Scholarship fund expands to support more underprivileged children

The Hong Kong Paediatric Society is expanding its scholarship program to provide more support for children and teenagers from underprivileged backgrounds or with chronic illnesses and special education needs.

The "HKPS Bright Future Scholarship" was established last year and awarded 20 children a scholarship of HK$10,000 each.

This year, Hong Kong movie star Tony Leung Chiu-wai has donated HK$3 million to the scholarship fund, with the aim of supporting 150 to 200 children. The scholarship amount has also been increased to between HK$15,000 to HK$20,000 per recipient.

Additionally, Leung has donated a painting by the late artist Zao Wou-Ki for a charity auction to further support the program.

Leung, who is serving as a spokesman for the scholarship this year, said that he is disappointed that only 20 children received the scholarship last year despite around 170 applications.

He was moved by the "positive and persevering attitudes displayed by the scholarship recipients during their acceptance speeches, as many of them were dealing with illnesses from birth."

He added it was "touching" that even in the face of difficulties, children are still very grateful and some of the awardees last year wanted to give part of their scholarship to their alma mater.

Leung encouraged the children and teenagers not to fear failure, as he has faced it during 90 percent of his lifetime. They should instead view failure as a valuable life experience, he said, and emphasized the importance of finding personal goals and passions.

Professor Patrick Ip Pak-keung, a clinical professor at the University of Hong Kong's Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, shared his hope that the scholarship can help recipients realize their full potential and reduce the financial burden on their families.

The application deadline for the scholarship is this Wednesday, and the organizers have received close to 1,000 applications.