Naheed(an alias) was a Pakistani who had been living in Hong Kong with her husband for more than a decade. When she arrived in Hong Kong, she did not know how to speak Cantonese and English. Yet, with a positive life attitude, she gradually settled here and even learned how to speak Cantonese and English. ‘I like watching TV drama of the local channel which I could master my Cantonese.  Whenever I have encountered language difficulties, I would ask my husband and friends……’ Naheed said.

Naheed had three daughters. The youngest daughter was nearly two and half year old. She had been diagnosed to have suffered from cerebral palsy shortly after her birth.‘After hearing the news, I was very worried. I did not know what cerebral palsy was’, Naheed said. In order to provide better care to the youngest daughter, Naheed had to make frequent visits to hospital. However, she also had to look after other children at the same time. She was exhausted. Looking after a daughter with cerebral palsy was a difficult task. It almost took an hour to feed her daughter because of her swallowing problem.  Apart from the support given by the husband and some Pakistani friends, she had no other social support network. Therefore, she felt helpless and alone. Although Naheed could speak Cantonese and English, she had no idea of the local social services for her daughters. As her main role was to look after the family and stayed at home most of the time, it was rather difficult for her to establish ties with the community. After receiving the assessment, her daughter had been referred to waitlist special child care centre with around six to nine months waiting period. As her family could not afford private service, she could do nothing except waiting.