Listen to #Hashtag Hong Kong every Sunday morning at 8.15
Focusing on issues affecting civil society, we'll hear from representatives of NGOs, associations, statutory bodies, and non-profit groups.
(Sundays 8.15am - 8.25am)
Good morning everyone!
Hong Kong is home to over 340,000 migrant domestic workers. They are the backbone of our households, caring for our children, supporting our elderly, and keeping our homes running smoothly. Yet, many face financial pressures, recruitment debt, and even fraud.
Enrich exists to change that story. I think of Eka, a migrant domestic worker from Indonesia who has lived in Hong Kong for more than 20 years. When she first arrived, she faced enormous financial pressures and struggled to manage her income. Like many women, she carried the weight of supporting her family back home while navigating life in a new city.
Eka joined Enrich’s financial and empowerment workshops, and she describes the experience as life changing. She learned how to budget, save, and plan for the future. Over time, she built the confidence to take control of her finances and even began to dream of starting her own business.
What inspires me most is her determination. Eka told me that before Enrich, she didn’t know how to manage money. Now she feels confident and knows that she can build a better future for herself and her family.
Her journey reminds us that true empowerment goes beyond statistics—it's rooted in dignity, hope, and rekindling the capacity to dream. Eka’s story reflects the resilience of so many migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong, and why Enrich’s mission matters.
Through financial and empowerment education, we help women learn to budget, save, and plan for their futures. We also provide workshops on communication, well being, and entrepreneurship. Since 2007, tens of thousands of women have joined our programmes, and many have told us how these tools gave them hope, confidence, and control over their lives.
People often ask me why I chose to lead Enrich. The answer is simple: because empowerment is transformative. When a woman learns to take charge of her finances, she doesn’t just change her own life; she changes the lives of her children, her family, and her community back home. Education is the most sustainable form of support we can offer, and I am proud to be part of an organisation that invests in women who, in turn, invest in the world.
At Enrich, we were deeply saddened by the devastating fire at Wang Fuk Court. Our hearts go out to all those affected, especially the migrant domestic workers who lost their homes and belongings, and the families that lost their sisters, daughters, and mothers. In the days that followed, we witnessed the generosity of the Hong Kong community, but we also saw opportunists trying to exploit the tragedy. That is why we dedicated our Giving Tuesday donations directly to those impacted, with a special focus on migrant domestic workers.
This March, we will celebrate International Women’s Day with one of our biggest events of the year: “Empowering MDWs: Resilience, Wellbeing & Pathways Forward.”
Today, we celebrate the resilience of migrant domestic workers and support those affected by the tragic Tai Po fire. Together with our co host, the Social Innovation Team at the Knowledge Transfer Office of the Chinese University, we will welcome migrant domestic workers and the wider community to InnoPort in Sha Tin. We chose this venue to reach more workers living and working in and around Tai Po.
The event will feature:
- Booths offering practical support, from mental health counselling and women’s health resources to financial consultation, legal aid, and upskilling opportunities.
- Interactive sessions covering financial literacy, fraud prevention, safety awareness, women’s wellbeing, and entrepreneurship.
- Wellness and art activities, such as Piloxing, artwork creation, and breathing exercises, to refresh and inspire participants.
- Booths showcasing migrant domestic worker groups and NGOs with business ideas and skill demonstrations.
This event is about more than services. It is about community, empowerment, solidarity, and pathways forward for migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong.
Reflecting on my journey with Enrich, I realize that empowerment starts with listening—listening to voices that are often overlooked and recognising their strength, resilience, and dreams. Hong Kong is a city of opportunity. Let us ensure that opportunity is shared. Let us invest in the women who invest in us every day.
I invite you to join us on International Women’s Day to stand with migrant domestic workers, celebrate their resilience, and help build a future where every woman has the tools to reach her goals.
Thank you for listening, and I hope you can support Enrich HK in some ways. Together, we are making a meaningful difference.
Grace Chan, Art Therapist at the Providence Garden for Rehab, The Hong Kong
Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council
Good morning, I am delighted to share with you the health benefits of Art Therapy
today. The Providence Garden for Rehab in Tuen Mun is one of the largest rehabilitation buildings in Hong Kong, operated under the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council. This centre provides innovative and multidisciplinary rehabilitation services to around 1,000 individuals, including people in recovery and persons with
intellectual or physical challenges.
The Providence Garden for Rehab focuses on holistic rehabilitation, it is community-oriented and advocates for integrated body-mind-spirit development. We aim to enhance the living standards of our service users, so that they can live independently in a caring and accepting environment. Also we hope to promote their integration into the community through various rehabilitation programmes, with a particular focus on art therapy.
Art Therapy combines the creative process with psychotherapy, guided by qualified art therapists. This approach has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, resolve emotional conflicts, improve self-esteem and self-awareness, and alleviate physical pain.
Research over the past two decades has demonstrated the significant positive effects of the arts on health and well-being. In 2019, the World Health Organisation (WHO) European Region issued a report based on over 3000 studies, identified a major role for the arts in the prevention of illness, promotion of health, and management and treatment of health issues across the lifespan. The growing evidence informed us that by engaging in the arts and the creative process, it benefits various emotional, mental and physical health conditions of individuals.
What sets Art Therapy apart from traditional talking therapies is that the non-verbal component engages the five senses through visual, tactile, and sensory art forms. For example, a person who is going through grief could create a collage picture utilising printed photographs of the loved one, and expressing the emotions using visual and symbolic metaphor. A person who is angry, could safely release anger and frustration by pounding some clay, transforming the negative energy by modelling a tactile clay piece into something meaningful and reflective of the current life experience. The
creative art process is a direct channel to support emotional release and self-exploration of an individual in a safe and positive way, which often could not be fully expressed by words alone. It empowers the individual to feel more grounded and understood, and fosters healing and positive change.
Through our individual and group art therapy services, I engage with a diverse range of ages, from youth to adults, including their caregivers. I've worked with many people facing anxiety and depression, who have found art therapy to be a valuable complement to traditional psychiatric treatment and therapy, enabling them to increase self-love and self-awareness. Additionally, our caregivers’ group has gained attention, as many caregivers experience stress and burnout often. In collaboration with social workers, we offer Art Therapy self-care and stress-reduction groups specifically for caregivers.
Our organisation’s rehabilitation service is also actively involved in promoting mental health and reducing stigma in the community. Through public education art therapy exhibition, the public can get to know the thoughts and feelings of people living with various health challenges through their artwork. We organised a public art exhibition last year named “Art Tales – Our Illustrated Stories” with the support of the Arts Development Fund for Persons with Disabilities. We would continue to organise programs and exhibitions so as to engage the community for public education and stigma reduction purposes.
In the future, The Providence Garden for Rehab will continue to offer art therapy programmes, public education initiatives, and various mental health support groups to bridge service gaps and promote social inclusion and harmony in our Hong Kong community.
This morning I would like to dedicate a song “Photograph” by Ed Sheeran to fellow audiences, maybe you are a caregiver, someone who struggles with depression, or just having thoughts of anxiety from time to time. Remember to practice self-care and take a deep breath. Find a safe space to relax, whether in nature or at home, and consider creating art while listening to music. Allow yourself to take things slowly, sitting with your emotions and understanding that they are part of you. Embrace the ups and downs and the rich inner emotions as part of life’s adventures, and let the colours, shapes and lines of the art creation reflect your life. May you be well and be blessed abundantly!
02/03/2025 - Grace Chan, Art Therapist at the Providence Garden for Rehab, The Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council
