By HYGGEWellbeing
You are probably familiar with the old saying It Takes A Village to Raise a Child.
At its core, this timeless wisdom reminds us that it takes a collective effort to nurture and lift our youth so that they can develop and grow to their full potential while enjoying a happy and prosperous life.
We’ve had the honor and pleasure of putting these words into action through a recent Wellbeing in Schools initiative that included the support of CLAP@JC – a charitable trust of the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
A group of high school students from Hong Kong participated in an internship that our company led to help these teenagers learn how to prioritize their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
Building off a wellness statement of ‘Nurturing the minds of tomorrow: the vital importance of student wellbeing’, I challenged each of these students to identify and develop important emotional intelligence and problem-solving skills that could positively impact their lives – now, and well not the future.
Through their research, they also discovered a high percentage of high school and university students were lacking resources that could help them solve their own mental health issues. This initiative has empowered them to share their valuable learnings with their classmates and friends, serving to amplify this valuable information.
Urgent need to address mental health
The timing of this initiative couldn’t be more urgent as the South China Morning Post reported a study by a Chinese University found nearly one in four Hong Kong children between the ages of 6 and 17 faced a mental disorder in the past year. And half of them shared how they were suffering from two or more mental illnesses at the same time.
Equally troubling, the World Health Organization (WHO) noted that mental health issues among adolescents can result in serious consequences, including depression, anxiety, behavioural disorders and in some cases, suicide.
The good news is that the government is acknowledging this is an issue and is providing funding through its Education Bureau to Hong Kong primary and secondary schools along with parent-teacher associations to improve mental health in classrooms.
Through this initiative – and programs such as the internship our company is leading – we’re optimistic that we can make progress in tackling this serious issue. That’s very important as all of these mental health issues have the potential to extend to adulthood.
Promising feedback on initiative
We’ve been encouraged and gratified by the response from the students who participated in the internship. They have shared how they have benefited by becoming more self-aware of their own wellbeing and how to become more resilient in facing challenges that arise.
Based on this positive feedback, we are considering continuing this initiative, including partnering with any organizations and schools that share our same concern for our youth.
If you would like to explore how you can become involved in this worthy initiative, send an email to hello@hyggewellbeing.co or to the email address of the new platform we are developing and launching shortly – hello@themaestrowellness.com. We would love to hear from you.
Let’s work together to ensure future generations have the opportunity to enjoy a healthy and meaningful life – one filled with great joy!
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