Sphere
#37
2015
23
>>
“Children can now study in
a better environment with the
proper resources at hand.”
Dang Phuc Ton,
Primary school headmaster in Vietnam
Hola! Schools from China to Mexico benefit from
partnership with HPH.
rom supporting primary
school children to engaging
unemployed young people
and funding postgraduate
excellence, Hutchison is
helping youth across the globe to grow
small sparks of promise into bright flames
of success that will benefit the world.
HPH: Sparking excellence
through Dock Schools
Bright young people around the world
are finding support among local ports
operated by Hutchison Port Holdings
Limited (HPH). The Dock School
Programme has seen schools “adopted” by
over 20 ports worldwide. The aim of the
Dock School initiative is to match selected
schools with a nearby port in the HPH
global network. The programme focuses
on schools that are in need of support for
basic facilities and equipment. Most of the
28 schools adopted thus far are primary
schools located in the same district as
the ports. Many of these schools provide
education for children who come from
underprivileged families. The schools
often lack sufficient funds to maintain the
bare necessities for providing a quality
education.
In 1992, Hongkong International Terminals
Limited first provided a local school with
book coupons to encourage students to
study hard for their exams. Over the past
two decades, the philanthropic efforts of
Hutchison’s port operators have expanded
to include donating money to schools,
taking students on excursions, helping
to build and repair school facilities, and
providing students with books, uniforms,
stationery and even meals. This is “a way
for us to give back to, and connect with,
the communities in which we operate,”
according to HPH Group Managing
Director Eric Ip.
Projects are varied and typically tailored
to match the needs of each school.
For example, Huizhou Port Industrial
Corporation and Huizhou International
Container Terminals in Mainland China
donated 3,000 table tennis rackets to
a primary school last year along with
250 desks and chairs. Internacional de
Contenedores Asociados de Veracruz
in Mexico provided its dock school
with urgent renovation work on the
school’s broken floors. Last year, Saigon
International Terminals Vietnam (SITV)
supported the installation of 27 wall-
hanging fans to a primary school in Toc Tien
Village in Vietnam. Headmaster Dang Phuc
Ton has encountered difficulties cooling the
classrooms over the summer, but now, he
says, “thanks to SITV’s support, children
can now study in a better environment with
the proper resources at hand.”
The Dock School Programme has given
schools around the world tools to assist
teachers to give students what they
need in the classroom. The A S Watson
Group (ASW) in Hong Kong looks beyond
the classroom by fanning the flames of
competition in the hearts of young athletes to
help youth reach their maximum potential.
