I would lament every time when I read the above enlightening saying.

Mr. Tung Chee-hwa, the former Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government once openly claimed that he wanted to eliminate cross-generation poverty. To achieve this aim, it needs to start with education.

The result of the Certificate of Education Examination was released recently. However what impresses me most is not those students getting 10 A's, but a family insisting on earning their own plain living instead of taking doles from the Government. They have skimped on food and clothes to pay for their son's tuition. The son got outstanding result from the examination.

From my experience in counselling, I realize that gambling makes people lose their senses. Problem gamblers are being dominated by an irrational thinking.They deeply believe that gambling is a gain without pain and a short-cut to get rich . When they lose, they must pay off their debts. Even if they win, they will not stop. They will eventually fall into the nadir of their predicament. Their families will have to bustle about to raise money to pay off their debts. To compensate for the trauma they have inflicted on their family, these initial culprits will start to think that they only gamble for raising the quality of life for their families, and that they try to get rich by short-cut just for their children. So they will keep on gambling. Eventually things will go against their expectation. Their children cannot get good education, and how can they get good examination results?

When compared with the former family, they are poles apart. The former family, although living a hard life, gives good education to their children, and the parents are setting a good example. On the contrary, gamblers also set an example to their children, but a very bad one. How can their children grow up healthily?

Counsellors are not almighty. They cannot make the problem gamblers quit gambling by a few interviews. It is a lengthy road to quit gambling, and it is a life-long aim. I hope that, whether or not they are going to seek counseling, they will seriously consider to implement this saying "Don't waste your resources, save them for your children's education" while making a little effort for their next generation and giving a shot in the arm for quitting gambling.