Breaking the Cycle

Being Neighbourly x Sky Siu, Mother's Choice

Author/ Being Neighbourly
19 December 2025

It takes a village to raise a child. When our village joins hands, we
don’t just change one life but also transform entire family trees and create a future where every child is surrounded by love,” says Sky Siu, CEO of Mother’s Choice.

The charity was set up in 1987, after founders Gary and Helen Stephens and Ranjan and Phyllis Marwah came across a series of newspaper articles pointing to the alarming numbers of teen pregnancies in Hong Kong.

The couples learned that many of these pregnant girls, even in their third trimester, felt forced to have unsafe abortions because they felt they had no other choice.

Enter, Mother’s Choice: established to let pregnant girls know that they did, in fact, have alternatives and did not have to face their crises alone and nearly four decades on, what began as a response to support pregnant teenagers has grown into a broader mission: to provide nurturing care to children without families, to be a voice for every child to belong in a family, and to support families across Hong Kong.

Today, the charity operates in four locations, one in Kwun Tong and three in Mid-Levels, including their Child Care Home on Bowen Road, enabled by the HKSAR government who fund around 25% of their operating budget, their Pregnant Girls Home on Kennedy Road, and an office on Borrett Road. Their 11 frontline programmes for their four core service groups: children, youth, family and community are supported by social workers, child carers and program staff, as well as teams of human resources, IT, finance, fundraising, events, marketing communications, volunteer engagement, alumni, facilities and administration.

“80% of our Mother’s Choice workforce is made up of volunteers who come with different skills, talents and experiences! There are also opportunities for students to support our work, such as the Summer Internship Program, Youth Leadership Council, Craft Makers’ Club Community support is woven into the very fabric of Mother’s Choice.”

For those who wish to get a taste of the charity’s work, there are two upcoming community events — their Family Fun Fest on 25 January 2026, and their Stride For Hope, a sports challenge charity event in the entire month of February, details of which will be on their website www.motherschoice.org and social media on Facebook and Instagram.

In the past year, thanks to the support of 1,313 volunteers, CEO Siu shares that they provided over 2,700 hours of Early Intervention therapy and support to the children in their care.

“We assisted 85 children in foster care and provided case management to over 150 pregnant girls. These achievements reflect the dedication of our community and the significant difference we can make together.”

According to Siu, every year, thousands of young girls face the overwhelming challenges of a crisis pregnancy without support. At the same time, thousands of children are waiting for their forever families due to neglect, abuse, abandonment, or family breakdown.

“By providing love, care, and high-quality services to the most vulnerable children, youth, and families in our community, we are not just responding to the problem, but are also actively working to prevent it,” she shares.

She elaborates that their work starts with children in the belief that every child deserves a family. “Children aged 0 to 3 years old, and special needs children up to 6 years old, stay temporarily in our Child Care Home, whilst we work to prepare them to join a permanent family.”

They also run Foster Care Services, supporting families who open their homes to children in need through the government-designed and funded Ordinary Foster Care programme and their Project Bridge programme. For children with developmental delays, our Early Intervention Services, including Cuddle Me programme, provide assessments and support to help them thrive.

For young girls facing crisis pregnancies, Mother’s Choice offers a safe space where they are not judged but supported and provided with accurate information about their choices be it parenting, adoption, termination of pregnancy, and then equipped to face the future of her choice; and they run Youth Programmes that educate young people about healthy relationships, sexuality and parenting.

“We have learned that no family can do it on their own. That’s why we offer Adoption Services to support adoptive parents, birth parents, and their children, and Safe Families, which was launched in 2021, to connect young mothers with community members who can walk alongside them during challenging times,” says Siu, adding that this is made possible by the Mother’s Choice COMMUNITY of staff, volunteers and community partners who believe that everyone has a role to play in caring for vulnerable children and young girls.

Through Volunteer Engagement and Community Education, and their Alumni Community, Mother’s Choice keeps their extended family connected.

“At the core of the work we do is the belief that quality family-based care should always be the first option for a child who requires residential care,” says Siu.

“A foster parent can develop a very close secure relationship with their foster child, teaching them to attach to a primary caregiver, bond with them, and show them what it means to be loved. Being in a family can positively impact a child’s development by giving them the unique and essential gift of attachment.”

Siu elaborates that foster kids can continue to enjoy family life until they are able to reach ‘permanency’, by re-uniting with their birth family, joining an adoptive family or living independently. Sadly, not every child can be matched with a foster family.

“The problem we face goes far beyond matching. It is a vicious cycle,” admits Siu, adding that thousands of children in Hong Kong are at risk of being harmed or put into the residential care ‘system’. “They often remain in the ‘system’ for years or even their entire childhoods. Without the love and security of a permanent family, they are more vulnerable to negative outcomes such as addiction, going to prison, dropping out of school,” Siu says, adding that attachment is built when an adult responds to a child’s emotional and physical needs over time, which sets the stage for all future trusting relationships. She says that safe and healthy attachment is especially important for children who have experienced loss or separation.

“Girls in the ‘system’ are at significant risk of facing a crisis pregnancy in their teen years. These young mothers may not be equipped to care for their children, and if the community is unaware or uninformed about how to help, the vicious cycle begins again,” Siu laments.

“We have supported pregnant teenagers as young as 12, and we understand that teenage pregnancy often involves complex issues like trauma, poverty, and neglect,” says Siu, relating one situation involving a 13 year old who came to their Pregnant Girls Home at 13 weeks pregnant. Her boyfriend, involved in drugs, was in a detention centre at the time.

Despite the girl’s difficult situation, Siu says she showed remarkable talent in the kitchen during her stay. With the support and care she received, she left their home with renewed hope and secured a job in the food industry, beginning a new chapter.

“For the most at-risk girls who have been homeless or living in unsafe environments, our Pregnant Girls Home provides a safe and peaceful environment with healthy routines and structures. We empower each girl with the information she needs about her options,” says Siu, adding that their Pregnant Girls Services offers non-judgmental support, including a 24/7 Hotline (telephone and WhatsApp), counselling, peer support, workshops and training to pregnant girls.

“Our priority is always to enable a child to remain in the care of his or her birth family. However, in cases where this is not possible, we make an adoption plan for the child,” says Siu, adding that for families facing challenges in caring for their children, they can seek support from Integrated Family Service Centres operated by the Social Welfare Department and other NGOs. Social workers assess each family’s unique needs and provide tailored advice and support to help keep families strong and children safe.

Like many NGOs, Siu shares that they have faced different challenging times over the past three decades even as the needs of vulnerable children and young people continue to grow.

“We warmly encourage community members to become Safe Families, foster parents, adoptive parents, or volunteers. By opening your heart and home, you can make a positive difference in the lives of children and girls in need, helping to provide them with the love, stability, and opportunities they deserve.“

Whether it’s volunteering your skills, caring for a child without a family, or donating your birthday to raise funds and awareness, Siu says we can all support children and girls in our community.

Reaching out to Mother’s Choice is simple and confidential. Girls (or anyone who knows a girl who needs their help) can call their 24/7 Hotline at 2313 5678, WhatsApp at 5633 5678, or email [email protected]. Follow IG account @Backflip_Kitten for more about topics relevant to teenage girls: self-love, healthy relationships and sexuality education.

What is the best thing about the work that you do?

“The best part of our work is seeing children, young girls and families thrive and walk confidently into their future together,” says Sky Siu, CEO of Mother’s Choice.

“Joining hands with our incredible community, we are able to give hope
and change life stories in ways that ripple across generations.”

“I will never forget one adoptive family whose children told their parents, ‘When we grow up, we want to help children in need too, just like you loved us.’ That is the kind of generational legacy we are building: love and compassion planted in hearts, passed down through families, and multiplied across communities.”

Mother’s Choice
Units A & H, 21/F, Legend Tower,, 7 Shing Yip Street, Kwun Tong.