Caring for animals draws reclusive youth out of their homes

In Secondary 3, Ms Angel Huang, 20, dropped out of school. She could not keep up with her studies and felt the academic "rat race" among students was too stressful.

- Theresa Tan

For three years, she stayed at home, became more withdrawn and found that "even talking to others can be quite frightening", she said.

As she saw her peers move on to polytechnic and junior college, she felt even more alienated and left behind.

But she has found a safe space to build her confidence and social skills - through an animal care programme started by social service agency Fei Yue Community Services (FYCS). It included exposure to the work of zoo staff.

On Oct 24, she completed the last of five sessions of the "Horse-ibilities" programme, where she fed horses and groomed them, among other things.

These sessions with the horses were organised in collaboration with Equal, a charity which runs equine-assisted learning programmes to improve people's well-being.

The pilot run of the collaboration, aimed at helping with young people's social-emotional development, started in September.

By interacting with the horses and caring for them, the youth learn responsibility and empathy, as well as how to build trust, confidence and communication skills, said Equal's head of programmes and services, Ms Ann Hui Peng.

Ms Ann said horses are highly intuitive and sensitive creatures, and they often mirror human emotions, making them ideal partners to help the youth better understand their own emotions and behaviours.

The initiative is part of FYCS' animal care programme to engage young people who are not studying or working, known as Neet youth. Neet stands for not in education, employment or training.

The sessions have helped in Ms Huang's growth, easing her anxiety about socialising with other people.