國際培幼會「培您童行」慈善行者攜手同邁五百萬步
為中國雲南省金平縣的孩子步出美好將來
Path to future success of ethnic minority children in China paved with nearly 5 million steps of Hong Kong walkers at the Plan International Hong Kong Walk for Children

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新聞稿（即時發佈）                                                        　  2013年3月17日

國際培幼會「培您童行」慈善行者攜手同邁五百萬步
為中國雲南省金平縣的孩子步出美好將來

Photos: http://www.seedland.hk/press/plan/2013/6/
Press release: http://www.seedland.hk/press/plan/2013/6/Plan International post event press release-ch.doc

今年，由國際培幼會主辦，並與香港海洋公園協辦的「培您童行」步行籌款反應十分熱烈，參加者人數較去年多近三倍，為中國雲南省金平縣的少數族裔孩子建設更美好的將來。

國際培幼會大使鄭伊健先生與近1,300名熱心的個人參加者、家庭及企業團體齊齊舉步完成整個步行籌款，全力支持培幼會長遠幫助每天需要步行4小時到學校上課的兒童改善生活及幼兒學校的質素。

是日早上8時，國際培幼會（香港）董事局主席周文耀GBS太平紳士、國際培幼會大使鄭伊健先生及歐倩怡小姐、國際培幼會前受助人張堅庭先生及陳茂波先生、國際培幼會（香港）行政總裁詹文利先生、海洋公園公共事務總監劉毓敏女士及海洋公園吉祥物「威威獅令」齊集於海洋公園正門海洋廣場，與千多名充滿愛心的參加者一起啟步。

一眾參加者身穿著名時裝設計品牌SUGARMAN免費贊助的限量特別版T-Shirt，一起由海洋公園全新正門──海洋廣場出發，途經海洋奇觀、夢幻水都人工湖、香港老大街、海洋列車、冰極天地、動感天地、熱帶雨林天地、海洋摩天塔、以及瘋狂過山車等景點，並於早上9時前抵達終點站海洋劇場。 

隨着參加者完成步行路線，頒獎禮亦正式開始，國際培幼會董事局主席周文耀先生於頒獎禮中分享：「今天『培您童行』步行籌款得到前所未有的成功，看到大家對中國雲南省金平縣孩子的支持，令我非常感動。我們今早步行的一小時，將可以為孩子縮短上學的路程，同時改善當地幼兒學校的質素。大家的努力，將為他們的生活帶來超乎想像的改變。」

海洋公園公共事務總監劉毓敏女士對周文耀先生的分享表示贊同，並表示海洋公園亦很高興能支持國際培幼會的「培您童行」步行籌款。

是日，18隊企業團隊與一眾參加者一起競逐步行籌款「最優秀造型獎」及「最踴躍參與團隊獎」，後者由「培幼之友」以─百多位一直積極支持培幼會活動的前受助人及他們的家人和朋友奪得。
頒獎禮上，海洋公園公共事務總監劉毓敏女士頒發「最踴躍參與團隊獎」，並由國際培幼會大使鄭伊健先生頒發四名「最優秀造型獎」。國際培幼會行政總裁詹文利先生亦向協辦機構海洋公園和多個支持及贊助機構致謝。其後，鄭伊健先生邀請再度支持「培您童行」的參加者一同拍攝大合照，感謝他們連續兩年支持是次活動。為感謝培幼會大使鄭伊健先生由首屆「培您童行」開始，至今一直無條件地支持步行籌款活動，國際培幼會董事局主席周文耀GBS太平紳士向其致送感謝狀以示感激。最後，大會更邀請所有主禮嘉賓到台上合照留念，活動在一片歡樂的氣氛中圓滿結束。 

是次活動所籌得的善款，將足夠為金平縣的孩子帶來長遠的改變。金平縣是個貧窮和簡陋的邊境山區，孩子每天都要步行最少四小時往返學校。此外，因為少數民族的觀念較為守舊，只有很少女童能入讀小學，大多都留在家裏工作。當地大部分孩子沒有接受學前教育，便直接入讀普通話教授的小學，以致剛剛入學的孩子難以跟上進度，很早便要輟學。

這次的步行籌款，將為他們建造三所幼兒學校，令每年至少三百名小朋友可以接受學前教育，為升讀小學作好準備；此外，每年也會讓三十名老師接受三個月的全職育兒發展培訓，確保學生們能順利銜接普通話小學的課程，同時鼓勵更多女孩接受教育，以關注當地性別不平等的問題；款項亦會用來興建學校廚房和安裝熱水設備，讓這些學童可享用有營養的食物和飲用安全的食水。

國際培幼會「培您童行」步行籌款之贊助機構名單：

協辦機構 
香港海洋公園 
銅贊助 
貝克．麥堅時律師事務所
華利安諾基（中國）有限公司 

大會指定服裝
SUGARMAN

大會指定計步器贊助
Stride Rite

外景場地贊助
香港黃金海岸酒店

支持機構 
Aquaris Beauty
飛雪礦物質水
中電控股有限公司
Eclipse Management Limited
Mother Care / Early Learning Centre
京都念慈菴
One Elite Children Group
Pizza Express Hong Kong
Rx 美容醫學集團
Asia Spa & Wellness Limited
ULA
小牛角

傳媒贊助 
《黃巴士EMAG》兒童電子雜誌 
《黃巴士Light》親子月報 
CUP Magazine

全力支持 
城巴有限公司
天星小輪有限公司

關於Plan國際培幼會「培您童行」步行籌款
自2012年起，「培您童行」步行籌款成為國際培幼會的年度活動，第二年的步行籌款，參加者人數更比首年增長三倍。培幼會寄望2014年能得到更多大眾支持，令活動更臻完美。
關於Plan國際培幼會
擁有七十六年歴史，國際培幼會是全球其中一個規模最大的國際兒童慈善機構。協會總部設於英國，為世界各地超過一百五十萬名有需要的兒童及其家庭提供援助，並為約九百萬名居於協會工作地區的人士提供各方面的支援服務。計劃主要集中在兒童的教育、健康、生活環境、生計及建立關係方面，希望能長遠地改善孩子們的生活質素，並幫助兒童在尊重他們權利及尊嚴的社會裡充分展現他們的潛能。
協會於五十個發展中國家進行兒童發展計劃，服務遍及非洲、亞洲及美洲，並在全球二十一個國家及地區設立捐助辦事處。香港捐助辦事處於二零零九年七月設立，然而培幼會與香港的淵源可追溯至五十年代，培幼會曾在這裡設立援助辦事處近十五年。當時名為「Foster Parents Plan」的培幼會曾幫助近一萬二千名兒童及其家人，而大部分為來自中國大陸及鄰近地區的新移民。
有關國際培幼會、其活動及公眾捐助方法，請瀏覽www.plan.org.hk。
關於海洋公園 
海洋公園是香港本土獨特的主題公園，持續營造家庭歡樂和美好回憶。自1977年1月作為非營利機構開業以來，海洋公園經多年發展，現已成為世界級觀光景點，緊密連結大自然和旅客，並以動物保育、研究及積極建立社區關係著名。海洋公園開業至今已有超過1億1千萬名旅客觀光，老少咸宜，一直致力提供具有教育和保育性質的綜合娛樂體驗。海洋公園入場門票及商品店指定精品之部分收益持續撥捐給香港海洋公園保育基金以支持動物保育工作。
發稿：Plan國際培幼會 　　 代行：一口田有限公司
電話：3583 3100 　 傳真：3583 1331　
電郵：plan@seedland.hk
如欲查詢詳情或安排專訪，歡迎致電9534 0813與Miss Helena Hui或9450 9757與Miss Adrienne Wong聯絡。
有關Plan國際培幼會的查詢，歡迎致電3405 5316與Miss Wendy Tsui聯絡。

Press Release (For Immediate Release)                                 17th March 2013

Path to future success of ethnic minority children in China paved with nearly 5 million steps of Hong Kong walkers at the Plan International Hong Kong Walk for Children

Photos: http://www.seedland.hk/press/plan/2013/6/
Press release: http://www.seedland.hk/press/plan/2013/6/Plan International post event press release-eng.doc

Nearly triple the number of participants in this year’s “Walk for Children”, organised by Plan International Hong Kong and co-organised with Ocean Park, walked almost 5 million steps to set the feet of ethnic minority children in JinPing County, Yunnan Province, China on the path to future success.

Plan Ambassadors Mr Ekin Cheng joined with nearly 1,300 enthusiastic individuals, families and corporate teams to support improvements in the living environment and pre-school education standards of these underprivileged children who currently have to walk up to four hours per day to reach existing schools.  

At 8am on 17th March 2013, Mr Paul Chow, GBS, JP, Board Chairman of Plan International Hong Kong, Plan Ambassador Mr Ekin Cheng and Ms Cindy Au, Ex-beneficiaries of Plan Hong Kong, Mr Alfred Cheung and Mr Paul Chan, Mr James Murray, Chief Executive Officer of Plan International Hong Kong, Ms Una Lau, Public Affairs Director of Ocean Park, and not forgetting the iconic Whiskers, gathered at Ocean Square to kick off the Walk.

Wearing specially-designed T-shirts fully sponsored by SUGARMAN, the crowd headed off in good spirits, passing various Park attractions such as the Grand Aquarium, Aqua City, Old Hong Kong, Ocean Express, Polar Adventure, Thrill Mountain, The Rainforest, Ocean Park Tower and The Dragon along the way before reaching destination’s end – Ocean Theatre – by 9am. 

At the Presentation Ceremony, Mr. Paul Chow said: “It’s tremendously rewarding for Plan International Hong Kong to see so many of you here at Ocean Park today to support the ‘Walk for Children’ and more importantly the children in JinPing County, Yunnan Province of China. By walking one hour this morning, we all help to provide more easily accessible schools as well as improve the quality of pre-school education there. You can hardly contemplate what a difference your efforts will make to the children’s futures. ”

Ms Lau endorsed Mr Chow’s remarks, saying that Ocean Park was pleased to support the Plan international “Walk for Children” as part of the organisation’s well-established community service programme.

Members of the public were joined by 18 corporate teams bidding for both the Best Dressed and Highest Team Participation awards – in fact a group of Plan Hong Kong Ex-Beneficiaries who have provided solid support for the NGOs activities, have also competed for the latter prize.

Mr Ekin Cheng presented the Best Dressed Awards to the winners and Ms Una Lau presented the Champion of “Highest Participation Team Award”, while Mr James Murray presented certificates of appreciation to Ocean Park as well as to other supporting organisations and sponsors . In order to thank repeat participants for their support, a special photography session with Mr Ekin Cheng was arranged. Last but not least, Mr Paul Chow presented Mr Ekin Cheng with a certificate of appreciation to thank him for his unconditional support since first becoming an Ambassador.

The funds raised by the Walk will be used to bring lasting improvements to children and communities in need in rural JinPing County. Currently, a significant number of children drop out of school at a very young age. One of the principal causes is that ethnic minority children not receiving pre-school education have great difficulties in understanding Mandarin during their first and second year in primary school, and thus fail to catch up. They are therefore doomed to repeat the cycle of poverty that challenges their parents.

The Walk funds will be used to improve accessibility to and quality of early childhood education services by building three pre-schools to benefit more than 300 students per year. Besides the school buildings, classroom facilities and water heating devices will be provided; three-month full-time early childhood care training for 30 teachers each year is also part of the programme. It will also help to address gender inequality by encouraging girls to enrol to schooling who would otherwise be expected to shoulder manifold tasks like farming work, or house and road construction.

Supporting organisations of Plan International Hong Kong “Walk for Children” 2013

Co-organiser
Ocean Park 

Bronze Sponsor
Baker & McKenzie
Houlihan Lokey (China) Ltd.

Official Tee Sponsor
SUGARMAN

Official Pedometer Sponsor
Stride Rite

Photo Shooting Venue Sponsor
Gold Coast Hotel

Sponsoring Organisations
Aquaris Beauty
Asia Spa & Wellness Limited
Bonaqua
CLP Holdings Limited 
Eclipse Management Limited
Mother Care / Early Learning Centre
Nin Jiom
One Elite Children Group
Pizza Express Hong Kong
Rx Beauty and Medical Group RX 
Santa Fe Relocation Services Co. Ltd
ULA
VACA

Media Sponsors
Yellow Bus EMAG
Yellow Bus Light Magazine
CUP Magazine

Supporting Organisations
Citybus Limited
The Star Ferry Company Limited

About Plan International “Walk for Children”
Begun in 2012, the Plan International “Walk for Children” is now an annual event on the organisation’s calendar. In the second year of the Walk, entries have almost tripled. Plan aims to build on that success in the future and looks forward to the 2014 event when we hope to increase participation even more with the public’s help. 
About Plan International
With 76 years of history and headquartered in the UK, Plan International is one of the world’s leading development organisations focused specifically on children. Plan supports more than 1.5 million children and their families, and indirectly supports a further 9 million people living in sponsored communities. Programmes focus on making real, positive, lasting improvements to quality of life in the areas of education, health, environment and livelihood, as well as helping children realise their full potential within societies that respect their rights and dignity.
Plan works in 50 developing nations across Africa, Asia and the Americas, and it operates fundraising offices in 21 countries. The Hong Kong fundraising office of Plan International opened in July 2009. However, Plan’s relationship with Hong Kong reaches much farther back, to the 1950s, when it operated a field office in the territory for some 15 years. During that time, and under the name “Foster Parents Plan”, it helped nearly 12,000 children and their families, mostly new migrants from the Mainland and around the region. More information on Plan International Hong Kong, including details on how to make a difference, can be found at www.plan.org.hk.
About Ocean Park
Ocean Park is Hong Kong’s unique home grown theme park with a heritage of delivering family fun and fond memories. Since its opening in January 1977 as a non-profit organisation, Ocean Park has developed itself to be a world-class attraction connecting people with nature, and recognised for its animal husbandry, research and relationship with the community. Over 110 million people have visited Hong Kong's premier park since its inception, and Ocean Park has remained committed to offering adults and children experiences that blend entertainment with education and conservation. Part of the proceeds from Ocean Park admission tickets and some retail items will go to Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, Hong Kong to support its wildlife conservation projects.
Released by: Seedland International Limited
On behalf of Plan International Hong Kong
Media enquiries:
Tel: 3583 3100 Fax: 3583 1331 E-mail: plan@seedland.hk
Contact persons: Miss Helena Hui (9534-0813) or Miss Adrienne Wong (9450 9757)
Contact person of Plan International Hong Kong: Ms Wendy Tsui (3405 5316)

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