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Films share message of Heifer's concern

Pandas and beluga whales will soon visit more than 15,000 Hong Kong schoolchildren in a partnership between National Geographic and a local non-profit organisation.

The exotic animals will be featured in National Geographic documentaries to be screened from September at schools participating in Heifer International's Read to Feed programme, in which students read books to raise money for impoverished rural families.

Through the partnership, organisers said they hoped a new generation of Hong Kong students would become more aware of the world's problems.

'We hope that the students, through the films, will have their horizons broadened,' Heifer International's Annie Fung Yuen-sun said. 'We hope they grow up to be global citizens.'

Three documentaries will be screened at participating schools; the first chronicling environmentalist Jane Goodall's exploration of China's emerging green movement, the second examining water pollution, and the last filming Sichuan's giant pandas in their natural habitat.

The films were chosen for their potential to entertain children and also increase students' awareness of environmental issues, National Geographic spokesman Gorden Li said.

Twenty-six schools participated in the Read to Feed programme last year. Students solicit donations from family members for every book they read. The money raised then goes to buying livestock and providing training for rural mainland families.

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