Our History

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EmpowerU was founded in 2018 when a team of University of Hong Kong (HKU) educators and a community of determined domestic workers joined forces with a common goal to provide migrant workers with the tools necessary to take control of their economic future.

 

EmpowerU’s roots lie in our strong belief in community and education as sources of empowerment. We believe quality, affordable education should be available to everyone.

 

The path to today’s EmpowerU began in 2014, when Dr. Mike Manio created the Domestic Workers Empowerment Project (DWEP), as part of a knowledge exchange impact grant at HKU. At its height, DWEP had over 200 domestic workers registered, with 27 HKU students supporting the programming. DWEP evolved into EmpowerU in 2018 when HKU educators Lindsay Ernst and David Bishop joined the project. 

 

EmpowerU was started based on a few simple realizations. Hong Kong had thousands of domestic workers from developing countries, who were deeply committed to education and self-empowerment, but had no access to comprehensive educational programs. Simultaneously, universities and other schools were largely empty on the weekends when most domestic workers had days off. And there was a robust community of people who desired to share their experience and knowledge in an impactful way. 

 

Our comprehensive curriculum incorporates the 5 key areas of economic development that are proven to lift women out of poverty: Health, Education, Economic Empowerment, Personal Safety, and Legal Rights. 

 

EmpowerU’s first cohort in July 2018 had 350 students, and expanded to nearly 1,300 students in 2019. With no full-time staff, in 2019 we delivered 232 lectures from 12 HKU professors and 71 external partners, leading to nearly 950,000 hours of learning! 

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In 2020, EmpowerU expanded its proven educational model to serve the needs of Hong Kong’s ethnic minority populations, and we continue to explore further opportunities today.