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The Government will work closely with the Women's Commission and other collaborating organisations to beef up the Capacity Building Mileage Programme to upgrade the women participants' abilities and help them build a positive attitude towards life.
The programme has a variety of training courses to enable women of different ages and educational levels to pursue continuous learning and self-enhancement. The programme is jointly run by the Women's Commission, the Open University of Hong Kong, the Commercial Radio and about 80 women's associations and non-government organisations.
Speaking at the fourth Graduation Ceremony of the Capacity Building Mileage Programme today (May 16), the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, said the Lotteries Fund had allocated $12.4 million for the three-year pilot programme from 2004.
The Government had then set aside $11.1 million for running the programme from March, 2007, to 2010.
The training courses, covering livelihood issues such as human relations, financial management and health care, could help the participants cope with their personal problems.
"The participants may pursue the study through radio programmes, or they may attend face-to-face training courses run by district organisations. Not only can they build up knowledge in different fields, they can also form a support network," Mr Cheung said.
"I am pleased that women in Tin Shui Wai are now able to attend the training courses of the programme from March this year. I believe that the programme will help them enhance their capacity and integrate into society.
"The programme enrolment has increased steadily over the years, reaching 23,000 participants. This is a good step to promote life-long learning," Mr Cheung said.
Ends/Friday, May 16, 2008
Issued at HKT 15:15
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