First Impression

Aug 2017

1st Newslet ter

High Tea during class

Handmade Hair Accessories

8 Secrets about PGS Colleagues

Introduction

Dear fr iends,

We are happy to have put together our f i rs t Pregnant

Girls Service (PGS) newsle t ter to keep you update with

our work and share our gir ls ’ s tories!

This newsle t ter is named as "PassenGerS" as we always

describe the experience of cr is is pregnancy as a special

journey where there are lo ts of ups and downs.

In this “PassenGers” journey, there are four main s ta-

t ions. The f i rs t s ta t ion is “Impression” which is the

theme of this issue. We have invi ted people to share the ir

impress ion on cris is pregnancy and Mother ’s Choice.

So now, get ready to read the genuine sharing f rom gir ls ,

and also get to know more about our PGS team and pro-

grams! Last but not leas t , do not forget the game section

at the end for a chance to win a gif t!

Let’s s tar t reading and remember to read with an open

mind and an adventurous heart while you go on this un-

forgettable journey with us!

Charis Wong

Program Assis tant

Pregnant Girls Services

1

CONTENT

StoryTellers

Creative Artists

Past Event Highlights

Upcoming Events

Games

P.3

P.8

P.9

P.13

P.15

2

Storyteller

If you ever feel the urge to tell your story,

we are here to listen.

This is a platform

to remove labelling

and to promote mutual understanding

through story sharing.

3

I experienced crisis pregnancy when I was 20. Girls like me are usually labelled as bad, irresponsible and problem youth. However, this impression is more a misunderstanding and a social stigma that people have on pregnant teens than the real truth. When I was pregnant, my family was also worried about how I felt when people on the street look at me with their judging eyes. The impact of crisis preg-nancy to young people is huge and changes one’s future completely. I feel lucky to have the help from the social worker in PGS. She told me the choices I had and I didn’t receive the judging eyes which seemed to follow me everywhere. The social labeling on pregnant girls once led me to doubt myself and thought I got pregnant because I was a “bad girl”. Yet, the truth is, this crisis pregnancy has proved myself to my family and people around me that I am a very responsible person.

Karen, 20 years old

4

As a pregnant teen, I am grateful to have had Mother’s Choice alongside me. And I have now given birth to a healthy child.

My impression to MC staff when I first called the MC hotline was that they were very caring. The staff who talked to me at that time had later become my case-worker. I remember she is attentive to details and her voice is gentle and soft. Very soon, she invited me to meet in per-son and toured me around the hostel and arranged my hostel admission.

The warm and home-like hostel has trans-formed me

The workers at the hostel were caring, humorous and compassionate to every girl who lived there. Because of this, I could easily adapt to this new environment even though I was shy and quiet and was a spoiled princess at home. In hostel, I learnt the basic household chores, under-stood myself better and became more in-dependent. There, I started to discover my strengths, and find my personal goals. The acceptance and openness of others allowed me to express my thoughts freely. I am also glad to make two good friends there. Although I no longer live at the hostel, I and other girls have developed lifelong re-lationships with the housemothers and would sometimes have dinner and go to church together. We feel like home every time we come back to volunteer in hostel.

The three months I spent in hostel helped me to develop a structured life routine as well as giving birth to a healthy little girl. Hoping to make a better choice for the baby Although I chose adoption for my baby, I was not as emotional as I thought I would be. Three days after the baby was born, I had to separate with her because she needed to stay at the hos-pital while I had to be discharged. A month later, I finally received the news that my baby could leave the hos-pital and could stay at MC’s Child Care Home (CCH). I believe my baby could receive better care that I could never provide. I am thankful to the staffs at CCH for taking such good care of her day and night. She grew a lot and her skin problem has improved after staying in CCH. We two went through a lot in the following two months. But I know it’s time to let go so that she could go to her forever family and had better future. This journey made me become more ma-ture. Whenever I think about the peo-ple I met at Mother’s Choice, the support and companionship that they gave me are beyond words. Without Mother’s Choice, I would not be the person I am today.

Meow Meow (15 years old)

Whenever I pass by Admiralty and Wan Chai, memo-

rable moments with other girls and housemothers

such as walking uphill to the hostel and buying food

in the wet market to prepare dinner would always

come to my mind.

Although I had stayed in hostel for only two months, what I experienced there impacted me a lot and made me become more mature. Every time I think about it, my heart is filled with gratefulness and warmth.

At first, all I wanted is just a shelter for me to prepare the birth of the baby. But as time goes by, I felt that it was more than a hostel, but a loving home. We cooked dinner, knitted scarves and completed household chores together. And most importantly, we could share our stories and complicated feelings as a pregnant teen with one another. Housemothers took care of both our physical and emotional needs. This allowed us to open our heart to share freely. My caseworker also visited me regularly to check how I am doing and be my good listener throughout my journey. She gave me the support I needed when I was sad. During that period, they were all important to me. Without any one of them, I would not have had the confidence to make the right decision. Thus, I am incredibly grateful for every one I had met.

To many people, crisis pregnancy may seem to last a dark stain on one’s life journey. But for me, it also gave me the chance to find love and strengths. I now even treasure more for what I have and would work hard to achieve my life goals. There are always ups and downs in life. With the help from MC, I was able to face my fear and overcome the desperate situation.

Becky (17 years old)

Whenever I went out, people would look at my pregnant belly weirdly. My relationship with family became worse. Friends left one by one. Even my partner, whom I gave my body to, was gone. My world was filled with darkness and there was no hope.

Yes. I am a single teen mom.

I met Ivy, the social worker from Mother’s Choice, when I was in hospi-tal. Unlike others who gave me the judgmental looks, she smiled at me and made me felt safe. Although I didn’t say much, she kept comforting me. She lighted the darkness. Her genuine and endless prayer helped me find the meaning of life.

Later, I met my second social worker, Clare. My impression on her was that she was a kind and good listener. Not only did she give me advice, she is also very patience to understand me better and offer help. She taught me to let go of those who have abandoned me to allow space for those who love me. These words still remain in my heart today.

Apart from the two caseworkers, I would also like to share with you my memorable moments with other four program workers. Charis, whom I never met before, hugged me and supported me. I thank her for saving the life of a depressed girl, as well as the baby in my tummy. Hei Man, a very hard working person, she talked to me at so many sleepless nights. She gave me comfort when tears came out of my eyes. Mable and Monie shared their life experience with me, allowing me to think deep about the future, including my values towards marriage. Also, I thank Mabel who gave me the chance to share my story at CCH. I learnt that people could inspire each other.

This is me! Never allow other people to define who you are.

My memories here are unforgettable. I would like to thank everyone in Mother’s Choice. Although I may not know you, your unfailing love and acceptance have helped countless pregnant girls. Thank you for treating us genuinely and not judging us. This world has become a better place because of you!

Pui Yi (16 years old)

7

Guess what! Among all the girls we worked with, a lot of them are actually creative crafters! This time, I would like to introduce two of them to you. They have recently started their small business by mak-ing and selling very cute hair accessories !

C r e a t i v e A r t i s t s

Maggie is a young mother! She used flower as the theme in making different kind of hair accesso-ries. Her daughter Emma is her little model!

A close-up of Emma’s

hair accessory

Kayan is another pretty young mother! She created different kinds of head piece, including hair ties, pins and clips, which are suitable for all ages! 8

HOME

STAR

Guess what are the girls’ favorite parts? ◆ Snacks! More and more

please... ◆ Listen to babies’ heartbeats ◆ Q&A time with midwife volunteer, Debbie ◆ Personality test

What is “Star Home”? It is an integrated class which promotes na-tal health and personal growth. Girls learn to take good care of themselves as well as the babies. They met other pregnant teens in the class and support each other no matter what choice they make.

In this “Star Home”, we talk about the pre-natal and post-natal self care, what healthy relationship is, and how to set life goal etc.

9

X- Service Collaboration

Becky, Lina and Leslie from CE Team were invited to share with girls the legal knowledge and sexuality education by using interesting and fun activities!.

Girls: “Apart from the learning, it is espe-cially precious to meet other girls who are also on this pregnancy journey and to share the ups and downs together!”

Girls: Thank you Debbie, the midwife volun-teer! Despite the tight schedules, you came every Wednesday to show care to us and answer our questions!

A dream will always be a dream unless you do something about it! Worker went to the career centre with the girls to learn more about the job market and resources availa-ble in Hong Kong.

The Life You Are Longing For

Workers inspired the girls to dream and find their own life goals by using different fun games and ac-tivities.

Apart from formal lessons, girls are invited to come earlier to have lunch, do pre-natal yoga and enjoy tea time together! At the end of the program, worker had pre-pared a job-related gifts for each of the participants! Girls appreciate the thought-fulness behind!

After the lessons, girls shared that they believe there is al-ways way to achieve as long as you are willing to work hard! They also shared that the pro-gram is practical enough to mo-tivate them to pursue their dream!

Other attractive part is...

Think outside the box!

Take action!

11

YoungLives

YL had prepared different fun activities for the girls, such as live band show, manicures, yummy waf-fles, and bubble tea etc. A group of volunteers have offered help to take care of the babies which allowed the teen moms to enjoy the activities and focus on the programs prepared by YL. Our PGS staffs, Mabel and Ann had volunteered that day too! Feel free to go and ask them more about it! One of the objectives of this YL

camp is to strengthen the relation-ship between teen moms and YL men-tors. They gained a better under-standing and trust with one another through exciting games and group sharing.

Everyone enjoyed the camp. Many of them even asked,

“When will be the next one?” 12

YoungLives (YL), our community partner, has organized its first camping for our young mothers and their children in Shatin during 31 Mar—1Apr.

July to August

13

Choices of Love

Star Home

Next Station

Baby Care Workshop

Star Home

Star Home

Star Home

Choices of Love

Choices of Love

Baby Care Workshop

Upcoming Events

14

August: Choices of Love

There is no perfect answer when facing the different choices of crisis preg-nancy. But in this program, we will help you understand each choice better so that you can make an informed decision for you and your baby.

Target: Girls in crisis pregnancy (both pre-natal and post-natal girls are welcomed!)

Date: 10-24 Aug (Every Thursday, 3 session)

Time: 3:00-5:30pm

Content: To reflect the pros and cons of each choice by hearing the stories of others.

July: Star Home If you feel helpless in this crisis pregnancy journey, why not come to us and get the mutual support from other girls like you? This platform would also help you to have better self-care and get ready for the next stage!

Target: Girls at pre-natal stage

Date: 8 Jun – 27 Jul 2017 (Every Thursday. 8 sessions in total)

Time: 2:30-6:00pm

Content: Every session, you will learn different topics regarding natal care and personal growth. Besides, you can also hear your fetal heartbeats and enjoy Eng-lish tea every time when you come to this Star Home!

GAME What’s your impression to the PGS team? Who will you think of when you see the items below? Please write it down on P.16 to win a prize!

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

15

1. 5.

2. 6.

3. 7.

4. 8.

Answer Sheet

Name: ______________

TingTing

Helen

Connie Mabel

Maggie

Charis Ann

Sophie

Candy

Romy

Monie

Clare

Esther

Judy

To win a prize, email your answer to charis-wong@motherschoice.org on or before 31 August 2017!

Winner 2 movie tickets for 7 or more correct answers!

2nd Prize 4 $25 Starbuck coupons for 4-6 correct answers!

If you have any opinions towards our newsletter or have something to share with our girls, you can write it down on the next

page and put it into the collection box.

Your words means a lot to us. Thank you!

We would like to know your Feelings/comments!

——————————————–——————————————