Grants totaling $385,500 approved at EMpower’s Winter Grants Meeting in Hong Kong!

Posted 22 January 2020 in EMpower News   |   Share

The Hong Kong winter cycle took place on January 21st and was the second of five grants meetings this fiscal year. A total of $385,500 in 6 grants were approved by the Board of Directors. Read more details about the approved grants below:

Philippines:

Yayasan Kusuma Buana (YKB) ($94,000 for 24 months): EMpower’s 6th grant to YKB will enable them to continue to provide quality and age-appropriate education on adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH), drug abuse prevention and gender equity to 1,760 students aged 10 to 19 in 10 schools, and 550 high-risk youth aged 15-24 in communities. The program will continue to engage with teachers to support dissemination of Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health (ASRH) education in school and continue to make use of peer education at both school level and community level to increase its impact. 20 health workers in three local health centres will receive training in providing youth friendly services and to track and analyse trends in youth seeking services to better serve them. Mobile units will reach out to remote villages not served by the health centres, and provide youth with voluntary HIV counselling, testing, and comprehensive reproductive health care services. Alumni for Peer Educators (PE) will be established to continue to engage with past PE and support them in their voluntary work carried out in their new schools.

Virlaine Foundation Inc. ($52,000 for 24 months): EMpower’s 4th grant to Virlaine will enable them to continue implementing their Integrated Living Programme (ILP) which combines soft skills and hard skills development for youth to build their skills to live independently. The proposed grant is for 2 years to support Virlaine to mainstream their ‘Integration Pillar’ in this programme. 71 youth (30 males, 41 females) will be apart of the programme. In addition, they plan to register The Rising Youth (TRY), Virlaine’s youth incubating organization, nationally and build the strength of 27 core members to lead the youth organization. 20 Virlaine staff will be trained and supported in using newly developed monitoring and evaluation tools.

Roots of Health (ROH) ($62,000 for 24 months): EMpower’s 6th grant will enable Roots of Health to continue providing reproductive health education to around 17,000 young people in schools. They will have a high touch approach with regular sessions in schools in Puerto Princesa, and a lighter touch approach in provincial schools across Palawan. They will also provide training for teachers to carry out comprehensive sexual education (CSE) with their students. Youth advocates will receive mentoring sessions and regular training to support their community outreach sessions.

India:

Swechha We For Change Foundation (Swechha) ($58,000 for 24 months): EMpower’s 8th grant to Swechha will enable them to continue their program, in an unauthorized resettlement colony in Delhi, that trains 140 youth from migrant communities in employability skills, self-efficacy and life skills.

Joint Operation for Social Help (JOSH) ($32,000 for 12 months): EMpower’s 5th grant to JOSH will continue their program to enable 80 girls to gain employability skills and placement support. JOSH works with girls in an east Delhi slum resettlement prone to communal and gender based violence. Most participants belong to marginalized Muslim communities who lack resources, support, role models and training to pursue careers.

Vietnam:

Vietnamese American NGO (VANGO) Network ($87,500 for 24 months): EMpower’s 6^th grant to VANGO will train 290 Health Peer educators in 15 schools, who in turn will reach to 10,000 youth with regular sessions in schools on various adolescent sexual reproductive health topics, on gender education, and child sexual abuse prevention. 10,000 youth in 30 schools in remote areas (outside of Hue city) will receive a one-time session on ASRH related topics. 700 youth in universities will join reproductive health sessions and receive information on how to use condoms properly. VANGO’s staff and interns will receive training in programme management, communication and leadership skills.