Hong Kong NGO leadership programme nurtures social service network for the future
- Participants offer range of services, from empowering mothers to spreading a love of reading
- Nine-month programme is sponsored by UBS and Operation Santa Claus
Businesswoman Lena Wong is all about helping mothers continue their careers after giving birth, while James Chong Kwok-tung wants children to read more books.
The two Hongkongers were among 24 participants in this year’s NGO leadership programme organised by Chinese University’s social work department and Swiss investment bank UBS.
The nine-month programme, which kicked off this month, is sponsored by UBS and Operation Santa Claus, and the winner becomes a beneficiary of the charity. Winners in the past have been granted more than HK$800,000 (US$102,000) to invest in their service. The amount of funding for this year’s winner has yet to be decided.
Wong said she left the high-pressure finance industry after the birth of her daughter to spend more time at home.
“It is zero either way: you’re totally out of the game, or you’re 24/7 on the job,” Wong said of her career in finance.
