LITTLE JOY FOR SINGLE MUMS AT MARGINS
Mother’s Day just another round of struggle for heads of some of city’s poorest families, but they carry on with help from local charitable groups
When Mrs Zhen’s husband lost his battle to stomach cancer last year, the family was devastated.
She fell into depression and some days found it difficult to get out of bed. However, she said she found the strength to keep going for her three children: two daughters, aged 22 and 14, and an 11year-old son.
“After my husband died, what I did was try to encourage my children on a daily basis and be a role model to show them how life still goes on,” said the 46-year-old, who did not wish to use her real name.
She was among the mums sharing with the Post how they have coped with life’s challenges ahead of Mother’s Day yesterday.
Her home near Kai Tak on a ninth-floor rooftop is spotless, with plants hanging on bright yellow walls.
A sign above her sofa reads “Dream Home”, in English, with her teenage daughter’s taekwondo trophies proudly displayed underneath.
Zhen said she felt more positive when her 350 sq ft flat, for which she paid HK$4,000 a month in rent, was kept in its pristine state.
It was not always this way. Zhen and her husband, both from Fujian province on the mainland, came to Hong Kong on a two-way entry permit in 2013. Without a city identity card, the help available to them was limited, and the couple quickly went through their small amount of savings to cover medical costs.
It was through organisations such as Sheng Kung Hui, a large church network – where Zhen has been a volunteer for around eight years – and the ChickenSoup Foundation that she was able to pay for her husband’s care. While he did not survive, the treatment gave the family hope.
Zhen’s children have been the impetus for her to keep going.
For Tsoi, who asked to be identified only by her last name, her Christian faith has been a source of comfort and support.
The mother of two, who is from Donggang and has lived in the city for 16 years, gave birth to a daughter in 2008. However, at two years old her firstborn was diagnosed with a brain tumour. After several bouts of surgery, the tumour has been reduced, and her daughter celebrated her 13th birthday last week.
The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the family of four, who live in a 300 sq ft flat in Chai Wan. Tsoi’s son, nine, has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and found it difficult to be confined to their small flat during the months of school closures.
“For my daughter’s birthday, she made a wish, that she wants our family to have fewer arguments and be a more peaceful environment … She wants my life to be less tough and for me to worry less,” the 43-year-old said.
Edward Man Ho-wai, founder of the ChickenSoup charity established in 2013 to serve poor families, said he had noticed an increase in the number needing help over the past year.
“We are only seeing the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “We do not have the manpower to tackle most of them.”
I … try to … be a role model to show [my children] how life still goes on SINGLE MOTHER MRS ZHEN