A Warm Welcome

Resilience is an over-used word, and often with little thought. However, it is a word which perfectly describes the performance of Outward Bound Hong Kong throughout 2021.

Despite an obvious need to get our young people outdoors and interacting with their social groups in nature, the difficulties of the pandemic prevented us doing so in the first half of the year, meaning our dedicated staff were once again asked to make sacrifices in response. The second half of the year showed the true meaning of resilience. Despite the earlier enforced hardships and limitations, we delivered high-quality and impactful experiences for young people who had been learning online isolated from one another. Our ability to bounce back following adverse circumstances and focus on why we exist – to benefit youth and help build more effective communities and a stronger Hong Kong – was testament to the quality of everyone involved, from our talented staff, dedicated Trustees and Executive Committee, and donors, supporters and friends. We are resilient because we are part of a community of people who passionately believe in what we do.

As I write in 2022, it is clear that our organisational resilience will be tested further, following the challenges of the fifth wave of the pandemic and its impacts across Hong Kong. Yet despite the enforced shutdown and inevitable financial challenges that this presents, we have much to look forward to. The silver-lining of the difficulties of 2021 is that we have ensured we are ready to meet the increased demand from schools by developing our fundraising capacity, continuing our staff development and reviewing our critical systems and processes. As Hong Kong bounces back, and shows its own resilience, Outward Bound Hong Kong is well-placed to contribute to that recovery. Mr. Nick Cotton Executive Director

“We are resilient because we are part of a community of people who passionately believe in what we do.”

We started the year 2021 hopeful that the worst of the pandemic would be behind us and a return to normality the inevitable outcome. Unfortunately, that was not what happened.

After an initial bout of restriction relaxation, it became evident that the virus was not sufficiently under control and the government reimposed a number of social distancing rules which severely restricted our ability to run courses.

Reviewing the various operating scenarios for the remainder of the year, it became evident to ExCo that the financial outlook was again posing a threat to the viability of the school. The reserves we had relied upon the year before were largely depleted and fresh funds were therefore required. We reached out to our friends and supporters and were overwhelmed by the support shown. Within two months of starting the fundraising we had received commitments for the HK$ 15 million we had targeted. My sincere thanks go to all those who contributed, and their names can be found in this annual report, as well as to those who made the ask. As we were competing for funds with many other organizations who found themselves in similar positions, it was extremely gratifying to see the level of support for the work of OBHK and the understanding of the difference we can make for the youth of Hong Kong. This is the result of many years of work by our leadership and fundraising teams at OBHK. As the year progressed, we were allowed to slowly restart our operations and life returned to our various bases. Our past experience made us a little cautious not to expect a full-blown recovery immediately, and indeed that proved to be the case. Nevertheless, we did experience a trajectory of improving utilization and income in the second half of the year. The team at OBHK was never idle during the months of relative quiet. Improvements to our facilities and training of staff were always on the agenda. The most visible project being the refurbishment of our sailing vessel Spirit of OBHK. Funded by a very generous donation, our new skipper managed a virtual rebuild of the boat and then set about training staff to maximize her use. My thanks go to the OBHK community at large as well as the many individuals who supported us during the year. Staff and supporters have shown me that what we do at OBHK is important for the future of our society. This gives me great hope that, as we embark on our next 50 years in Hong Kong, OBHK will continue to thrive and flourish. Mr. Helmuth Hennig Chairman, Executive Committee