The Chest’s Social Innovation Fund Helps Bereaved Children Overcome Trauma

The Community Chest Social Innovation Fund has allocated $8.6 million for four Social Innovation Fund projects in the 2024/2025 campaign year, with one of the special initiatives being child bereavement support. Project Raindrops – Support for Children Bereavement is partially supported by The Wharf Group through a donation to the Chest and operated by Hong Kong Children and Youth Services, assists children in dealing with family members who are critically ill or nearing the end of their lives, preparing them to face death and deal with the emotional distress that comes with losing a loved one. 

*Siu Hong, the elder brother, is a Primary 5 student, and *Man Ling, the sister, is in Primary 4 at the same school. The school’s social worker referred them to the project after their father died from cancer in April of last year.

Prior to their father’s funeral, the project’s social worker explained the ceremony’s procedure, answered their questions about the funeral, and allowed them to express their emotions so that they were psychologically prepared for the farewell ceremony.

The social worker then offered the siblings horticultural therapy to help them find a balance between expressing their emotions and returning to normal life. Throughout the therapy, Siu Hong realised that “the social worker is here to help me deal with my grief and accept my loss.” At the same time, their mother accompanied Siu Hong and Man Ling to a parent-child therapy workshop, where they learned how to support and care for one another.
* The name is pseudonymised to protect the subject’s identity.

Siu Hong names his art piece “Cherry Tree”, which evokes hope and perseverance in life and growth.

Man Ling creates a sand pot named “Family”.

The mother expresses her gratitude after attending the parent-child workshop.