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The Financial Secretary, Mr Henry Tang, visited the Hong Kong Single Parents Association (HKSPA) this afternoon (September 7) to gain a better understanding of the support services the Association is providing to single parents to help them overcome the challenges they face.
Mr Tang met with a group of single parents during the visit. They shared with him how they made use of the support and assistance available to them in rebuilding their self-confidence and taking care of their families.
"I have great respect for these devoted mothers and fathers," Mr Tang said. "They have tried their very best to ensure that the needs of their children are well catered for. More importantly, they have demonstrated to their children the power and importance of self-reliance and mutual support in the community."
Mr Tang was received by Ms Jessie Yu Sau-chu, Chief Executive of the HKSPA. Ms Yu is a member of the Commission on Poverty.
"We strongly believe that the most useful support we could provide to single parents is to empower them to help themselves and encourage them to help other people where they can," Ms Yu said.
The HKSPA provides support services to single parents and organises training and employment assistance programmes for them. These include the New Dawn Project under the Intensive Employment Assistance Projects, which is designed to help single parents return to work.
Mr Tang also met participants of the Capacity Building Mileage Programme (CBMP) during the visit. The CBMP is organised by the Women's Commission in partnership with the Open University of Hong Kong and Commercial Radio to encourage self-learning and capacity enhancement among women.
Ends/Thursday, September 7, 2006
Issued at HKT 19:34
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