Global Reach: East and Southeast Asia

Ethnic minorities In Hong Kong are largely ignored by the government, with no assistance to integrate them into the education system. Ethnic minority students are often segregated from mainstream society with few interactions with Hong Kong Chinese students. The schools provide a relatively low quality of education and students are not provided with opportunities to learn spoken Cantonese or written Chinese. This was worsened by the pandemic as many ethnic minority families could not afford the digital devices young people needed to participate in e-learning.

EMpower focuses on providing marginalised young people from ethnic minority communities with access to inclusive learning to open gateways for future employment opportunities and better health. Our grantee partners are equipping young people with crucial life skills and providing vocational training, career planning, and exposure to new and different work sectors. This encourages learning for life and increases school completion. Additionally, our grantee partners provide young people with critical, age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health and rights information and resources.

Our partners in China and Hong Kong:

Indonesia is the world’s largest island country with over a quarter of the population made up of young people. Rapid urbanisation and economic growth have resulted in one of the fastest-growing rates of inequality in the world.

Young people in Indonesia often lack access to sexual and reproductive health care and information, and a recent law is only worsening the situation—especially for girls, women, and LGBTIQ+ individuals. The law criminalises the cohabitation of unmarried couples, criminalises abortion, limits access to contraception, and restricts information relating to sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Through holistic programmes, EMpower’s grantee partners focus on providing young people with safe, accurate, and non-judgemental access to sexual health resources and services.

Indonesia’s young people have vast potential to build better futures. EMpower supports organisations that focus on opening up livelihoods opportunities through a variety of programmes that incorporate vocational training and youth empowerment. Providing young people, especially girls and women, with both sexual health education and employment training and opportunities, will help to challenge and tackle ongoing gender inequity.

Our partners in Indonesia:

The Philippines has experienced swift economic development and urbanisation. However, marginalised communities still suffer due to persistent poverty and socioeconomic inequity. Young people often have limited opportunities, accounting for nearly half of all unemployed people in the country.

Adolescent pregnancy rates have consistently risen, resulting in a national emergency. The Philippines currently ranks 13th in the world for the highest adolescent fertility and pregnancy rates. In addition, there are high levels of gender-based violence.

EMpower supports organisations in the Philippines working to provide young people, especially girls and women, with access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education and services so they can make decisions about their bodies, lives, and futures. Some of the organisations we support also provide training to young men and women on gender equity and preventing gender-based violence. And some provide training on different livelihoods and employment opportunities, opening up worlds and better options for young people.

Our partners in Philippines:

Vietnam is the third most populous country in the Southeast Asian region, with the majority of the population living in rural areas. However, over the past decade, there has been a rise in migration to cities.

There has been significant economic growth, with Vietnam recovering as the best-performing economy in Asia in 2022, post-COVID. Despite the country’s economic advancement, there is high economic disparity, especially among ethnic minorities. There are 50 minority ethnic groups in Vietnam, and these communities account for 70% of Vietnam’s extreme poverty. This disparity extends into health, livelihoods, and education.

Although Vietnam took a proactive approach to containing COVID-19, schools were still closed and young people’s education significantly impacted. This also resulted in a rise in unemployment amongst young people. EMpower focuses its work in the country on supporting inclusive education, providing career training, and ensuring young people—especially ethnic minorities and those living in rural areas—can lead safe and healthy lives.

Our partners in Vietnam: