The Commission on Children (CoC), the Hong Kong Police Force and the Social Welfare Department today (June 22) jointly held the Walk with Kids@Healthy Happy FUNday at the Junior Police Call Permanent Activity Centre and Integrated Youth Training Camp at Pat Heung (JPC@Pat Heung). Parents and children joined a variety of interactive games and activities, thereby enhancing their awareness on the importance of physical and mental health. About 70 participants from more than 20 families attended; half of them were children and some have special education needs or require specific support.
The Healthy Happy FUNday is the first outdoor engagement event under the "Walk with Kids" thematic campaign of the CoC. The CoC attaches great importance to the development and well-being of children, and endeavours to work together with different sectors to build a caring and inclusive society for children. Through a series of publicity initiatives and engagement sessions on different themes throughout the year, the "Walk with Kids" campaign aims to raise public awareness of child protection and enhance their understanding on the CoC's work in different dimensions.
The Secretary for Labour and Welfare and Vice-chairperson of the CoC, Mr Chris Sun, attended the event and said that the various adventurous and experiential activities designed on-site were both fun and inspiring. He hoped that children and parents can play more together on weekdays, enjoy relaxing time and foster communication for better physical and mental health. Also attending the event, the Commissioner of Police, Mr Siu Chak-yee, said that the activities engaged families in playtime with children. He added that protecting children is a heavy responsibility and he encouraged the public and all sectors to work together in the work of children protection. In addition, the Director of Social Welfare, Miss Charmaine Lee, said that taking care of children is inevitably stressful to parents and those who are looking after children with special needs deserve more support from the community. She appealed to the public to show concern to their neighbourhood and provide a loving and harmonious environment for children.
Participants took part in ice-breaking, adventurous and experiential activities across JPC@Pat Heung to experience healthy living in an interactive and interesting manner, followed by group sharing sessions moderated by non-official members of the CoC. Participating children and parents shared their everyday challenges and parents' experience of overcoming the challenges of taking care of children with specific needs. Parents were also encouraged to communicate more with children and take care of their own needs.
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