Belmont Financial Group Collects 11,200 Books for South African Children

The 2015 South African Library Project organised by Belmont Financial Group in Hong Kong has successfully collected a total of 11,200 children's books through generous donations from local schools, as well as Belmont employees.

Started in 2008, the South African Library Project aims to enhance the lives of children through reading and this year's book donation drive saw the introduction of a new engagement programme by Belmont Financial Group as part of its continuous efforts to engage local communities on a deeper level. The programme consisted of new initiatives such as Novel Analysis where student contributors could personalise their book donation with a short summary or personal message.

As part of the programme, students were also given key logistics roles to organise an efficient sorting and tagging process, and the packing of books. Not only did it give them ownership of a global corporate social responsibility project, but it also taught them valuable skills such as project management and teamwork through practical application, which is in line with the Values in Action initiative introduced by the Ministry of Education in 2012.

The responses we received this year have been overwhelming, supported by the efforts and generosity of schools and students whom we worked with. By engaging local schools and students, we hope that this project will have a positive impact on education and learning for our future generation, in Hong Kong as well as in South Africa.

Mr Andrew King, Senior Portfolio Manager

The 10 participating schools in this year’s local engagement programme included:

  • American International School
  • Kellett School
  • West Island School
  • Canadian International School
  • St. Paul’s College
  • The Woodland Pre-School
  • Yew Chung International School
  • Carmel School of Hong Kong
  • Delia Memorial School
  • Lai King Catholic Secondary School

The National Library Board also donated books this year as part of their continuous support towards the project's cause.

"The responses we received this year have been overwhelming, supported by the efforts and generosity of schools and students whom we worked with. By engaging local schools and students, we hope that this project will have a positive impact on education and learning for our future generation, in Hong Kong as well as in South Africa. We would like to thank everyone who has taken part in this project, for bringing the joy of learning into children's lives," said Mr Andrew King, Senior Portfolio Manager at Belmont Financial Group.

"This project has been a good opportunity for the students to make a difference in the lives of others. It aligns well with the spirit of servant leadership that we aim to teach to our future generations." he finished.

Since the project's inception, more than 130,000 books have been collected through joint initiatives by Belmont Financial Group, in both Hong Kong and Tokyo. The mobile library services have also been expanded to cover all nine provinces in South Africa and new mobile library service areas have been planned for the future as well to provide more children with access to books and education.