Oxfam Trailwalker 2017

Oxfam Trailwalker (OTW) – Hong Kong's most popular hiking fundraising event organised by Oxfam Hong Kong (OHK) – kicked off this morning (17 Nov) as OTW stepped into its 36th year. The kick-off ceremony was officiated by Bernard Chan, OTW Advisory Committee Chair; Trini Leung, Director General of OHK; and Peter Crewe, Chief Executive Officer of AIA Hong Kong & Macau. AIA Vitality is the Principal Sponsor of OTW 2017. A total of 5,200 walkers from 1,300 teams participated in the challenge this year. OHK aims to raise HK$36 million to support its work in poverty alleviation, disaster relief and policy advocacy in Hong Kong and around the world.

All walkers successively started their walk from Sai Kung to Yuen Long at 8 am today and arriving to finish point at Yuen Long in 48 hours. This includes Fearless Dragons, the visually and hearing-impaired teams; amputee walker, Fung Kam Hung and his team; Maid of Heart and Sole, a team of domestic helpers; and the eldest team among all walkers, Flying Geezers, who have a combined age of 266.

Close to 30 business leaders also took part in the Leaders Against Poverty Walk and raised funds to support Oxfam's poverty alleviation work.

Bernard Chan said, ‘Our theme of this year is “We are Trailwalkers”. It doesn't matter whether you are young or old, a professional worker, a homemaker, or whether you have a disability. As long as you are persistent and work in partnership with others, you too can be a trailwalker.' He also expressed his gratitude to all the guests, walkers, volunteers, donors, and sponsors for their support over the years.

Peter Crewe, Chief Executive Officer of AIA Hong Kong & Macau, said, ‘AIA Hong Kong continues to fully support OTW this year with a record-breaking 36 teams, comprising 144 staff and financial planners, making us the largest corporate participant for the third year running. We eagerly look forward to hitting the trail to raise funds for Oxfam. We also have AIA volunteers to provide support, accompany and cheer on all walkers to overcome steep valleys and craggy peaks along the trail, delivering on our brand promise as “The Real Life Company”. For the next three years, we are thrilled to extend our sponsorship of OTW as Principal Sponsor in the name of “AIA Vitality”. Through this sponsorship, we hope to motivate more people to embark on their health journey and support Oxfam's efforts to alleviate poverty and their disaster relief work worldwide as part of our commitment to help people live longer, healthier and better lives.'

OTW has become OHK's flagship fundraiser and one of the largest fundraising hiking events in Hong Kong. The event is supported by AIA Vitality, the Principal Sponsor for three consecutive years. Also, AIA Vitality has committed to extending their sponsorship for another three years (2018 – 2020). Since 1986, more than 93,000 trailwalkers have participated in it and raised over HK$500 million to support Oxfam's poverty alleviation work all over the world.

For more information about Oxfam Trailwalker, please visit: http://www.oxfamtrailwalker.org.hk/

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/oxfamtrailwalkerhk

About Oxfam Trailwalker
Oxfam Trailwalker (previously called ‘Trailwalker') began in Hong Kong in 1981 as a military training exercise for the elite Queen's Gurkha Signals Regiment. In 1986, Oxfam Hong Kong was invited to co-organise the event and in the same year the event was open to the public. Along with the retreat of the Gurkhas in 1997, Oxfam Hong Kong took over the event. Through the years, Oxfam Trailwalker has become one of the largest fundraising and hiking events, and it has and will be held in 17 cities in 10 countries this year, including Australia, Belgium, England, France, India, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, South Korea and Hong Kong.

About Oxfam
Oxfam is a worldwide development organisation that mobilises the power of people against poverty.

About AIA Vitality
AIA Vitality is a game changing wellness programme which redefines the traditional concept of insurance, aims to reward customers to live a healthy lifestyle. Purchase any “AIA Vitality” selected insurance product and receive an instant 10% premium discount* and an array of rewards and discounts offered by our partners. Simply being active in daily life and having a healthy diet, customers can earn points and upgrade their status for more discounts and rewards.

*The premium discount is only applicable to AIA Vitality selected insurance products. Please visit AIA Hong Kong's website aia.com.hk - ‘AIA Vitality'.

For AIA enquiries, please contact:
Kevin Chan
Bentley Communications Limited
Phone: (852) 3960 1903
Email: kevinchan@bentleyhk.com