2004 News Releases

Hong Kong— The Manulife Centre for Children with Specific Learning Disabilities will hold a Children Christmas Day Camp from December 28 to 30, 2004 to enhance the reading, writing and listening skills for children with learning disabilities via use of computer.

The three-day training aims to identify the learning potential of children with learning disabilities, provide all-rounded individual assessment on their learning capabilities, build their confidence and improve on their learning and language deficiencies. Children enrolling the Christmas Day Camp will take part in various activities, including workshops, sport games, language and computer classes, and also public performances.

“Many children with learning disabilities can overcome their specific impediments if such problems are detected and addressed to early, ” said Dr. Alice Cheng Lai, Person-in-charge of the Manulife Centre at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. “Our statistics show that many of these children are gifted with special talents. With proper training and guidance, they can easily excel in their performance. This time, we are introducing an innovative teaching method that deploys computers to help children focus during their language learning process.”

Following the Christmas Day Camp is a charge-free parent workshop in January 2005, which provides two follow-up sessions for parents to share experiences and gain mutual support. Assessment report of the children will be distributed to their parents, after which training courses on “Effective Communication with Children” and “How to Practise the Correctional Program at Home” will be given.

The Day Camp is conducted in Cantonese and will be held on December 28 - 30, 2004 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Interested parties please contact the Manulife Centre for Children with Specific Learning Disabilities at 2766 6313 for further details and registration. All seats will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

About Manulife Charitable Foundation
The Manulife Charitable Foundation is a non-profit organization set up by Manulife (International) Limited in 1998 to support and promote educational, health and charitable activities for the betterment of public welfare in Hong Kong. It has sponsored the Manulife Centre for Children with Specific Learning Disabilities since 1999 with a mandate to assist children with specific learning difficulties, and their parents and teachers, by studying how to identify children in need of assistance and help them develop to their full potential.

About Manulife (International) Limited
Manulife (International) Limited is a member of the Manulife Financial group of companies. Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia, and primarily through John Hancock in the United States, the Company offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$346 billion (approximately HK$2,138 billion) as at September 30, 2004.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '0945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.

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For more information, please contact:
Helena Lee / Jeanie Ho
Manulife (International) Limited
Tel: 2202 1050 / 2510 3191
Fax: 2234 6875
Email: helena_lee@manulife.com
jeanie_ho@manulife.com