GENERALI HONG KONG AND GENERALI ASIA LAUNCH THE HUMAN SAFETY NET IN HONG KONG IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ONESKY FOR ALL CHILDREN

The new centre will enrich the lives of the city’s most vulnerable children

Hong Kong - Assicurazioni Generali, one of the largest global insurance providers, has announced a three-year partnership between its Hong Kong business and Regional office and OneSky for all children, a global NGO with a presence in Hong Kong. OneSky’s focus on providing nurturing care and early education to the city’s most vulnerable children aligns with Generali’s commitment to empower disadvantaged people through The Human Safety Net (THSN). Initiated in 2017 and active in 22 countries globally, The Human Safety Net aims to unlock the potential of people living in vulnerable circumstances, so that they can transform the lives of their families and communities. 

The partnership with OneSky will provide funding for the The P. C. Lee OneSky Global Centre for Early Childhood Development (the Centre) opening in Hong Kong this week. Specifically, THSN will fund the Family Centre for children ages 0-6 and the Family Mentors who are essential to providing loving, responsive care to children and their caregivers. The partnership will include supporting the development of the OneSky’s programme in the Centre and enable Generali employees in Hong Kong to take part in volunteering activities.

Commenting on the partnership, Cillin O’Flynn, Chief Executive Officer of Generali Hong Kong said: “We are proud to partner with OneSky, who has for more than two decades, provided a nurturing environment to care for some of Asia’s most vulnerable children in China, Vietnam and Mongolia. Generali’s support for the new centre reflects our approach to building genuine partnerships with the local social sector, ensuring we use our strengths to add value so that our impact is meaningful and sustainable.”

Emma Ursich, Executive Director of The Human Safety Net Foundation commented: “I’m happy to welcome OneSky in the global family of our NGO partners active in the Families program. Especially in this Covid-19 outbreak, where the most vulnerable people in our communities are at risk of being left further behind, I’m convinced that this new long-term partnership will generate a positive and visible impact for families and children in Sham Shui Po in the near future.”

The Human Safety Net’s families program supports parents in the first six years of their children’s life to lay the strongest possible foundations for their future, contributing to early childhood development (ECD) in disadvantaged communities around the world. The poverty rate in Sham Shui Po is one of the highest in Hong Kong at 17%, post Government intervention. The children who live in the area do not have access to many opportunities to play and learn due to a variety of factors that include small living spaces, poverty and a lack of safe public play areas. Many of the children miss out on learning essential development and motor skills and are at a disadvantage socially and emotionally.

The new OneSky Centre, which opened officially on Monday 18 May, will provide children, ages 0-6, living in Sham Shui Po a safe, welcoming, clean environment with an educational play space, staffed by professional caregivers, that engage the children and the children’s parents or caregivers completely free of charge.

Morgan Lance, Global Development Director, OneSky Hong Kong, said:“We are sincerely appreciative of the generous support from Generali which will provide great assistance to the OneSky centre. We look forward to working with the employees of Generali Hong Kong to develop volunteering activities that will add value to our centre over the next three years and beyond.”