Plan International Hong Kong “Donate a Pencil for Girls” Campaign Held Successfully Gathered Concerted Efforts to Keep Girls in Schools

   
Plan International Hong Kong’s Board Chair, Ms. June Leung(R3), Board Member, Dr. Sandra Tsang Kit Man(L3), JP, Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Kanie Siu(R2), and Volunteer Ambassador Natalie Tong(L2), Lisa Cheng(R1), and Lesley Chiang(L1) lit up the pencil lightboxs, signifying the bright future of children brought by education.

Plan International Hong Kong’s 11th “Donate a Pencil for Girls” campaign was held from September 29th to October 29th at Citywalk 2, MCP Central 2, and D‧Park with great success. The event gathered the concerted efforts of the public to donate pencils at the sponsored malls and raise funds to secure girls’ rights to education and empower girls with knowledge and skills to break the cycle of poverty and child marriage.

Keep Girls In School Through Donating Pencils

Education is the best way to help girls break the cycle of poverty and change their lives. Plan International has organised the “Because I am a Girl – Donate a Pencil” campaign since 2013 to support girls’ education and raising public awareness of girls’ rights. To date, the event has collected more than 200,000 pencils, which have all been sent to girls in China, Cambodia, Ghana, Nepal, northern Thailand and Bangladesh. Funds raised were used in Plan International’s projects in developing countries, promoting girls’ rights all over the world.

Nowadays, there are still 130 million girls who are unable to attend school and are deprived of the right to education due to various reasons such as poverty, gender inequality, climate disasters, and wars. To raise awareness of girls’ right to education, the ceremony of the event was held on the International Day of the Girl Child, 11th October 2023 at the Atrium, MCP Central 2. Plan International Hong Kong’s Board Chair, Ms. June Leung, Board Member, Dr. Sandra Tsang Kit Man, JP, Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Kanie Siu, and Volunteer Ambassador Natalie Tong, Lisa Cheng, and Lesley Chiang attended the ceremony and called for the public’s support to help keep girls in school and let them learn and thrive.

Ms. June Leung, our Board Chair, delivered a welcome speech at the ceremony. She shared that “Plan International is committed to promoting equal education throughout the years. We hope the public will support the campaign to secure girls in developing countries the right to education so that they can rewrite their destiny with knowledge.”	Dr. Kanie Siu, our Chief Executive Officer, shared her trip to Bangladesh. She was impressed by the persistence of underprivileged girls in pursuing their dream of receiving education.

We were pleased to have three volunteer ambassadors, Natalie Tong, Lisa Cheng, and Lesley Chiang, attend the ceremony. They shared their determination to support girls’ rights and called for the public’s support.	Parents and their children purchased pencils on-site to donate to Bangladeshi girls and support their education.

Thank you for the public’s generous support. More than 6,200 pencils were collected, and more than HK$200,000 donations were raised from the event. The pencils collected will be sent to needy children in Bangladesh; the donation received will help secure girls’ rights to education and empower girls with knowledge and skills to break the cycle of poverty and child marriage.

This year, game booths were set up to enhance parents’ and children’s understanding of the plight of children in developing countries and the work of Plan International Hong Kong.	Thanks to the support of “Friends of Plan” (a group of ex-beneficiaries of Plan International Hong Kong) and volunteers, they made attractive balloons in the shopping malls to raise funds for the event.

All pencils collected last year were sent to children in Bangladesh and needy children in Hong Kong via Silver Stationery Shop. All donation was used to support our education projects in Bangladesh to provide students affected by severe floods with learning necessities, and a safe learning environment.

We sincerely invite your continuous support for our Child Sponsorship Programme and make the world a better place for underprivileged girls!

With your monthly HK$240 donation (only HK$8 daily) to sponsor a girl, community programmes can be launched to identify and eradicate the barriers girls face. It is only through giving girls equal rights that they can fully develop their potential and live life to the fullest.

Look forward to your generous support:

SPONSOR A GIRL (HK$8/DAY)

The 11th “Donate a Pencil for Girls” Campaign would not have been successful without the generous support from Henderson Property Management Department, King’s Flair Development Limited, Mediterranean Shipping Company (Hong Kong) Limited, Everbright Greentech Hape, and Spa Collection, A.W. Faber-Castell (H.K.) Limited and venue sponsors, Citywalk, MCP central, and D‧Park. Thanks once again for their contribution!

Ms. June Leung, our Board Chair, presented a certificate of appreciation to our annual platinum partner, King’s Flair Development Limited, Mr. Kendrick CK Wong, R&D Manager represented the company to receive the certificate.
Dr. Sandra Tsang Kit Man, JP, our Board Member, presented the certificate of appreciation to the gold sponsor, Mr. Andrew Ng,General Manager, Hape International(Hong Kong) Ltd. and Miss Joanna Lo,HR & Admin Manager, Spa Collection Group represented the company to receive the certificate.
Dr. Sandra Tsang Kit Man, JP, our Board Member,presented a certificate of appreciation to pencil sponsor, Faber-Castell (H.K.) Limited, Mr. Lawrence Choi, Sales Manager represented the company to receive the certificate.