely as Cooperator
- Operation Santa Claus
- Matilda Bazaar & Sedan Chair Race
- Beat Drugs Fund
- The Goldman Sachs Foundation
- Dress Up Your Bear Bear
- Drug Education Program
- The First Local Welfare Meeting Document(in Chinese)第一屆本地福利會議文件
Articles about KELY
As a non-governmental organizationNon-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
, KELY has attracted the attention from various kinds of press:
