Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship Training Program (LSE 15 and LSE 16) starts on February 23 and 24

Enrollment starts from January 14 to February 15, 2013

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

The LSE Program is a joint initiative of the Ateneo de Manila University School of Government (ASoG) with the Overseas Filipinos Society for the Promotion of Economic Security (OFSPES), the Social Enterprises Development Partnerships Inc. (SEDPI),  the Philippine Consulate General Hong Kong (SAR), the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). In Hong Kong, the NGO partners for LSE 12 were WIMLER Foundation HK and Project Be.

The LSE was first conducted in Rome, Italy in 2008 and has since reached out to other overseas Filipinos (OFs) in Naples, Milan, Florence and Turin. By April 2013, over 500 would have graduated from 14 batches. The LSE15 and LSE 16 in Hong Kong are following the successful LSE 12 which was the first LSE ever conducted outside Italy. The program has been further expanded to Dubai. Also launched in October 2012 was the first LSE program for the families of OFs based in the Philippines which is called the Financial Literacy, Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship Training Program (FLSE).

The LSE 15 (starts February 23) and LSE 16 (starts February 24) programs cover 13 sessions each, two Saturdays or 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. The two courses will be coordinated in Hong Kong by WIMLER Foundation and some graduates of LSE12.

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

Participation fee is HK$60/session or HK$ 780 for the whole course for migrant domestic workers (those who are receiving Minimum Allowable Wage - MAW - or not more than HK$ 5,000/month) and HK$120/session or HK$ 1,560 for non-migrant domestic workers payable on the following terms:

In two installments  HK$ 390/780 to be paid on or before February 23/24, 2013 and HK$ 390/780 to be paid on or before May 11/12, 2013 (Session 6). Admission to the course is on “first come, first served basis” and those who have paid full or partial payment before February 23, 2013 and met the admission requirements.

Application forms should be sent to lsehk.contact@gmail.com  Attn: Leila Rispens-Noel not later than February 15, 2013.

Payment can also be done through bank transfer to:

Account name: WIMLER FOUNDATION HONG KONG LTD.

Account Number:  801-079963-838

Bank: HSBC Hong Kong

BIC code bank (SWIFT address): HSBCHKHHHKH

Bank Address: 1 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong (SAR)

Kindly send copy of remittance slip to: lsehk.contact@gmail.com with reference number and name of sender.

Or by crossed check payable to WIMLER FOUNDATION HONG KONG LTD. and mail it to:

WIMLER FOUNDATION HONG KONG LTD.

P.O. BOX 6688

GENERAL POST OFFICE

HONG KONG 

Inquiries on the program can be obtained from the following:

(LSE HK Secretariat):

Anna Martinez:  Mobile - +852 93062105

Joey Ortega:      Mobile - + 852 6087-8000

Or per email: lsehk.contact@gmail.com Attn.: Leila Rispens-Noel

Download documents here:

Application Form

Announcement 

Brochure Saturday Class

Brochure Sunday Class

Provisional Schedule Saturday Class

Provisional Schedule Sunday Class

Articles about LSE in Hong Kong:

Ateneo, HK-based Groups to Teach Financial Literacy
50 OFWS Graduate with Ateneo Degrees
The SUN Writers Receive Award at LSE Graduation
Ateneo de Manila to Hold Classes in Hong Kong
OFWs in Hong Kong Attend Financial Literacy Training

WIMLER distributes children’s books in two schools in Mlang, North Cotabato

MLANG, NORTH COTABATO - Some schools in the Philippines have no adequate books to step up the learning process of the children like in the case of Mlang Pilot Elementary School and Dugong Elementary School. Both schools are located in Mlang, North Cotabato on the southern island of Mindanao.  In fact, the school in Dugong has no library at all while the books at  the Pilot School are inadequate and mostly antiquated.

Thanks to the ten boxes of books donated by the World Bank Family Network which was facilitated by Evelyn Laguidao of Washington, D.C. and the three boxes from various donors in Hong Kong collected by Emilie Veringa from Quarry Bay School, Celeste Murphy from her friends in Sai Kung, and SWIFT APAC, the children in these two schools finally have access to books. Afreight sponsored the shipment of two boxes from Hong Kong. The distribution of the books was spearheaded by WIMLER Philippines, the sister foundation of WIMLER HK. All the people who help out with the distribution are all WIMLER volunteers.

Leila Rispens-Noel and Luz Tan of WIMLER HK, Melot Balisalisa, Alpha Lajato, Ana Marie Noel of WIMLER Philippines, school principals, school district supervisor, Roger Cordero Mlang Municipal Administrator, Mr. Cyrel Defensor, teachers, parents, and WIMLER scholars of the two schools attended the two separate turn-over ceremonies which were held last December 17.

“WIMLER hopes that through these books, the disadvantaged pupils would be able to widen their skills and knowledge. With these books, the children are encouraged to read which is important in improving their literacy skills.” said Leila Rispens-Noel, director and co-founder of WIMLER Foundation Hong Kong.

WIMLER Foundation HK’s objective of this activity is to equip the schools whose pupils are mostly from low-income groups to fortify their libraries. Parents of these pupils hardly earn US$ 2.00 a day that buying books is a real luxury. Thirty-five pupils in Dugong Elementary School and forty pupils in Mlang Pilot Elementary School are recipients of educational support of Send a Child to School project of WIMLER and hopes that through the books donation, other children can also be served.

In return, Mlang Pilot Elementary School awarded WIMLER Philippines and WIMLER HK with certificates of appreciation for their contribution to improve the learning process of the pupils.

WIMLER will continue with its book drive to reach more disadvantaged children in other places. For more information and if you have new or gently-used books to donate, please contact: emilie.veringa@wimler.org.

For complete photo coverage please click OUR PHOTO ALBUM

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

I

“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