Where: Room 704, Duke of Windsor Social Service Building, 15 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai. What: Founded in 1968, the NAAC promotes the values of self-help, integration and mutual support in the neighbourhood. It now operates about 90 units, providing a wide variety of community development and welfare services for children, young people, families and the elderly, including rehabilitation and healthcare as well as education for elderly and disabled people. How: the NAAC's Tung Chung Integrated Services Centre is recruiting young volunteers for their Will Power Child Nourishment Project, which serves children aged five to 14. About 10 per cent of the 300 children in the programme are from ethnic minorities. Volunteers under the age of 20 can become helpers and assist children with their homework or teach hobby classes. Those over the age of 20 can play the role of mentors and focus on taking care of several children. Call 3141 7107 for more information. Volunteer: Ophelia Tse Wing-chi, 20, is a social work student at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She joined the Will Power Child Nourishment Project as a mentor a year ago. 'The project provides hobby classes and outings for children. We also pay home visits to them to understand their needs. We keep in regular contact with the children either by talking to them over the phone or by sending them letters. As mentors, we are like their big brothers and sisters. 'Four children - three of them are South Asian and the other is a local girl - are assigned to me. The children are relatively poor, and Tung Chung doesn't have a lot of recreation facilities for them. 'They often feel bored. For example, the two South Asian girls have recently transferred to a new school, which has - including them - only four students. They can't make new friends at school and are quite unhappy. 'I will talk to them to help them release their emotions. I will also encourage them to discover and realise their life goals. For example, if the children are interested in music, we will talk to the centre to see if we can arrange a music class. 'I think, as a local person, I can help the South Asian girls to understand more about Hong Kong people. On the other hand, during the home visits the girls also help me to understand more about their life and customs. 'I hope the children can learn to accept people from different ethnic backgrounds by co-operating with each other during the programme activities. This can make the community a more harmonious place to live.'
