Images show how Slum Families Squeeze their Lives into the Tiniest Apartments in Hong Kong

AFRIKUPDATE

Hong Kong. One of the richest cities in the world. With a land mass of 1,104sq km and a population of 7 million, it is also one of the most densely populated

With a land mass of 1,104sq km (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

As rent is so high - around HKD$90 (£8) per square foot a month - and the waiting list for public housing so long, many are forced to live in inconceivably small spaces to survive.

                                     
The group's director, Ho Hei Wah, told MailOnline: 'Hong Kong is regarded as one of the richest cities in the world. However, lurking beneath this prosperity is great inequality in wealth and a forgotten group of poor people.

                                                                 

Hong Kong. One of the richest cities in the world. With a land mass of 1,104sq km and a population of 7 million, it is also one of the most densely populated

With a land mass of 1,104sq km (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

As rent is so high - around HKD$90 (£8) per square foot a month - and the waiting list for public housing so long, many are forced to live in inconceivably small spaces to survive.

The group's director, Ho Hei Wah, told MailOnline: 'Hong Kong is regarded as one of the richest cities in the world. However, lurking beneath this prosperity is great inequality in wealth and a forgotten group of poor people.

'Hundreds of thousands still live in caged homes and wood-partitioned cubicles, while the unemployed, new-arrived families from China and children in poverty struggle for survival. SoCO's underprivileged clients are increasing in numbers – while the city’s wealth continues to accumulate.'

Mr Ho said there was great poverty and the underprivileged, including boat people, resettlement estate residents and squatters, were overwhelmingly high in numbers.

SoCO was formed in the 1971 by a group of clergymen and other activists who foresaw the growing social injustices and campaigned to reign them in.
But more than 40 years later and after the reunification with China, Mr Ho says the poorest are still being neglected by those in power.

                                                

 In one picture, a family-four have to share a double bed which barely leaves them room to move. The walls are covered from floor to ceiling in shelves piled high with food, clothes, toiletries and all manner of daily essentials.

On the top bunk, two youngsters, one of them asleep from exhaustion, lie next to a rucksack, school paraphernalia and a desk fan. Two others below do their best to carry on with their daily routine even though they can just about turn around.

                                                                         

From its earliest days as a British colony - after the First Opium War of 1839-42 - Hong Kong has served as a major centre of international trade.

During the 20th Century, the population was bolstered by large numbers of refugees, mostly from China, who helped launch a new role for the region as a manufacturing hub in which 'Made in Hong Kong' goods were exported throughout the world.