EMpower Awards $321,500 in Six Grants to Partners in Asia

Posted 07 June 2021 in EMpower News, Grantee Partner News   |   Share

The final Hong Kong grants award meeting of the fiscal year took place last week, and a total of $321,500 was approved in six grants. With the emergence of another COVID-19 wave in Asia, EMpower Programme Officers provided an overview of the changing situation for each country we work in. Our grantee partners are responding to the pandemic in their local communities by focusing on young people who are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 due to existing inequities and weak social, health, education, and economic systems.

This grant docket is smaller than previous dockets because we have offered maximum flexibility to our grantee partners in order to respond to the escalating COVID-19 situation in their communities.

We made our first grant to a new group, Streets International, in Hoi An, Vietnam, which provides comprehensive education and professional level training to marginalised youth, opening up direct pathways for them to formal employment. And we made our final “sunset” grant to our long-term partner CREA, in India, who works to advance women’s rights through leadership development, technical assistance, and advocacy and research. Throughout our partnership, EMpower supported CREA develop its sports programming to build the health knowledge, skills and body confidence of girls, and to change perceptions about girls’ right to play and be in public spaces. CREA is known
within India and internationally as a path-breaking organization for advocating sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR).

Thank you to all of the people who participated in this meeting and to our partners for their incredible commitment to young people, to our hardworking programme team, and for the continued support of our amazing global network of supporters in the US, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Delhi.

Ibtada, India, $20,000 for 12 months

EMpower’s grant to Ibtada will provide education and mental health support to 200 adolescents, ages 10-19, with a special focus on science and math and COVID relief for families.

Azad Foundation, India, $34,000 for 12 months

This grant will enable Azad Foundation to initiate a national collective of community-based practitioners of non-traditional livelihoods from ten regional organisations who provide essential career training to young people.

Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action (CREA), India, $45,000 for 18 months

EMpower’s Sunset Grant will support the strengthening of CREA’s sexual health and human rights education through a mentorship and training programme. A portion of the
grant will be used for COVID response and recovery.

Research for Education and Career Help Institute (REACH), Vietnam, $124,000 for 24 months ($71,000 for Year 1; $53,000 for Year 2)

EMpower’s 5th grant and first multi-year grant to REACH will enable the organisation to run its vocational training programme coupled with a successful job readiness
skills and placement package for 1,532 young people, half of whom will be young women ages 15 to 24.

Red Nose Foundation (Yayasan Hidung Merah, RNF), Indonesia, $43,000 for 12 months

EMpower’s 6th grant to Red Nose Foundation will help the organisation pivot its learning programmes during the COVID-19 pandemic for 900 primary school students and 120
primary school teachers. The grant supports a pilot programme focused on entrepreneurship for 20 young people, ages 15-24, approximately 40% of whom are young women.

Teach Unlimited Foundation (TUF), Hong Kong, $43,000 for 12 months

EMpower’s 5th grant to the Teach Unlimited Foundation supports group mentoring sessions for 100 students to boost their self-esteem, learning attitude, and motivation.

Streets International, Vietnam, $55,500 for 12 months

EMpower’s 1st grant to STREETS International will allow the organisation to offer its 15-month vocational training programme in culinary arts and hospitality service
to 56 young people: half of them young women and at least 10% from ethnic minorities.