Wolf at the village door

KNOWLEDGE really can bring wealth. For many people living in Hong Kong's rural areas ignorance of social welfare entitlements could be depriving them of much-needed financial assistance. Although the Government has increased allowances by five per cent for the current financial year, no one knows how many of the 300,000 people living in Hong Kong's more than 600 villages are still outside the social security net. Under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme every senior citizen aged above 65 is entitled to receive $485 as a monthly old-age allowance. People aged above 60, who have specific hardships, are also entitled to $1,670 a month. There is also a $3,055 allowance for seriously disabled adults. Under the Social Security Allowance Scheme, any elderly couple with a monthly income of less than $5,870 can apply for financial assistance. But not everyone has got the message. ''We have no money to buy food this month,'' said a 76-year-old woman who has lived with her husband, 80-year-old Ah Kwong, in the Tai Po fishing village of San Mun Tsai for more than 20 years. The couple depend on several hundred dollars from their family each month. Their neighbour, a 65-year-old, disabled woman had not heard about a $2,000 Government disability allowance until just a few months ago. People aged over 65 comprise about 14.5 per cent of the rural population - nearly double the proportion for the territory as a whole. But they are not the only poor people in remote areas. In San Mun Tsai Sun Tsuen, which has about 2,000 residents, many of the bread-winners earn only about $3,000 working in a factory and in many cases have to support children and elderly parents. Such people are not exceptions. Last month, newspapers revealed that a middle-aged couple in a Pak Heung village, Yuen Long, had to feed their three children on a monthly farm income of about $3,000. Their eldest son, 14-year-old Chu Kwok-wing, has never seen a movie. Perhaps because such people live far from the town and from the Central Government Offices, they are out of officials' minds as well as their sight. ''It seems that the Government seldom takes active measures to introduce its services into villages,'' said James Wa Sau-hong, head of community development with the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. Some of the poor villagers are also reluctant to receive government assistance, like many traditional Chinese they fear losing face in the village. Many city people take the view that rural poor are better off than those who fall on hard times in the urban areas. At least those in the villages have a roof over their heads, they say. But rural communities might have fewer resources, especially at a time when traditional means of survival, farming and fishing, have been abandoned. ''In this village, not only the elderly - but also adults - are illiterate and classified as unskilled because they worked as fishermen since they were small,'' said Linda Hung Siu-wah, one of two social workers serving San Mun Tsai since August. ''They cannot depend on a 'decent' job if they want to earn a good living.'' It is difficult to judge whether the poor in remote areas are better off than their urban counterparts. But some Heung Yee Kuk members, social workers and even the villagers themselves feel the Government has not paid those in rural areas the attention they deserve. ''It's not only social service; in the past our government has been very reluctant to develop all aspects of the New Territories,'' said a kuk member. People who want to apply for social security assistance or allowances are encouraged to contact the nearest office of the 30 social security field units. But for the needy in remote areas such direct contact can require a long trip to the nearest town. A Social Welfare Department spokesman said a decision on where to set up a field unit depended neither on population distribution nor the number of cases. ''Normally, each field unit needs 30 social security officers who are specialised in handling allowance applications,'' he said. ''We will not set up another field unit until the workers find the burden too heavy.'' ''Of course, in some remote areas such as Sha Tau Kok, we would not set up a field unit . . . that is why we need some community development projects.'' In 1978, the Neighbourhood Level Community Development Project (NLCDP) was launched to provide outreach social services to the needy in deprived areas - such as squatters or people living in temporary housing areas. Those services are run by voluntary organisations at a cost of about $900,000 a year, funded by the Social Welfare Department, they are monitored by the City and New Territories Administration (CNTA). But so far only 13 of the 53 NLCDP projects serve rural areas. Two have recently been established in San Mun Tsai and on Cheung Chau. Social work sources allege the CNTA plans to delay applications by voluntary organisations to launch new NLCDP. Recently, it turned down at least three of seven NLCDP proposals, citing opposition from rural committees. It is believed rural leaders generally dislike the ''intrusion'' of social workers, which bypasses the leaders' traditional powers. ''During the past few months, owing to the dispute over the equal inheritance rights, I have been accused of paving my way for the coming elections,'' ''I remember a Fanling NLCDP proposal was turned down even when many villagers welcomed the move because a powerful village leader hated any intrusion to weaken his power,'' a village social worker said. Another obstacle to setting up projects is the widespread nature of rural village populations. ''It is sad that even if we include 20 villages over a large piece of rural area, there are usually less than 3,000 people,'' Mr Wa said. The Heung Yee Kuk, in which leaders of the 26 rural committees sit, has no centralised welfare plan. ''In principle, if any villagers come to ask for help, all we can do is to transfer the case to other government departments,'' said a kuk member, adding this kind of transfer was rare. ''Sometimes, the rural committees might have handled it first. We [villagers] are living as clans and rely very much on the function of the neighbourhood.'' It is difficult to measure just how effective this kind of neighbourhood still is. Although villagers certainly have a stronger sense of belonging than urban residents, that does not necessarily bring the assistance they need. ''Look at Ah Kwong's family,'' Ms Hung said. ''Although he is one of the most senior residents in San Mun Tsai, not one of his neighbours has given him a helping hand.''