LCQ1: Strive and Rise Programme
17.5.2023

Following is a question by the Hon Tang Fei and a reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (May 17): Question: The Chief Executive indicated in the 2022 Policy Address that the Government, through collaboration among the Government, the business sector and the community, launched the Strive and Rise Programme (the Programme) in September 2022. The Government implements the Programme for Secondary One to Secondary Three students from underprivileged families (particularly those living in sub-divided units) to enable them to broaden their horizons, reinforce their self-confidence and develop a positive outlook on life. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (1) of the current progress of various tasks under the Programme; (2) as it is stated in the Annex: Indicators for Specified Tasks to the 2022 Policy Address that, no less than 70 per cent of the students who complete the Programme lasting for one year are to achieve improvement in terms of enhancing personal development and positive thinking, and the Programme has been implemented for more than half a year to date, whether the Government has assessed the status of achieving the indicator of the Programme; and (3) as a survey has been reported as pointing out that some students participating in the Programme had no contact with their mentors in the past three months and described their relationships with their mentors as distant, and as at the end of February this year, a total of 21 students and 16 mentors withdrew from the Programme, whether the Government will enhance the arrangements for the remaining period of the Programme, e.g. assisting the students who have withdrawn and introducing a replacement list; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that? Reply: President, The Chief Executive announced in the 2022 Policy Address the new strategy of targeted poverty alleviation by directing resources to those most in need, and restructuring the Commission on Poverty to study and identify other target groups for poverty alleviation. The first initiative that adopts the strategy of targeted poverty alleviation is the "Strive and Rise Programme" which focuses on lifting junior secondary school students from underprivileged families, particularly those living in subdivided units, out of intergenerational poverty through tripartite collaboration of the Government, the business sector and the community. My reply to the Hon Tang Fei's question is as follows: (1) The first round of the "Strive and Rise Programme" (the Programme) was officially launched on October 29, 2022. The Progamme has admitted 2 800 eligible mentees, 40 per cent more than the recruitment target of 2 000 mentees. The Programme has received overwhelming support from about 120 enterprises and organisations. Not only were sufficient eligible mentors recruited, sponsorship of some $140 million was raised. Some 800 sessions of group activities have also been made available for enrollment by mentees. As at the end of April 2023, basic training on life planning, capacity building and financial planning for mentees have been completed under the Programme. Training sessions on "Understanding youth and mastering mentor's role and skills" and "Parenting and communication skills" have also been completed for mentors and parents respectively. So far, the Programme has offered over 430 sessions of group activities for enrollment by mentees and mentors. Among them, nearly 150 have already been held with attendance of around 6 000 (including mentors, mentees and parents). The group activities cover visits to enterprises in different sectors and facilities of public bodies, activities offering special experience as well as workshops for mentees to broaden their horizons and enrich their life experience. Starting from the end of January 2023, all mentees who completed the orientation session and three basic training sessions of the Programme (including life planning, capacity building and financial planning) have been given a start-up sum of $5,000. As at the end of April 2023, over 2 000 mentees have received the start-up sum for implementing their personal development plans under the guidance of their mentors. Upon successful completion of the Programme, a scholarship of $5,000 will be awarded to mentees for their own deployment by applying the financial planning skills acquired. (2) Mentees in the Programme are required to attend orientation, basic training, group activities, graduation ceremony and post-programme evaluation. Moreover, interactive sessions are available for mentees and mentors. Mentees will use the start-up sum to formulate and implement their personal development plans under the guidance of their mentors. The key performance indicator (KPI) we set for the Programme is that no less than 70 per cent of mentees who completed the Programme to achieve improvement in terms of personal development and positive thinking. In this connection, the Social Welfare Department has commissioned a research team from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to evaluate the Programme. The research team will invite mentees to do a self-assessment and collect feedback of their mentors and parents regarding their performance through questionnaires before and after the one-year Programme on eight impact indicators. These include ability in goal setting, ability in financial planning, inter-personal skills and social network building, self-confidence, self-esteem, resilience, sense of responsibility and empathy and sense of belonging to the community. The data collected from the questionnaires will be used to gauge their development in relation to the impact indicators upon completion of the Programme. Hence, whether the Programme can meet the KPI will only be known by then. The Government will evaluate the effectiveness of the first round of the Programme and consider enhancement measures such as increasing mentee quotas and expanding the target group, and launch the second round of the Programme. (3) Following the launch of the Programme on October 29, 2022, mentors, mentees and their parents were subsequently arranged to attend orientation sessions together in November. Training sessions on "Understanding youth and mastering mentor's role and skills" and "Parenting and communication skills" have also been organised for mentors and parents respectively. In December, mentees began participating in a variety of basic training and group activities. Mentor-mentee interactive sessions, including mentors accompanying mentees to basic training and group activities, have also taken place progressively. District organisers will maintain close liaison with mentors and mentees during the course of the Programme to collect their views on the Programme and offer assistance. As at the end of February 2023, 16 mentors (i.e. 0.57 per cent) have withdrawn from the Programme and the mentees concerned have been re-matched with new mentors. 21 mentees (i.e. 0.75 per cent) have withdrawn from the Programme and no substitution was needed as the Programme has already admitted all eligible mentees.