Monday, January 12, 2015

Twenty secondary students in Sham Shui Po attend tutorial class

Hope of the City Progress Report for WIMLER Foundation HK

Report Period: February 15, 2014 to July 2014


WIMLER Foundation HK in partnership with Hope of the City Foundation supports two tutorial classes for 20 secondary students from low-income families living in the Sham Shui PO, one of the most depressed areas in Hong Kong.

The report below is for the period February 15 – July 2014. The second group started last August and will end in January 2015.



1. Summary

a. Description of activities funded by WIMLERPartnership agreement: Two, 12-week course classes attended by an average of 6-9 students per class, for a total of four classes. Each class meets once a week for an hour.


Class 1: English Class for Shepherd Church (J-Life)
Course dates: 15 Mar, 2014 – 5 July, 2014 (12 sessions)
Target group: 10 secondary school students

Class 2: English Class for Shepherd Church (J-Life)
Course dates: 11 Feb, 2014 – 5 Aug, 2014 (24 sessions)
Target group: 10 secondary school students


WIMLER Board of Directors visiting the tutorial class
Sam Razim (2nd from left, Richard Rispens, 4th from left and Luz Tan

b. Primary students

20 secondary students from low-income families living in the Sham Shui PO. The 10 students in Class 1 were referred by teachers at Wai Kiu College as students who could benefit from additional support in English language learning. The 10 students in Class 2 were identified and screened           by J-Life community center staff members.

2. Project Status

Class 1 has been completed as of 5 July 2014 (12 sessions = 1 class section) and Class 2 is still ongoing until August 2014 (24 sessions = 2 class sections). A new summer class section will be added from 16 July -  27 August, equating to a shorter 6-week course. This summer class will be
the fourth section to launch and will target primary school aged students from low-income households in Sham Shui Po. The primary school students will likely continue with another 6 weeks of English courses when the new school term commences in September 2014.

3. Project Outcomes

The report showed that there were obvious difficulties in English language ability for the students and that the students are in need of focused help.

The teacher’s comments from the post-course assessment reflect improvements made by the students in the areas of comprehension, vocabulary, and basic English grammar. Some students are also gaining more confidence especially in speaking English. However, there are still challenges with grammar and more work and time is required before the students’ English levels show any significant improvement.

Class 2’s Course Progress Report will be presented in the next report after all 24 sessions are completed.

4 Project Impact


Shepherd Church (J-Life) and the students are very grateful for the opportunities presented to
them through the English classes sponsored by WIMLER Foundation HK. The story below
describes two of the students enrolled in one of the courses funded by WIMLER and the impact that the course has on their learning.

Kit and CY – English Class Beneficiaries

Growing up in single parent homes, CY and Kit spent their early high school years playing computer games and working part-time jobs.

They did not realise their English ability would be so important in determining future opportunities. By the time this reality set in, their English foundations were weak and when they tried asking their school teachers for help, no answers were given.

 Kit shared,“I grew up in China where I only learned my ABC’s in second
grade. I was so far behind.

 The look of appreciation on their faces after the first English tutoring class said it all

 “At school, there are 40 students. Here, we only have 10 and I can actually ask questions. The tutor will explain to me word by word what I don’t understand. At least now I understand what the teacher
is saying. I was able to feel the difference even after one lesson!”
Kit dreams to be a fireman but will need to pass in all his core subjects, including English. He hopes it is not too late for him to catch up and pursue his dream.


”Website: http://hopeofthecity.com/



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