ACCESS HK
Registered Charity No. 25225

What distinguishes one child from another is not ability but access: access to education, access to opportunity, access to love.

Access HK was set up in the summer of Year 2001 by a group of Hong Kong students at leading UK and US universities who felt strongly about equal opportunities and were dedicated to improving the lives of children living in poverty.

Since its establishment, Access HK has organised a number of projects to help underprivileged children in Hong Kong. Every summer, Access HK's volunteers, mostly students studying at overseas universities, return to Hong Kong to give a free Summer School to children in need. Access HK also recruits youung professionals to run a weekend tuition programme known as "Teach-an-Hour" for underprivileged children. We work with primary schools in some of the most economically deprived districts in the territory, and strive to boost students' learning interest and English language skills. To date over 1000 children have benefited.

From a humble beginning, Access HK has expanded rapidly to become a society with 2 patrons, 9 affiliated organisations and over 200 volunteers from 19 different universities around the world.

LATEST NEWS

Summer Programme

AccessHK has had a long tradition of helping under privileged children in primary schools every summer, and we run a 3-week summer program for children between the ages of 9 to 12.  The lessons are designed, run and managed by student volunteers, most of whom come from the world’s top universities.  Our aim is to give these children a chance to learn English, and in doing so have fun, boost confidence and acquire vital life skills for the future.  Such skills range from merely being brave enough to speak English in front of class.  However, it is not all work, as we spend a lot of time outside the classroom running recreational activities and site visits.  These of course would also be predominantly in English.  This year our programme runs from 13 July – 1August, Monday to Friday.

Here is what our previous volunteers have to say about the Access HK Summer Programme:


...It was an excellent challenge as some of the kids could not even write out the whole alphabet, but with patience and love we eventually taught them the most basic of English! …Both the children and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and the sense of satisfaction could not be described by words.  It is like raising your own kids, seeing them learn, no matter how little, is the most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life.

Unlike a lot of summer jobs, working in Access HK provides you with real challenges…the most important lesson I learnt is that while one must take on responsibilities it is just as important to give them out – no one can do everything alone… We became great friends with all the volunteers even after the programme.

What you will get from this experience

Skills such as how to communicate and deal with difficult people, especially children. These skills will be instrumental to your future development; whether in career or personal life.

Lifelong friendships are developed during the programme, volunteers from previous years still have regular events to further bond their friendship;

An experience in making a difference -- you will know you have made a difference, when you hear the laughter from the very children who had dreaded to go to school every day before joining the programme.

Summer Newsletter 2008 - Download Here