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| Financial services company, Citi, funds Professor Paws programme |
| Grant will ensure 1,400 primary students become Pet Cadets this academic year |
Financial services company Citi has generously agreed to fund our Professor Paws Pet Cadet programme in Hong Kong, ensuring that local children continue to learn about respect for animals as well as improve their English-speaking skills.
While Citi has long been a sponsor of educational programmes in Hong Kong, this is the first time it has funded an animal welfare project. The international company made a grant towards the programme, which is now called “Citi Professor Paws – a programme of Animals Asia”.
Citi and Animals Asia announced the sponsorship of the programme in November 2007 with a joint press conference at the Ma On Shan Ling Liang Primary School in Hong Kong’s rural New Territories. The press conference involved four dogs and 48 children as Animals Asia staff and volunteers worked their way through a typical lesson that enchanted the legions of journalists and photographers. The finale saw the children, staff and dogs pose for a picture as they threw their hats in the air and yelled, “We Love Animals”. The following day, newspapers throughout Hong Kong were filled with news and colourful pictures of the launch.
Our Animal Welfare Development Director, Anneleise Smillie, who pioneered Professor Paws said she was thrilled to be teaming up with Citi to expand the scope of the programme while directly investing in a new generation of responsible, caring citizens, as well as giving hope to the many animals that lie forgotten. One of the modules of the lessons had been expanded to encompass the monetary cost of caring for a dog for its life.
Most of the children who attend the Professor Paws lessons live in public housing estates and have never touched a dog before. Their reactions to the dogs range from extreme fear and apprehension to fascination.
Sim Lim, Citi Country Officer, Hong Kong, said that at Citi, financial education was the key focus, but teaching children about responsibility for animals was equally important. Mr Lim reminisced about the strong connection he had with his dog as a child and said he hoped this joint effort of Citi and Animal Asia, could bring Citi Professor Paws Programme to more schools in the future, so that more children could benefit.
With Citi’s sponsorship, the programme will reach over 1,400 Hong Kong primary students during the 2007-2008 academic year.
We are extremely grateful to the Citi team for their generous support and look forward to working with them for many years to come.
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