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The Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, today (August 5) presented certificates of completion of service to 27 delegates of Phase IV of the Service Corps programme to commend them for their outstanding performance in doing voluntary work and demonstrating the spirit of selfless service in Shaoguan and Meizhou in Guangdong Province.
At the certificate presentation ceremony, the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, praised the delegates for their outstanding performance in serving the people of the two cities. He said he hoped that the delegates could set a good example for the young people of Hong Kong so that they too would show a caring spirit and take action to support those in need of help in the community.
Mr Tsang Tak-sing said, "In order to allow the delegates to gain more experience, we set up a second service point in Meizhou in Guangdong Province last year."
He added, "Special arrangements have also been made for the delegates to serve in a health education centre in Shaoguan to provide a new service point. Such a move offers youths in Hong Kong more opportunities to have contact with local people, and to display their creativity by assisting to organise health education activities in the city."
Mr Tsang Tak-sing also thanked the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, the Shaoguan Municipal People's Government, the Meizhou Municipal People's Government and the teachers participating in the programme as well as the youth volunteers of Hong Kong for their assistance and support to young people in Hong Kong to carry out voluntary teaching and non-teaching assistance work in Shaoguan and Meizhou.
He also expressed gratitude to the Hong Kong Volunteers Association for providing delegates with counselling and support services to allow them to receive timely and reliable support.
The Home Affairs Bureau launched the Service Corps programme in 2011 to provide financial support for youths aged between 18 and 29 to serve in underprivileged areas in the Mainland for one semester or for the whole school year. With an aim of developing young people's tenacity and potential, the volunteer programme encourages Hong Kong young people to serve others and contribute to their mother country with a view to enhancing their understanding of their motherland and promoting the spirit of volunteerism. More than 60 Hong Kong youths participated in Phases I to IV of the programme.
The 27 members of Phase IV of the Service Corps programme were sent to seven primary and secondary schools in Shaoguan and Meizhou, namely Shaxi Secondary School, Shaxi Town Centre Primary School, Lishi Town Centre Primary School, Huaping Experimental School, Songkou Middle School, Yanyang Town Centre Primary School and Bingcun Town Centre Primary School, to provide teaching assistance to preschool, primary and junior secondary students in various subjects and organise extracurricular activities from September 2013 to July 2014.
Families and friends of the delegates also attended today's ceremony to show their support. Led by representatives of the Shaoguan Municipal People's Government and the Meizhou Municipal People's Government, teachers and students also came to Hong Kong for a visit and exchange and to attend the ceremony.
Phase V of the Service Corps programme will be started in September this year. Those who are interested in joining the programme in the future may visit its dedicated website at www.servicecorps.hk.
Ends/Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Issued at HKT 12:35
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