Listen to #Hashtag Hong Kong every Sunday morning at 8.15
Focusing on issues affecting civil society, we'll hear from representatives of NGOs, associations, statutory bodies, and non-profit groups.
(Sundays 8.15am - 8.25am)
Good morning. I am here to talk about a mission of freedom, companionship, and how we are addressing two of Hong Kong's most pressing social needs through the incredible power of trained dogs.
Established in 2012, our foundation was built on a clear and critical goal: to provide professionally trained guide dogs to our visually impaired community, thereby offering them the life-changing gifts of mobility, independence, and dignity. Our vision has always been a Hong Kong where every visually impaired person who needs one can have the freedom a guide dog provides.
In our city, there are approximately 160,000 visually impaired individuals. Now, consider this number: we currently have only about forty guide dogs in active service.
The International Guide Dog Federations suggests one guide dog for every hundred visually impaired individuals. Here, we are serving far less than one percent of the need. Every successful guide dog pairing is a triumph, but it also highlights the immense gap we are striving to fill. Each person on our waiting list is someone whose world is smaller than it should be, waiting for the key that a guide dog represents.
This urgent need is the core of our work. But it’s not our entire story. In the course of our rigorous training program, we encountered a beautiful phenomenon. Not every dog has the specific temperament to be a guide dog. Some, while wonderfully intelligent and affectionate, are better suited for a different kind of service. We call them “career-change” dogs. Instead of seeing this as a conclusion, we saw it as a new beginning. We asked: what other profound impacts to our society can these exceptional dogs achieve?
This inquiry led us to innovate, creating our Animal-Assisted Services and our pioneering Companion Dog Programme. We are proud to have launched Hong Kong's first resident companion dog service for elderly homes, and the first such service in collaboration with the Correctional Services Department.
The need we are addressing is profound. We all believe our elders deserve a life of health, wellness, and dignity. Yet, recent study indicates a great social pain point: one in every ten elderly persons in Hong Kong experiences emotional issues such as anxiety and depression. Loneliness and isolation are very real challenges.
Our response was to deploy our carefully selected companion dogs into these environments. But we didn't want to rely just on heartwarming stories; we wanted evidence. So, we partnered with Shue Yan University to conduct a formal, six-month study at two elderly homes. The results were unequivocal.
At the beginning of the programme, 38 percent of the elderly residents showed different levels of depression and anxiety. After six months with our resident companion dogs, that figure saw a dramatic and significant drop—down to just 17 percent.
This is a demonstrable outcome. It represents a tangible improvement in the quality of life for our elderly. It is solid evidence that we have powerful, effective, and non-pharmaceutical means to alleviate emotional distress. This proven methodology is not limited to elderly homes; it is a model we are now applying to support students with emotional problem, and to provide comfort to end-of-life patients in hospices.
So, you see, our work creates two powerful streams of impact. One stream provides the gift of independence, trust and safety to the visually impaired. The other provides the gift of emotional support and connection to the isolated and vulnerable.
A mission of this scope and complexity cannot be achieved alone. We rely on the heart and support of our community. That is why I am here today, to ask for your help.
I invite you to come and see us at our first Hong Kong guide dog training school. We offer guided tours of our training school. Witness the dedication of our trainers, the intelligence of our dogs, and the tangible reality of our mission. Let us show you what your support makes possible.
Please consider becoming a volunteer. Whether it's helping to socialise our puppies or assisting with our daily operations, your time and energy are invaluable gifts that directly fuel our work.
We are not just training dogs. We are building a more inclusive, compassionate, and supportive Hong Kong. We are unlocking potential and easing pain. With your help, we can ensure that everyone who needs a guide to navigate the world, or a companion to warm their heart, will have one.
Thank you for your time, and for your belief in a kinder future.
To end this programme ,I would like to play "You'll Never Walk Alone" by Josh Groban. We hope that by empowering the visually impaired with guide dogs as a team, one would never walk alone. I hope you enjoy.
Happy 2025 to everyone, we are a small Hong Kong-based NGO focusing on climate justice.
While looking back at 2024, it has been the warmest year on record since 1884 with an average temperature as high as 24.8 degrees. While you may have the impression of how hot the weather was, you may not be aware that we had a total of 52 very hot weather warning days, with the highest temperature reaching over 36 degrees. All these record-breaking weather conditions are telling us that climate change has been more drastic than ever.
When talking about climate change in the past, people might have liaised it with environmental problems only, but it is now widely known that climate has made extensive impacts to social and economic areas as well, and we must take real actions to tackle the climate disasters.
So for example what have you done to cope with the extreme heat? Maybe you have turned on the air-conditioning, went swimming or enjoyed some icy drinks to cool off yourself. However, not everyone in the society is as fortunate. There are quite some vulnerable communities in Hong Kong who suffer much more in terms of physical and mental health. These groups include low-income families living in inadequate housing units, elderly, people with disabilities and chronic illness, and outdoor workers. They contribute the least to the climate crisis, yet suffer from its worst impacts, while having the fewest resources to cope with these challenges, including but not limited to typhoon, flooding and extreme heat. Through our community dialogue initiative, we have mobilized over 100 NGOs to integrate climate action into their daily services and support these vulnerable communities.
The climate crisis is here and ahead, making adaptation essential. Since 2021, CarbonCare InnoLab has launched a pilot community programme in Kwai Chung area, aiming to build climate resilience of the underprivileged groups together with other NGO partners. We provide training and facilitate workshops for the residents to practice low-carbon living styles including onsite gardening and upcycling initiatives, while we also co-create ways with them to enhance energy efficiency and get prepared for extreme weather disasters. Over two years, we are proud to see how the residents forming groups in voluntary basis to continue and lead on these climate actions.
Of course, in the long run, we would like to call for an elimination of inadequate housing as the first step, so no one has to face the extreme heat together with poor air circulation issues which can be fatal. Also, the government must plan for building the climate resilience of the vulnerable groups, which can include the climate adaptation capabilities in the public housing projects, for example, having water resistant and windproof designs for buildings, introducing heat prevention technique and materials, and significant green public areas to ensure air circulation within and between buildings.
Besides the adaptation measures, CarbonCare InnoLab always advocates tackling climate issues from the root cause with a comprehensive mitigation strategy. We are delighted to see Hong Kong announcing our own Climate Action Plan 2050, and set goals to cut half of carbon emissions by 2035 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050; but there is still a very big loophole in how the government is leading us to achieve these targets.
Taking renewable energy as an example, we welcome the government to continue promoting green transportation policy and to develop green hydrogen, yet there is barely any mention of developing solar and wind power. We urge for a detailed energy transition roadmap with a clear timeline to phasing out fossil fuel.
Since 2019, CarbonCare InnoLab has launched the SolarCare Programmes to build solar energy systems for NGOs and schools with the support from philanthropy and corporate funders. In the past five years, we have built more than 30 PV systems widely spread across the city and generated more than 6000 megawatt-hours in total, and we target to have 20 more systems upcoming. Being sincerely thankful to the trust of funders and our solar partners, we have successfully avoided over 3300 tonnes CO2 emission together, and walk one step closer to a Zero Carbon Hong Kong in the near future.
While more stakeholders are aware of the affordable and clean energy, it requires more incentives from the government to continue the growth. The current feed-in-tariff scheme only lasts until 2033, and we truly believe that an extension of the scheme will largely encourage sustainable investments in renewable energy.
Apart from the local issues, CarbonCare InnoLab also believes in the importance of upholding values as a global citizen. Climate disasters are one of the most prioritized global issues and it requires all the countries to pay tremendous attention and effort to save our planet, which also means saving the human habitat.
Every year, we provide training to the enthusiastic young professionals and students who are devoted to climate solutions and advocacy. Global perspectives and climate issues development are key content in our training. We have been attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference since 2015 as an NGO observer, and we have led groups of youth to participate and negotiate onsite in recent years. The learnings and experiences have inspired our young leaders to create and continue climate actions back in Hong Kong. And we are thrilled to see the alumni network growing into a resourceful and insightful young climate leader circle. The future belongs to the young generation, and CarbonCare InnoLab is dedicated to fight for a sustainable future jointly with their force.
We are celebrating our 10th anniversary and I would love to take this opportunity to present my wholehearted appreciation to our small team of 15 people with aligned values. I would like to dedicate the song, “Truth To Power” by OneRepublic to everyone who is with us on the just transition journey.
