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| Cyber relationship – Looking through the Eyes of Young Girls | |
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It’s a common
perception that cyber dating and friendships is a trap. Stories abound of
deception of youngsters and the gullible, as well as the ulterior motives of the
youngsters themselves. Yet, the three young girls have something different to
say on the issue … "It's easy to form friendships on the Internet, and it's not boring at all.
Moreover, these net-friends will not tell others my secrets, even if I reveal a lot", said Ka Bo. "Making friends in cyberspace will not necessarily lead to crime. Chatting online with friends
is a great way to kill time. I will usually chat with other girls as we share
the same ideas and discuss the same topics. We may even meet up with each other
in the real world, simply playing, watching a movie or going to karaoke", said
Kelly. Ka Ying is not happy that her parents "think cyber dating and online friends aren't good'. |
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Camping together |
Debating at the camp |
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Last October, Ka
Bo, Ka Ying and Kelly were involved in a participatory study sponsored by HER
Fund, and conducted by the YMCA, Kornhill Center. The design of the study was to
involve young girls to interview other young girls through online means and to
find out their real situation and opinions on cyber dating and friendships.
Three of them joined as interviewers of the study. Actually,
the three girls are huge fans of making friends in cyberspace, which they
believe is quick and easy. They say it also provides them a platform to
"compete" on their social abilities. |
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Girls are
not inferior
"Girls often are in an inferior position in traditional Chinese culture…"
said Kelly. Without letting Kelly to finish her statement, Ka Ying
interrupted by saying that many people were under the impression that girls
would easily fell prey to deception and fraud on the Internet. She felt
obliged to clarify the situation, saying this was not always the case. The girls
were happy to share their thoughts throughout the interview. And they said
they had formed new opinions after participating in the study, discussing
the questionnaire and interviewing other girls on the Internet. "We
observed that cyber dating and friendships could create difficult problems
for many teenagers. Some of them neglected the real world. This meant they
had weaker social abilities. So by indulging in the virtual world, they
actually became more lonely in the real world", claimed Kelly. Ka Bo
said, "if not for joining this study, I may have become more addicted to the
Internet and cyber friendships. But now I think I have a more balanced
attitude towards the Internet, and I go out more frequently". |
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3 friends,
forever friends "I used to
spend quite a lot of time online, meeting people – but now I'm protecting
myself and making less cyber friends", said Ka Ying. Ka Bo and
Kelly tease Ka Ying, who was the victim of Internet fraud. An online “friend” of Ka Ying invited her to go to Ocean Park. The “friend” offered to buy the entrance tickets. But, after transferring money into her “friend’s” account, Ka Ying got nothing in return. After the incident, Kelly invited Ka Ying to stay in her home as a disguise so that nobody knew she had got cheated. But Ka Ying couldn’t believe that someone took advantage of her. She wanted the swindler punished by law and reported the case to the police. This was not an easy decision; she could afford the loss of hundreds of dollars, but couldn’t bear the loss of face in front of her parents. And she needed her parents in order to pursue the case with the police. With the encouragement of social workers, she faced up to her parents and told them everything. Through the experience and reflections in this project, Ka Ying, Ka Bo and Kelly have now learnt the real picture of cyber dating and friendships. They have changed their attitude towards making friends online. They know that real friends will not walk away silently, compared to cyber friends. Yes, the three of them now became real good friends. |
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| Year 2010 – 2011 Grant-making Result |
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HER Fund received a total of 13 applications for our annual grant-making. Many were very valuable and creative projects. However, owing to our limited funds available, we needed to make a hard decision. With the final approval from our Executive Committee, HER Fund is pleased to announce the annual grants for the Year 2010-2011. A total HK$154,800 will be granted to 6 projects. Please click here to read the grant details about the 6 projects. |
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| "Disabled Women and Sex" Press Conference | |
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The "Disabled Women and Sex" study, sponsored by HER Fund, was published at 10:00 a.m. on 7th March in the Metropolis campus of the Hong Kong College of Technology. A number of members from the Association of Women with Disabilities Hong Kong as well as the Chairperson of the Equal Opportunities Commission attended the press conference. This proved that the study was truly an important event. Dr. Karen Ling Kam Har elaborated on the results of the study and found that disabled women share the same sex desire as non-disabled persons. Click here to know more. Ms Linda To Kit Lai, Executive Director of HER Fund, further responded to the project and emphasized the importance of this study. |
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| New record for 88 Days Campaign | |
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Our heartfelt Thank You to your support and generous donations in HER 88 Days Campaign from 10 December 2009 (The International Human Rights Day) to 8 March 2010 (International Women’s Day). Throughout this 88 Days, we had the Cutie Sheep Philanthropy Sale, individual donation appeal and HER first Walkathon. We were so grateful that with your donations through all channels, it has taken us a big step forward for the rights and empowerment of women and girls in the least resourceful sectors of the community. |
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After
deducting all the necessary expenses, we have raised a total of HK$130,000
for making grants to support projects for the cause of women and girls'
rights' work. This year, with your kind support, we are able to
make grants to valuable projects for the
advancement for women's rights! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Without your support, we would not be able to create this space for women!
Thank you! | |
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| Handmade organic products –Be nice to yourself, to others and to the Earth | |
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From now, you can fax or email to HER Fund to
order the handmade organic products made by our voluntary tutor, Venus. Products
include : |
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( after deducting necessary expenses, all proceeds will be donated to HER Fund for the advancement of women and girls' rights work ) ** Products introduction, effectiveness, price and ways of getting the products, please read the order form ** Order and Enquiry, please call 2794-1100 or email: info@herfund.org.hk or fax: 2396-7488 Products made by Venus – an experienced tutor in making DIY skincare products and has assisted in setting up a social enterprise. Venus is also a HER Fund voluntary tutor. |
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| Our heartfelt Thank You to the Young Ladies' Continuous Support! | |
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It was the third
year for St. Mary's Canossian College Zonta Z Club and
University of Hong Kong Simon K.Y. Lee Hall Rainbow Village Dorm
Residents to raise funds for HER Fund. To celebrate International Women's Day,
the Zonta Z club of St. Mary's Canossian College invited HER Fund to give a talk
on gender equality to their members and classmates on 5th March. We
were excited to see the active and enthusiastic participation of the young women
during the talk. On 8th March, the club members held a rose-selling
event at the school and successfully raised a total of $1,468.50, which was
kindly donated to us in support of women's rights work.
Every year, 10th
April is a special reunion day for Rainbow Village young ladies. This year, they
held their annual dinner in a restaurant with over 65 women in attendance.
During the dinner, they held a Cutie sheep Lucky Draw and successfully raised a
total of HK$ 5,531 donations in support of HER Fund's work. |
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| School talks on Gender Equality | |
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Since the beginning of 2010, HER Fund conducted 7 school talks reaching over 1500 students in 5 secondary schools, including Precious Blood Secondary School, St. Stephen Girls’ College, Cognitio College (Kowloon),etc. The talks were on interesting themes relating to male and female images in the media and perceptions of beauty. Through these talks, around 80% of the students expressed an increased understanding of their gender on those issues and many were interested to know more. |
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Here, we wish to express our deepest appreciation to our school talk volunteer team – Siu Ming, Agnes, Ada L, Ada Y., Rainbow, Ah Sun, Mandy and Kay! Without their support in contributing their time, effort and expertise to conduct those talks, HER Fund would not be able to make this happen! |
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HER Fund is a member of the International Network of
Women's Funds (INWF), |
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Please forward HER News to 5 of your friends who concerns about the women issue |
