Change for Good Raises HK$6.7 Million in Donations to Improve Children’s Education

© UNICEF/UN0375505/Kaur

School teacher talks to 6 year old Muskaan child of Sunil and her mother Shrimati Kalawati about how to use Room to Read worksheets and the library books in a home visit to her house in a village of India.

© UNICEF HK/ 2020

Volunteers from Cathay Pacific joined UNICEF HK’s volunteer team helping grassroots families to raise awareness on hygiene.

Hong Kong, 17 December 2020 ── Cathay Pacific Airways and the Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF HK) today announced that the ‘Change for Good’ (CFG) in-fight fundraising programme raised a total of HK$6.77 million in 2019.

All CFG donations were spare change collected from passengers traveling on Cathay Pacific flights that were used to improve the lives of vulnerable children worldwide, and one-third of the proceeds from CFG have been used to support UNICEF’s Schools for Asia, an initiative to protect children’s right to education. In the East Asia and Pacific region, the COVID-19 pandemic is causing unprecedented disruption to local education systems. Girls are particularly vulnerable to the impact as many of them have limited access to distance learning during school closures and they are less likely to return to classrooms once schools reopen. It is estimated that more than 1.2 million girls could drop out of school due to COVID-19. UNICEF and its partners are working to ensure all children, and especially girls, have access to distance learning including through online, TV, radio and take-home learning-kits. The proceeds from CFG will also support UNICEF’s work to keep children learning amid the pandemic. Meanwhile, UNICEF is implementing campaigns to encourage girls to continue their studies after the pandemic.

Mr Augustus Tang, Chief Executive Officer of Cathay Pacific noted, “I would like to thank our passengers for their generosity in supporting the programme throughout the years. Although it’s been a tough period for everyone recently, I am pleased that we have all been able to come together to support UNICEF HK and the invaluable work it does with these contributions. We have faced many challenges this year and as such it is important for us to explore innovative practices so that our efforts to help children are as effective as possible. Cathay Pacific remains committed to continuing to support children’s learning during these difficult times.”

Ms Judy Chen, Chairman of UNICEF HK, said “Affected by the pandemic, the world’s most vulnerable children are facing an unprecedented crisis. We greatly appreciate Cathay Pacific’s continued support to offer more children the right to learn and we are looking forward to bringing hope through various channels to children in need.”

The CFG programme also allocates an average of one month’s proceeds to the Cathay Pacific Wheelchair Bank, established in 1996 to improve the mobility of children suffering from severe neuromuscular diseases in Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific has also provided robust support to UNICEF HK’s local emergency programme ‘for every child, hygiene’ amid the pandemic. A large group of volunteers from Cathay Pacific joined UNICEF HK’s volunteer team helping the families in need to raise awareness on hygiene.

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© UNICEF HK/2020

Children in Guizhou, China, are using improved school facilities to play games in school playground.

© UNICEF HK/ 2020

Children enjoy playing with child-friendly facilities in school.

© UNICEF HK/ 2020

Adolescent from Sri Lanka participates in the activities of the children club.