At various stages of life, grassroots citizens face diverse short-term or chronic illnesses. Beyond utilizing public Chinese and Western medical services, how individuals cope with illness and manage their personal health is equally crucial. Low-income households often struggle with insufficient income, long working hours, and limited financial resources. Even recognizing the value of health, they lack the means to maintain it. Therefore, timely health education and physical conditioning training are also vital. Moreover, when confronting chronic illnesses and navigating the rehabilitation journey, patients often experience discomfort and negative emotions due to pain or medication side effects arising from the disease or treatment. Illnesses may also trigger other underlying issues such as difficulties in daily living or employment challenges. Patients frequently feel lost and helpless, and a simple “take care” is insufficient to offer comfort.

To enhance grassroots residents’ capacity for disease prevention and recovery, and to better manage personal health and illnesses, Society for Community Organization (SoCO) has established a community health center in Tsuen Wan District. This center serves low-income residents, thereby improving the health levels of individuals, families, and society, and enhancing quality of life.

Health Center Course Brochure

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Health Center Course Registration Form

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Intelligent Qigong is a scientific qigong system developed by renowned qigong scholar Professor Pang Ming, who is also a practitioner of both traditional Chinese and Western medicine. Building upon the essence of ancient traditional qigong, Intelligent Qigong integrates modern scientific, medical, and philosophical insights. Beginning in the 1980s, Professor Pang created a series of modern, open-ended qigong methods that are concise, rational, easy to learn, safe, and highly effective, all aligned with the laws of human life and movement. Etymologically, “智” (zhì) signifies wisdom, referring to the cerebral cortex’s capacity to process external stimuli, while “能” (néng) denotes capability encompassing both mental and physical functions. In essence, Intelligent Qigong is a qigong practice designed to cultivate human wisdom and enhance personal capabilities.

Intelligent Qigong was selected as a “Chinese Sports and Fitness Method” in May 1997, ranking first among the 21 qigong methods chosen nationwide that year. In June 1998, Intelligent Qigong became the first qigong method approved for nationwide promotion by the Fitness Qigong Evaluation Panel and Expert Review Committee of the General Administration of Sport of China. In 2016, it was included in the National Health and Family Planning Commission’s “13th Five-Year Plan” for Traditional Chinese Medicine higher education textbooks. Currently, universities in China offer courses teaching Intelligent Qigong techniques. Practicing this method yields the following benefits: enhancing physical constitution, prolonging life, preventing disease, and unlocking human potential.

Individuals at the grassroots level often experience anxiety, stress, or depression when coping with illness. Family members facing the long-term demands of caregiving also endure emotional and practical pressures. Through conversation, talk therapy helps participants identify and understand the issues contributing to their distress, enabling them to develop appropriate coping strategies and determine necessary support. This includes utilizing the most suitable qigong techniques to regulate their physical and mental well-being, as well as providing necessary referrals when required.

The Community Health Center will also provide acupuncture services to students in need as required.

Health education helps individuals maintain and improve their physical condition, yet grassroots communities often lack such knowledge. Through collaboration with volunteer Chinese and Western medicine practitioners, the Society provides free health education seminars led by registered practitioners and medical professionals to impart wellness knowledge and enhance citizens’ physical functions. Frontline staff and volunteers encourage one family member to attend each session.
To strengthen the functioning of grassroots families, the Social Welfare Council offers courses focused on family communication. These aim to ease high-tension family relationships and warm up distant ones, ensuring that chronically ill individuals and their families receive emotional support from their households when facing immense physical and mental pressures from illness. Together, they can overcome challenges. Moving from conflict to closeness among family members is achievable—it requires learning and practicing with care as the foundation.

The center adopts a “multiple intelligences” approach, developing interventions tailored to individuals’ unique strengths to facilitate emotional healing. For instance, participants who enjoy music can join music therapy sessions; those who value kinesthetic learning can attend qigong or yoga classes; and nature enthusiasts can participate in horticultural stress-relief workshops. Healing is specifically targeted at varying degrees of psychological distress, with the crucial starting point being just 1% hope! All service development remains in active dialogue with the Social Association’s participants.