HCT Group’s Metals division has pioneered a philanthropic program that gives back to local communities by donating school supplies and educational equipment. The team started this initiative in 2013 and has continued it into 2015, recently visiting two schools in Guan Dong Lei Zhou, China.
 
Three members of the Metals division visited two primary schools this past July, including Xia Yang Primary School and Gardens Primary School. The group donated a wide range of educational materials including books for the school library, a set of stationery and a school bag for each student, new study desks, chairs and blackboards for every classroom and a table tennis desk for after-school fun. This is the group’s third year giving back and in total they have helped seven primary schools with about 800 students. The charity’s team leader, Gao, comments, “I feel it is more of a blessing to give than to receive and we look forward to carrying out more charity activities in the future.”
 
While this event was close to home for the group, Gao recalls his first charity event that led them to a remote village school in Shao Guan, China. “I’m very thankful to HCT Metals for giving me the opportunity to be a member of the charity team. I still remember the first charity activity that was held in June 2013. During this visit, we found that due to its remote location, no water pipes could reach the small village school in Shao Guan. The students and teachers could only drink water from a well that was covered in a thick layer of moss. We decided to help them out by building up the water pipes so that they would have access to clean drinking water during school hours. We spent a total of two weeks planning and sourcing materials, and another week setting up the new water pipe system. It was a very hot summer, but we were extremely happy because we knew we were doing something that would mean a lot to the students and teachers of the village. When the water pipe was done, everyone cheered and clapped their hands. It was an amazing and motivational start to our charity team.”