Friends of Hope Education Fund

ESTABLISHED in 1992, the Friends of Hope Education Fund is made up of Hong Kong Police officers and civil servants who raise money through charitable means to help subsidise school projects and education programmes for children in the remote areas of mainland China.

So far, proceeds from the fund have paid for the construction of four primary schools and a secondary school in Guangdong, a primary school in Guangxi, three more in Guizhou, and one in Shaanxi, not to mention a water supply system for a primary school in the same province.

Projects in progress include quarters for teachers and the second phase of a secondary school in Guangdong, a nursery, two secondary schools and a scholarship fund in Fijian, and a primary school in Hubei province.

In addition to these construction projects, the Friends of Hope Education Fund has also subsidised school places for 60 students and 40 teachers between 1996 and 1998.

Earlier this year Friends of Hope Education Fund members organised a charity walk that started from the newly built primary school in Xian and saw the 26 participants cover 1,600 kilometres in two weeks along the historical mainland route made famous in the book the Three Kingdoms. Walkers contributed to the trek in designated stages marked by the picturesque and fascinating cities along the way: Xian, Baoji, Tianshui, Hanzhong, Guangyuan, Mianyang and Chengdu.

To ensure that almost every dollar raised would be used to benefit education projects in the mainland, participants paid their own accommodation and transportation expenses to and from the mainland. In the end, the 1998 walkers managed to raise a very respectable $1 million.

Impressed by the work of the friends of Hope Education Fund, the Police Martial Arts Club organised a charity walk to Shaolin which raised $1.3 million, which they then generously donated to the Friends of Hope Education Fund.

For Woman Station Sergeant Pinky Chan,the 1998 Charity Walk was a real eye-opener: "I've visited many places in the mainland before, and although I knew the walk would be interesting, I wasn't at all aware of just how poor the living standard is for many of the residents especially in the more remote areas of Guizhou Province. Just having a hot shower is an extravagance. The Experience has changed my attitude towards life. It made me appreciate what we have in Hong Kong."

WS/Sgt Chan has become more involved in organising and participating in activities organised by the fund.

Another Friends of Hope Education Fund member. RTHK reporter Phoenix Wong, who participated in the 1996 Charity Walk and visited Guizhou in 1998, was extremely impressed by the local teachers' unswerving determination to provide education for young students of the region despite its extremely limited resources. "The primary school that we visited in Liannan is the only one in Guizhou Province," she recalled.

"Its walls are decorated with old newspapers, mosquito nets are full of holes,and beds for the children to use during rest breaks in the classroom are made of bark and wood panes. You can't help but respect the teachers."

Deputy District Commander of Yuen Long, chan Yiu-wing, was also affected by his visit to the primary school in Guizhou. "You cannot experience the enthusiasm and joy of the children and the determination of the teachers under the worst conditions and not be touched by-and want to help them," recalled Mr Chan, who believes that only by developing education in these remote areas can the living standard.

Chairman of the Friends of Hope Education fund SP OPS KE Wong Hung-tak, who has worked very hard in promoting the organisation's charitable activities, considers it an honour to help those less fortunate in the mainland ¡Ð and by doing so has made him more content in life.

Recalled SP Wong: "I was particularly touched by the words written by the teachers and students on the blackboard while attending the opening ceremony of the primary school we helped to build in Guizhou. It read: 'Our dear uncles and aunts, you have planted the tree for us to rest under. Our school is no longer crude, we welcome you today with all our hearts and thankfulness. Let us say once again, thank you'."

The Friends of Hope Education Fund invite members of the force to join them in contributing to their very worthwhile charity work, Those interested can contact Woman Sergeant Ng Ying-kwan on 2841-6346 of SP Wong Hung-tak's secretary Miss Kwok on 2703-2440.

Members of the Local Inspectors' Association are organising a charity walk in Guangxi in January 1999 in the hope of raising $250,000 for the Friends of Hope Education Fund, with will be working with the Local Inspectors' Association and the Superintendents' Association to organise more large-scale future charity activities.

The new honorary directors of the fund are Jimmy Elms (one of the fund's founders), legislator Dr Leong Che-hung, Chan Yiu-wing, Wong Hung-tak, Wai Kei-shun, Lau Leung-wai and new member Grace Leung, MBE, JP.

One of the charity walkers chats with a local Xian woman along the route

Friends to Hope Education Fund aim to make ramshackle classrooms a thing of the past

Touching words of thanks from teachers and students of the primary school in Guizhou