BY KANICE HO
Viva Hong Kong has been providing tailor-made child protection services to organisations such as churches, schools, and clubs for almost a year now.
We are thankful for the partnership of organisations who have placed child safeguarding as a priority and are pioneering the concept of holistic protection for children in Hong Kong. Viva HK is currently partnering with ten institutions including four churches, three schools, and three clubs.
Our partners have begun to ensure children’s safety by implementing their child safeguarding policy. Staff and volunteers who have close contact with children are equipped with a better understanding of child protection and take appropriate action to aid and support to children at risk. Through our partnership with these ten institutions, we have an estimated reach of 10,000 children in Hong Kong.
What our partners say
“It is paramount that our staff understands how to safely work with children and how to protect them from any dangers that may arise from working in a sports development background. The workshop provided interesting materials and provoked a lot of interaction and discussion amongst our staff.”
Paul Smith, Asia Pacific Soccer Schools
“Whilst we relied heavily on Viva’s knowledge, we still retained ‘ownership’ of the final child safeguarding policy. We worked with Viva’s child safeguarding adviser to produce a robust set of procedures to back-up the policy, and also to educate and train our community on why and how to implement child safeguarding in their clubs.”
Robbie McRobbie, Hong Kong Rugby Union
“Implementing specific, clear, enforceable policies about what is and is not appropriate behavior while caring for children is a simple way of being good stewards of the children God has entrusted to us. Viva has been incredibly helpful throughout the process of writing and implementing our policy, with great instruction and feedback, and they have always been available to provide help.”
Eric Scott, Watermark Community Church, HK
What you can do
Viva HK needs your help to advocate the importance of proactive child protection in Hong Kong. It is our goal to see every child in the city to grow in a safe, happy and caring environment. For queries about Viva Hong Kong’s tailored child protection services, please email Kanice Ho at k.ho@viva.org