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The Director of Social Welfare (DSW), Ms Carol Yip today (December 14) joined the Social Welfare Department (SWD) Choir, volunteers of Project "Angels Act" and DSW wards to participate in the Carol Singing Festival 2013 of the Child Development Matching Fund (CDMF).
Ms Yip said, "The Government is dedicated to promoting the development of children from disadvantaged backgrounds with a view to reducing inter-generational poverty. The carol singing festivals organised by the CDMF in the past three years were a huge success, raising over $8 million for the Savings Matching Fund for children. Since the launch of the CDMF in October 2010, the fund has provided a total of $3.45 million in matching grants to 11 projects, benefiting 1 275 children and teenagers."
She added, "Through today's carol singing, we wish to share the festive joy with the audience here as well as arouse public concern on the importance of youth development. We encourage members of the public to help nurture our future generation. I sincerely hope that this year's activities can raise more funds and continue to benefit the needy youngsters."
The CDMF, launched in October 2010 as a community organisation, aims to promote child development initiatives to alleviate poverty. The CDMF is a vital strategic partner of the Child Development Fund (CDF). The CDF aims to support the development of children from disadvantaged backgrounds in the longer run by pooling resources from families, the private sector, the community and the Government.
Aside from the SWD Choir, the department's staff participating in "Angels Act" also joined today's carol singing. "Angels Act" is a volunteer project launched by the SWD in 2001 to promote volunteerism and recruit colleagues to join as volunteers. This year, 41 teams of volunteers are participating in "Angels Act". These volunteers pay visits to DSW wards when they are off duty, sometimes with their families. These visits enable the wards to share the warmth and pleasure of family life. Some of the volunteers and their families have joined the project for more than 10 years. Today, some young wards joined the carol singing, making the activity even more meaningful.
Children and teenagers are made wards of the DSW in accordance with the court procedures stipulated in the Protection of Children and Juveniles Ordinance (Cap 213) for various reasons, such as death, loss, imprisonment, long-term hospitalisation or incapability of their parents, or their being unable or unsuitable to live with their family members. As at the end of last month, there were 713 DSW wards.
Ends/Saturday, December 14, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:38
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