More than a decade of work with Breakthrough gives youngsters a start

Former policeman Robbie McRobbie has been the HKRFU's commercial manager for several years and Operation Breakthrough, the charity that was started by the Tuen Mun police district in 1996, is dear to his heart.

The programme has helped turn around the lives of many youth regarded as 'at risk'.

Every year, McRobbie is one of many who work tirelessly to bring positive change to children who have a rougher start in life than others.

During the 1990s, Tuen Mun, the new town in the New Territories developed to provide low-cost housing, was hampered by a lack or employment and adequate recreational facilities. Areas including Wong Tai Sin and Yuen Long were added later.

'Since the last Hong Kong Sevens, there has been several Operation Breakthrough rugby developments,' McRobbie said. 'Firstly, we started a project under the Social Welfare Department's 'Partnership Fund for the Disadvantaged', supported by Standard Chartered.'

Although the programme now includes girls' dancing, girls rugby also falls under its mandate. 'We have started a girl's rugby section, with under-16 and under-19 teams,' he said.