Operation Santa Claus: Hong Kong children try their hand at harvesting vegetables at Sino Group’s rooftop farm
- Conglomerate Sino Group and The Hub Hong Kong organise activity for 20 children from underprivileged families as part of fundraising drive Operation Santa Claus
- Event includes a workshop to create flower-shaped ornaments with used plastics and the children decorating a Christmas tree in Skyline Tower with empty soft drink cans
On a warm, sunny afternoon in early December, 20 children from underprivileged families gathered on the rooftop farm of an office tower in Hong Kong to try their hand at harvesting vegetables.
The activity on December 5 was arranged by The Hub Hong Kong and conglomerate Sino Group under Operation Santa Claus (OSC), an annual charity campaign jointly organised by the South China Morning Post and RTHK since 1988.
The Hub Hong Kong – one of OSC’s 18 beneficiaries this year – offers assistance in education, childhood development and well-being to underprivileged families.
The rooftop of Sino Group’s Skyline Tower in Kowloon Bay has been transformed into an urban farm which grows a variety of crops including cherry tomatoes, winter melon, aubergines and other seasonal vegetables.
“I had so much fun harvesting the kale just now,” said Chan Ho-ching, nine, who had come to the farm with her twin sister Chan Ho-ying.
The sisters followed instructions from the Sino Group staff on how to harvest the kale, picking fistfuls of leaves from the bottom section of the plant and discarding the torn ones. They were careful to avoid picking the buds at the top so the plant could continue growing.
The twins also asked the group’s staff where they could buy kale seeds so they could plant them at home. “We like kale when our mother stir-fries it. Maybe someday we can eat what we have planted,” they said.
Vivian Lee Ling-fung, group general manager of the conglomerate’s corporate marketing and communications department, said the event incorporated the company’s three strategic pillars of green living, innovative design, and community spirit, in line with its wish to celebrate a “green Christmas” with the children.
The rooftop event, which also included a workshop to create flower-shaped Christmas ornaments with used plastics, capped off with the children joining the group staff to decorate one of the three upcycled Christmas trees in Skyline Tower with empty soft drink cans.
“We hope to create a total sustainability experience for the children,” said Melanie Kwok Hoi-yi, senior sustainability manager of Sino Group’s sustainability department. “The key message is about nurturing awareness of waste reduction and management, because everyone plays a role in the decarbonisation journey.”
Last year, Sino Group announced its “Sustainability Vision 2030”, the company’s 10-year plan to become more green. One of the goals is to improve the well-being of 5,000 underprivileged families by 2030.
Lee said the group had been stepping up its community efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The real estate developer has donated more than 67,000 meal boxes over the last six months to districts including Sham Shui Po and Tuen Mun. Its hospitality brand Sino Hotels Group also launched a soup delivery programme to the elderly and those in need.
Sino Group is a long-time supporter of Operation Santa Claus, with the collaboration now in its 17th consecutive year.
“Operation Santa Claus is a truly meaningful campaign as [it allows us] the opportunity to get to know more NGOs … and support them [so that we can] bring in families and children to take part in more activities,” Lee said.
