(Hong Kong, 18 June 2017) Introduced last year, our pilot programme to provide unconditional and direct financial support of HK$5,000 to 2017 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) students from Tin Shui Wai and Island Districts – “Decide Well, Spend Wisely” will now be expanded to Tuen Mun. In 2018, the Programme will cover 91 schools and over 10,000 students. Please stay tuned for further details.
FAQ
1. Why Tuen Mun?
We are grateful for the overwhelming community support and the many thoughtful comments and suggestions in particular to the “unconditional” aspect of the Programme. Most see it as a meaningful breakthrough. We also received many very compelling emails from schools, parents, and community groups supporting the Programme’s expansion to Tuen Mun.2. Response to date
We have encouraged last year’s participants to respond to a questionnaire to help us fine-tune the Programme. Amongst 5,700 students we received 4,244 responses. 70% of respondents indicated that they would spend the money on school-related activities, such as DSE fees, reservations fees, purchase of test preparation books and tutorials. Others said they would use the funds for savings, family expenses, shopping or travel.In general, participating students understand the correlating concept of financial decisions and taking responsibility for one’s choices. For many students, it was their first significant amount of cash received and they opened their first ever “savings account”. They treasured the opportunity to make their own financial plans, weighing material desires against functional expenditure and savings. Some students said they used their money to buy clothes for their siblings, others made donations.
3. Next step
The Foundation has engaged a consultant firm to study the impact of the Programme for students, parents and society, in personality effects, enhancement in relationships etc. These observations will guide our continuing development of the Programme.4. Regarding the Li Ka Shing Foundation (LKSF) and the Community Care Fund
Last week , LKSF had received a number of enquiries concerning its donation to the Community Care Fund (CCF). The Cheung Kong Group and the Foundation each fulfilled their HK$250 million pledge (total HK$500 million) to the CCF in accordance to the Government’s requested schedule. Please direct your questions regarding the use of funds to the CCF. We have no information regarding the status of the pledged donations from other donors.The Foundation makes contributions to many worthwhile projects in Hong Kong every year; our donation of HK$500 million to the CCF was a one-off donation in addition to our regular programmes.
About the Li Ka Shing Foundation
Established in 1980, the Li Ka Shing Foundation (LKSF) has four core imperatives: 1) empower people, 2) foster change, 3) develop a better society, and 4) inspire societal improvement. Mr. Li considers the Foundation to be his “third son” and has pledged one-third of his assets to it. To date, over HK$20 billion has been put to work to support all its initiatives across 27 countries and regions. Over 80% of LKSF’s donations benefit projects in the Greater China region.