Just Released: WIMLER REACH OUT Newsletter, Issue 4, Vol 2

Reach Out Newsletter, Issue No. 4, Vol 2

BREAKING NEWS: Wimler HK and INTEMPORELLE Switzerland sign partnership agreement to promote development

WIMLER HK and INTEMPORELLE Switzerland signed a partnership agreement to promote  sustainable development as a way of giving back to the community. The signing of partnership agreement took place last November 7 at the Marriott Hotel lobby lounge in Hong Kong. Mr. Kevin Rey, Chief Operating Manager of INTEMPORELLE Switzerland and Mr. Floyd Lau, chairperson and director of WIMLER Foundation HK signed the agreement in the presence of Leila Rispens-Noel (director and co-founder), Emilie Veringa (director and co-founder), Luz Tan (Press Relations Officer) and Marie Medura Touhy (Friend of WIMLER).

INTEMPORELLE Switzerland, a premium Swiss Skin-Care Brand offers the finest products which nourish, protect and rejuvenate skin; indispensable to most vital daily skincare rituals.  Its Swiss laboratories have blended precise, scientifically proven bio-engineering technology with nature's best restorative plant extracts, poly-vitamin complex, precious glycoproteins and minerals. The result is a highly evolved, scientifically formulated skin care system that protects and promotes beautiful skin.

10% of every purchase of Timeless Radiance Day & Night Cream will be donated to WIMLER HK and you will receive two gifts with purchase

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“We at INTEMPORELLE are excited about this partnership, sharing our mission and vision and being able to give back to the community is the foundation of INTEMPORELLE,” Rey said during the signing of the contract.  In United States, INTEMPORELLE already supports Sunrise Community, a non-profit organization which provides     programs and services to physically challenged people.

“WIMLER Foundation HK encourages companies to embrace CSR as it firmly believes that business companies have an important role to play in poverty alleviation and to improve the quality of life people.  We are extremely pleased with this partnership because we put into practice our shared values,” Lau responded. 

For more information about INTEMPORELLE Switzerland, please visit:  www.intemporellegroup.com

Policy Brief: Overseas Migrants and Entrepreneurship

Strategy to link overseas Filipinos  to MSME dev’t back home wanting 

MANILA, Philippines—FOR a country that enjoys billion-dollar overseas remittances from compatriots abroad, one might think that the Philippines has already capitalized on these monies’ entrepreneurial potential.

But a recently-released study by the bilateral German International Development Cooperation (GIZ) office here has found that the world’s fourth biggest recipient of overseas remittances has yet to have a strategy to direct the resources of Filipinos abroad into developing the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector.

“Apparently, there is no overarching approach to overseas Filipino entrepreneurship —and that is stalling the harnessing of the phenomenon’s many economic and entrepreneurial possibilities,” initial findings of a study by GIZ Philippines’ Private Sector Promotion Programme (SMEDSEP) wrote.

So the situation thus leaves overseas Filipinos and their families moving on their own when it comes to setting up MSMEs and surviving the tough grind of doing business in the Philippines, GIZ SMEDSEP’s study titled Business Bliss from Hardwork Abroad added.

Now with over 9.4 million Filipinos scattered in 220 countries and territories, the Philippines has received over-US$180 billion in remittances from 1975 to 2011 —the resource being the country’s major source of foreign exchange.

Yet there is also “an apparent disconnect between the Philippine business environment and the dynamics of migrant entrepreneurship,” GIZ SMEDSEP’s study further wrote.

This is not to mention that Filipino entrepreneurs, whether overseas migrants or not, continue to operate in a country that is ranked low in global surveys on competitiveness, and on the ease of doing business and investments. 

The Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is hoping to craft a migration-and-MSME development plan that can bring together government agencies within and outside the overseas Filipinos sector and the entrepreneurship community.

During GIZ’s presentation, Ms. Rhodora Leaño of DTI’s Bureau of MSME Development (BMSMED) admitted the DTI has yet to specifically look at the entrepreneurial needs of overseas Filipinos and their families given that the agency caters to the general Filipino population.

Overseas Filipinos were included as a thematic area in the 2011-2016 MSME Development Plan of DTI. GIZ, in a 2010 paper, tagged the Philippines’ overseas migration phenomenon as a “competitive advantage” for MSME development.

But while not all Filipinos here and abroad are entrepreneurial, economist Alvin Ang of the University of Santo Tomas said that such proposed development plan must give “sustainable options” to those overseas Filipinos who are entrepreneurial, as well as those who are risk-averse and may want to park their money in investment instruments.

Overseas Filipino entrepreneurs, GIZ SMEDSEP’s study found out, can engage in business —with or without the help of their family members back home— either when they are currently abroad on a temporary basis (including seafarers), when they are already permanently settling overseas, when they return for good to the country, and when they travel back and forth from their host country to the Philippines.

The migrant-financed enterprises operate not just in the Philippines but also abroad, as well as covering both the Philippines and overseas.

But for those Filipinos abroad deciding to return to the Philippines for good, GIZ SMEDSEP called for an improved means of doing business in the Philippines or, for those Filipinos abroad going back to their rural hometowns, a better hometown business and investment climate.

“Improving the overall [Philippine] investment climate is a pre-requisite to a hopefully successful reintegration program,” GIZ SMEDSEP wrote.         

         The absence of inputs from the overseas migration phenomenon in other countries’ strategic plans for MSME development may be a prevailing occurrence, says the nonprofit Institute for Migration and Development Issues (IMDI).

The study can be downloaded here:

http://www.smedsep.ph/bigbangreports/reports/10%20GIZ%20PSP%20Business%20Bliss%20from%20Hard%20Work%20Abroad%20Case%20Studies%2017Sep12.pdf

For queries, kindly contact:

·        Jeremaiah M. Opiniano (executive director)

Institute for Migration and Development Issues (IMDI)

Website: www.ofwphilanthropy.org

Emails: ofw_philanthropy@yahoo.com, president@ofwphilanthropy.org

            Mobile: +639175370723  

Sponsored the printing and dissemination of this policy brief

WIMLER HK celebrates its first founding anniversary with "Dance for the Kids"

Luz Tan

Public Relations Officer/Event Coordinator

WIMLER Foundation HK

Mobile: 96309311

E-mail: luz.tan@wimler.org

www.wimler.org

For immediate release

WIMLER HK Celebrates its First Founding Anniversary

With Dance for the Kids

Hong Kong, 18 September 2012 - WIMLER Foundation HK celebrates its first founding anniversary with “Dance for the Kids” which will be held on Saturday, November 24 from 6:30 to 10:30 pm. The event will take place at Penthouse Skylounge in Wan Chai. For HK$500 entrance ticket per person, guests will be treated with dinner buffet, three hours unlimited drinks, and dancing. Door prizes will be raffled for lucky winners. Net proceeds of the event will support WIMLER's "Send a Child to School" project.

WIMLER HK is a non-profit, charity organization whose primary objective is to support the capacity building and empowerment of migrant communities and to promote cultural diversity in Hong Kong based on mutual respect, solidarity, and shared empowerment among peoples.

A year after its inception, WIMLER HK through the support and contributions of its donors during the benefit dinner last April has funded the education of 135 elementary pupils and six high school students in Mlang, North Cotabato, Bansalan Central Elementary School and M.V. Duque Elementary School in Nueva Vizcaya.

In Hong Kong, WIMLER HK has been actively involved in the capacity building of migrants and migrant organizations. It collaborates with the Ateneo de Manila University School of Government (ASoG) together with the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong, Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA), Social Enterprise Development Partnership Inc. (SEDPI), Overseas Filipinos Society for the Promotion of Economic Security  (OFSPES), and Project BE in conducting Leadership, Financial Literacy and Social Entrepreneurship (LSE12).  The LSE Basic Course consists of 12 full-day sessions covering four sessions each for Leadership, Financial Literacy and Social Entrepreneurship. Fifty-one participants, mostly migrant domestic workers, are attending this 12 session course which started last July.

WIMLER also works with the Philippine Consulate, POLO, OWWA, CARD-MRI and PAHK in conducting leadership seminar series on skills development, financial literacy, value formation, and strategic planning for core migrant leaders. The seminar series aim at improving the capacities of migrants and migrant organizations.

WIMLER welcomes and appreciates individual/private corporate sponsorship to ensure success of the events. Sponsors will be acknowledged in our program, Facebook Event page, and Wimler blog.

For ticket information, call any of our Event team members:

Luz Tan: 9630 9311 or luz.tan@wimler.org

Emilie Veringa: 5191 0902 or emilie.veringa@wimler.org

Marie Medura-Touhy: 9151 48 67 or mariedmt@mac.com

WIMLER launches Book Drive and Arts for Kids Drive

WIMLER Foundation HK is conducting back-to-back campaigns to collect English children's books and arts materials. The books collected will be donated to Dugong Elementary School and Mlang Pilot Elementary School both located in Mlang, North Cotabato. WIMLER hopes that with the book drive, the two schools will finally have school libraries. Dugong Elementary School has no school library at all while the books in Pilot school are already old.

The collected arts materials will be used during the Children Arts Workshops which will be conducted this coming December.

Those who who would like to donate books and arts materials, kindly contact:

Emilie Veringa: 5191 0902 or emilie.veringa@wimler.org

Luz Tan: 9630 9311 or luz.tan@wimler.org

Marie Medura-Touhy: 9151 4867 or mariedmt@mac.com

Leila Rispens-Noel: 6897 6848 or leila.rispens-noel@wimler.org

What Friends of WIMLER said during the benefit dinner:

Please check our Event Albums:

Event Album 1

Event Album 2

Event Album 3

Lisa Furnad

To WIMLER Family, thank you for making a difference!! Nothing more rewarding than helping those in needs and I'm very much happy to be part of it!

Giselle Rivas

“It is a happy feeling attending this kind of event.  I am so pleased to be part of it. Thank so much to all! It is great event to cherish in our memories and heart. I love it! Many thanks to all and especially to WIMLER Team!”

Guy Lockwood

“It was my absolute pleasure to be present during the benefit dinner. I'm very proud and honored to be part of Wimler and give you my sincerest thanks. I look forward to doing more for WIMLER. Everyone is fantastic! Thank you so much for your generosity and hard work last night. You were well rewarded with a fantastic event!”

Chi Torrato Servigon

“Mabuhay ang WIMLER!!!”

Gloria Taripe

“For a cause such as this, it is a privilege to be able to serve. Thank you for your invitation. “

Penny Salcedo

“It is such a privilege to have graced your wonderful event last Saturday night as one of the special guest performers. I feel humbled to share a little bit with WIMLER through my singing. Looking forward the near future to be of actual help to all the wonderful kids who deserve to have an education. Mabuhay and God bless WIMLER!”

Myra Ma Hewlett

“Such a wonderful evening and excellent food!”

Raquel S. Mina

“The benefit dinner was a success: good organization and venue and people are all nice. It was a privilege to have attended this benefit dinner for WIMLER Foundation and I would like to mention a famous proverb where it states that “Charity begins at home, but should not end there”.

Rozglow Distribution Hong Kong.

“It has been a wonderful evening...thank you for inspiring us. Thank you for the wonderful and meaningful evening.”

Chad Salvador Del Valle

Thank you Ate Emilie, Tita Luz and Tita Leila. Congratulations to your event and More Power to Wimler.

Sue Biggins

“Well done for a successful evening. Just a shame we had to leave so early, would have loved to stay for dancing!”

Natalie Lowings

Well done to the organizers of Wimler Foundation, a charity organization in Hong Kong for arranging such a brilliant event. I had a great time and what a brilliant charity. thank you to Emilie Veringa-Tobias for inviting us (on behalf of Divers Sanctuary).

Celeste Murphy

“Leila and the WIMLER Hong Kong group - You are an inspiration. My friends and I are very pleased to have been a part of that beautiful evening.”

Rio Jo

“Kudos to the wonderful women behind WIMLER FOUNDATION; hope you will not get tired of helping others. It was fun seeing friends and meeting new friends last night. It was a blast!”

Wimler HK holds benefit dinner to help send Filipino kids to school

This article was  first published in The Sun Online Edition

By Jan Yumul 

More than 100 people turned up for a charity dinner hosted by the Wimler Foundation Hong Kong Limited, held at the United Services Recreation Club in Jordan on April 21.

In her speech, Wimler founder and president, Leila Rispens-Noel, thanked everyone who supported the event, then revealed the inspiration for her mission.

Because of poverty, she was forced to stop studying after high school so her brothers could continue with theirs.

"I wished to study but I could not because my father died in 1979, he was 49. But I wanted to study, I was ambitious," said Noel. She recalled telling her father that she would never go back to being poor if she could. So, she continued working and studying at the same time until she received some good news. Someone from Chicago had written to their parish priest in Bansalan, Davao del Sur, offering a scholarship.

"And that's how I finished my college, through the help of someone whom I didn't know. I never had a chance to meet him," said Rispens-Noel.

She summed up by saying that children are poor not because their parents are lazy, but because they never had an opportunity. Once that opportunity is given them, most will respond positively.

Rispens-Noel spent 29 years in the Netherlands before relocating to Hong Kong.

The keynote speaker, Consul General Noel Servigon, congratulated the team behind Wimler and all the donors and sponsors of the event. He also said that Saturday is usually reserved for his family, but could not say no to Rispens-Noel, whom he first met during his stint in the Netherlands a decade ago.

He also revealed that education has played a big part in his life, as his first job when he was just 18 was as teacher in a midwifery and nursing school in the province.

He also told the benefactors how they made a very important decision by attending the dinner, not only to help the Filipino children who will benefit, but in initiating the group in Hong Kong which he hopes will be a model for other organizations.

With the motto "a dinner for you, a year-long education for a child," Wimler-HK, together with Wimler Philippines, aims to help 100 primary school children in Mindanao when the school year kicks off this June.

Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship Training Program to be Launched in Hong Kong on July 15, 2012

An empowerment program for overseas Filipinos, the Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship (LSE) Training Program spearheaded by the Consortium on Migration and Development will be launched in Hong Kong on July 15, 2012 at the Philippine Consulate.

The LSE Program is a joint initiative of the Ateneo University School of Government (ASoG) with the Overseas Filipinos Society for the Promotion of Economic Security (OFSPES), the Social Enterprises Development Partnerships Inc. (SEDPI) and several government institutions, the Philippine Consulate, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO). In Hong Kong, the NGO partner is WIMLER Foundation Hong Kong.

The LSE was first conducted in Rome, Italy in 2008 and has since reached out to other OFs in Naples, Milan, Florence and Turin. As of April 2012, over 330 have graduated from nine batches. LSE10 in Turin and LSE11 in Milan were launched in May 2012.

The LSE12 in Hong Kong is the first LSE to be conducted outside Italy and further expansion of the program is planned for 2012 in Singapore, Dubai, and a pilot program in Lipa, Batangas for the families of LSE graduates.

An orientation on the course will be given on June 3, 2012 at the Philippine Consulate at 1 pm – 3:30 pm. The LSE program covers 12 sessions, two Sundays per month over a six-month period. Sessions last from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. The program covers three modules: financial literacy, leadership and social entrepreneurship. The LSE aims to develop the leadership skills and potentials among overseas Filipinos and their families, provide knowledge and skills in savings and investments and other financial matters and develop and/or enhance their entrepreneurial skills.

A certificate is awarded to participants who attended all the sessions by the ASoG and other partners at a graduation ceremony at the end of the course.

Participation fee is HK$50 per session or HK$ 600 for the whole course payable on the following terms:

Early bird:  HK$ 550 to be fully paid on July 15, 2012.

In two installments: HK$ 300 to be paid on July 15, 2012 and HK$ 300 to be paid on September 16, 2012 (Session 6)

Inquiries on the program can be obtained from the ff:

Sam (LSE HK Secretariat)

+852 6971 4837

lsehk2012@gmail.com

Alternatively, you may contact:

leila.wimler@gmail.com

WIMLER Foundation HK Hosts Benefit Dinner

April 6, 2012, Hong Kong - WIMLER Foundation Hong Kong, a newly established charity organization, is pleased to announce its formal launching to be celebrated with a benefit dinner. The public is invited to attend this event which will be held on Saturday, April 21 at the United Services Recreation Club (USRC) in Kowloon from 6:00 pm to 11:30 pm. The dinner will be hosted by Floyd Lau, Chairman of the Board of Directors of WIMLER Foundation HK with Philippine Consul-General as the guest of honor. The cost of HK$ 500 per person will provide attendees with an exquisite meal while net proceeds will be donated to WIMLER's “Send a Child to School” project.

The dinner features dishes such as appetizers, entrée and dessert with main course consisted of steamed salmon trout fillet, grilled NZ beef tenderloin, and an array of international cheese. Wine sponsored by Northeast Wines and Spirit Ltd. will also be served. The evening also includes entertainment, door prizes to win and dancing that will bring fun to guests while raising money to help poor but deserving pupils.

Top singing artists Penny Salcedo, winner of the Grand Finals of the Talentadong Pinoy International Edition, Guy Lockwood who bagged major awards during 13th edition of the World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) held July 11-19, 2009 in Los Angeles, California and WIMLER Young Ambassador of Goodwill,and exceptionally talented Hong Kong–based performing artists Criselle Consunji and Chad Salvador del Valle, agreed to perform for free during the event.

With the motto “a dinner for you, a year-long education for a child”, Leila Rispens-Noel, co-founder of WIMLER Phil. and WIMLER HK hopes to raise enough amount to support at least 100 children next school year.

WIMLER Foundation Hong Kong Ltd. was officially registered in 2011 as a non-profit and charity organization whose primary objective is to support the capacity building and empowerment of migrant communities regardless of nationalities and to promote cultural diversity in Hong Kong based on mutual respect, solidarity, and shared empowerment among peoples.

WIMLER HK was established through the initiative of Leila Rispens-Noel together with Emilie Veringa-Tobias and Victor Neri as co-founders. Leila who has lived for 29 years in the Netherlands before relocating to Hong Kong in 2009, founded WIMLER Philippines in 2006 as her way of “giving back” to her country of origin where she already assisted hundreds of children through her philanthropic work. At present, the directors and team of WIMLER HK is composed of individuals of various nationalities and fields of expertise.

Donations to “Send a Child to School” project are also welcome: Please send your donation to: HSBC 801-079963-838 Account Name: WIMLER Foundation Hong Kong

Seating is limited so early reservations are encouraged.

For reservation, please contact:

Emilie Veringa-Tobias, emilie.veringa@wimler.org; Mobile: +852 5191 0902

Luz Tan, luz.tan@wimler.org; Mobile: +852 9630 9311

For further information on WIMLER please visit, www.wimler.org


WIMLER Foundation HK is supported by:

Relief Operations for typhoon Sendong victims

In the dead of the night of December 17, Sendong sent torrents of water and mud through villages and stripping mountainsides bare in Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro City. Others did not manage to wake up at all as floods washed away entire houses with families inside in dozens of coastal villages.

According to the national disaster agency said 957 were killed and 49 missing on Mindanao after Typhoon Sendong (aka Typhoon Washi) triggered the slides. Most of the casualties were in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan and tens of thousands remain homeless, many sheltering in evacuation centers.

The local and international community responded quickly to help the survivors and retrieving dead bodies.

Zorrah Valentin of VALTAN Netowork with children of flood victims

                   Zorrah Valentin (niece of WIMLER’s chairperson) and her husband Peter Paul of VALTAN Network of Digos City, Davao del Sur were among the private individuals who responded to the immediate needs of the victims. They spearheaded the collection of relief goods in Davao del Sur area in partnership with WIMLER Partnership for Social Progress and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Cagayan de Oro City.

Through these combined efforts, they were able to distribute relief packs to about 5,000 people

in Bulua, Iponan and Balolang in Cagayan de Oro City. They also brought sacks of used clothes in Valenci, Bukidnon who suffered flash flood during the time they distributed the relief goods.

We thank you all those who made the relief operations for the victims of typhoon Sendong in Cagayan possible:  Efrain Jimenez, Wim Rispens and Family, Kathleen Amor Cossid, Saripa Macarampat, Floreen Rom, Donnabelle Suello, Mr and Mrs Leo Leynes, Ana Marie Noel, Justynne Kay Noel Tee, Kerra Noel Toloy, Ricah Mian, Pennely Dalumpines, and Mr. and Mrs. Choli Jun Caduyac and Family”.

“Zorrah and Peter Paul Valentin also thank their personal friends and employees who helped them packed the relief goods and for making our simple wish possible. “We thank you from the bottom of our heart, and we would like to share the wonderful feelings of sharing.”

-        Peter Paul and Zorrah Valentin

Below are some of the  pictures taken during the distribution: