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“LEARNING IS ESSENTIAL in order for us to use our education anywhere – including our home country,” says EmpowerU student Lily M. Layug. “Having additional education is the key to the world and unlocks many potential opportunities in the future. It doesn’t matter how big or small it is,” she adds.
This drive to be better – both for personal reasons and to improve the lives and futures of their families back home – is a sentiment shared by many migrant domestic workers (MDWs) in Hong Kong, and EmpowerU has been offering comprehensive educational programs in support of the migrant community since 2018.
The NGO offers a variety of courses, many of which are certificate-granting, including:
- CPR & AED Training
- Fire Safety & Prevention
- Law
- Business & Finance
- Entrepreneurship & Leadership
- Information Technology
- Media Studies
- Public Speaking
- Arts & Literature
- Public Health & Nutrition
- Child & Elderly Care
- Science & Environmental Studies
The majority of HK’s thousands of domestic workers have their weekly days off during the weekends. Many of these bright and determined women are deeply committed to education and self-empowerment, but historically lacked access to comprehensive educational programs.
Seeking to change this, EmpowerU was established though a series of fortunate opportunities: by making use of available space in universities and schools – which were otherwise largely empty over the weekend – they were able to connect a robust community of professionals and volunteers with a collective desire to share their knowledge and experience in an impactful way.
With over 1500 students enrolled, 800 hours of teaching and almost 1.2m total hours of learning now under their belts at EmpowerU, the demand for education in the migrant community remains without question.
A big percentage of MDWs are secondary and tertiary educated from their home countries, and given the opportunity, many are often eager to continue their studies in Hong Kong. “All the courses… were very challenging and new for me,” shares EmpowerU student Tantri Fitri Hidayanti. “I wanted to know more about the Law and Management courses. [They] are very important, interesting, and challenging.”
Despite EmpowerU having to suspend face-to- face classes earlier this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, the high level of engagement from students during their online classes - with an admirable completion rate of close to 100% for enrolled students - has highlighted the continued need to learn and connect.
But behind all that enthusiasm, there was also a mental health crisis brewing, with many MDWs being asked to stay home on their days off due to COVID-19, despite still being asked to go out and buy groceries and run errands during the week. For such a tightknit community – where challenges are often shared and solved amongst friends – a lot of migrant workers struggled with this isolation.
This is one area where EmpowerU has provided support for many of their students during this challenging period: helping them build resilience and making them feel like they are part of a family. “I guess the most challenging course is myself,” says Cherry Lyn, another student studying with EmpowerU.
Lily, who served as a batch leader at EmpowerU, shares, “The most challenging part of the course for me at the beginning was being a leader. The hard task of weighing the pros and cons, before coming up with the final say, was mine. When something turned out to be unsuccessful, it hurt my confidence, and I was the one who undoubtedly shouldered the blame.
“You are the captain of a ship… you need to be the most dependable and trustworthy since you carry the overall responsibility. You need to command respect and demand unity for the group to function well. You need to be a role model that promotes good ethics, values and determination. You must be capable and strong, but humble. I’m not perfect in these areas, but I do my best.”
These principles that Lily and her fellow EmpowerU students have mastered have proven priceless, helping to guide them through not only the struggles of the pandemic, but also throughout the journey of their lives in Hong Kong and beyond.
"I wanted to learn more and motivate myself to be a better person" - Tantri Fitri Hidayanti, EmpowerU student
Like many of EmpowerU’s early students, both Lily and Tantri were introduced to the program by their employers back in 2018. “I wanted to learn more and motivate myself to be a better person,” says Tantri. “Being an EmpowerU student means a lot to me. EmpowerU helped me gain knowledge for myself and others; they also helped me to understand my rights.”
Cherry Lyn was invited by a friend back in 2019. “I was in the state of financial struggle,” she shares. “In 2020, I followed [their] Facebook page and I saw the enrollment promotion. I grabbed the opportunity to sign up and enroll in person. Great mentors on my first day – that was the most encouraging part.”
Despite a decrease in students due to the pandemic, Executive Director Bradley Aaron tells us, “[We are] working hard to try to increase our enrollment to get back to pre-COVID numbers.” His team continue to work tirelessly to bring quality education to migrant workers, and with such a thirst for knowledge amongst the population, the opportunities to do so are endless.
Photo credits Marc Miguel & EmpowerU
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