On 13th September 2014, COSCO International and Christian Action for the first time jointly organised “COSCO International Green Living Fun Day.” A total of 54 people comprising COSCO International volunteer team formed by employees and their families, and newly arrived children in Hong Kong, learnt using natural resources to make organic products with their own hands and experienced a day of the life in an organic farm in Yuen Long. The activity aimed to help the children cultivate green awareness, and it also reflected COSCO International’s spirit of social responsibility in caring for the underprivileged and supporting environmental protection.

It was a sunny day. As guided and led by the instructors, a total of 21 members of COSCO International volunteer team accompanied with 33 children aged from 5 to 14 to join a farming tour in the One Hand Farm in Kam Tin, Yuen Long. They learnt not only how an organic farm operates and the organic farming principles, but also how to make food and products in an organic way. For example, they learnt using fresh vegetables and herbs to make dumplings, using natural materials like tea tree oil to make mosquito repellent cream, as well as using recycled paper to make string-bound notebooks. During the day, the kids actively participated in and devoted to all activities, while volunteers were impacted by the kids’ innocence and their energy. They kept talking and laughing in a busy day, and their laughter echoed in the entire farm. All of them spent a pleasant weekend.

“COSCO International Green Living Fun Day” was a volunteer activity of caring for the community fully sponsored by COSCO International, and jointly organised with the Christian Action and the green body of One Hand Farm. The activity aimed to help newly arrived children easily adapt to the community, establish their social network and foster their environmental protection awareness. Since 2011, COSCO International has actively encouraged its employees to participate in volunteer services, and a number of 186 attendances with a total of over 820 volunteer hours recorded. COSCO International was also awarded with the “5 Years Plus Caring Company Logo” by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. In future, COSCO International will continue to urge its staff to participate in various forms of volunteer service, so as to disseminate the message of caring for the community among its employees and their family members.

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