Caged People, Hong Kong

In spite of being the financial capital of Asia and having more Louis Vuitton shops than Paris, Hong Kong has around 80,000 to 100,000 people still living in inadequate housing, including in so called 'caged homes' measuring 6 feet by 2,5 feet (1,83 m in length, 76,2 cm in width), cubicle apartments, roof-top houses and small subdivided and partitioned units.

Unscrupulous landlords are charging around 200 US dollars a month for a cage, which are packed 20 to a room, and up to 3 levels high. Most of the time sharing the same washing facilities and sometimes with no kitchen.

People who cannot even afford this conditions end up homeless and sleeping in the streets of the city.

Residents living in this habitats include the working poor, the unemployed, new immigrants from the Mainland, people suffering from mental illnesses, sex offenders and others marginalised and excluded social groups.

Over the last 30 years, the Society for Community organisation (SoCO) has been working with grass roots groups to fight for reasonable living standards in Hong Kong.

SoCO individually visit poor households and follow up on their needs, helping them to get public housing allocation and livelihood protection.