IMPACT IMPACT
An integrated service provider for Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities
ANNUALLETTERFROMOURFOUNDER&CEO
ShaliniMahtani
I hope you are well and thank you for your support. Every year as we compile this report, we review the impact of each of our projects, and I am reminded of the suffering we see and humbled by the strength and resilience of our community. Through these pages you will get a glimpse of what we have seen, with over 350 youth competing for financial scholarships so they can fund university, 636 women seeking help with some wanting a reset after years of violence, 131 children seeking mental health support because of bullying or anxiety and so much more.
2024 marks two important milestones for The Zubin Foundation and each of these allows us to further our mission to improve the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities.
Firstly, in 2024 we included the elderly as a target group and each week 120 elderly individuals walk through our doors - we provide them with activities, social gatherings and education about health. Some live alone and others feel like a burden to their families but every Friday, they laugh, learn, and connect. Our aim is to enhance our work in this area, listening to the needs of this community.
Secondly, as we have become an integral part of the local ecosystem, particularly in our case with our mental health services, we work collaboratively with hospitals, the Police, schools, other NGOs, universities, and pro bono professionals. We see ourselves as an Integrated Service Provider for ethnic minorities and not an NGO working in a silo. This change of mindset allows us to think broadly about what may best help our service users.
I am grateful to my team who embed our core values into their work, the values of working with integrity, caring for those we serve and working in collaboration with others. I am thankful to my board, our many volunteers, our funders and most of all our service users who have trusted us to walk with them on their life journey.
May you be well. With blessings and gratitude, Shalini Mahtani, MH, MBE
2024 HOWWEMAKEADIFFERENCE
The Zubin Foundation is a registered charity (IR 91/12344) with a mission to improve the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities by reducing suffering and providing opportunities. These impactful numbers reflect the power of support – made possible by every donor, partner, and volunteer who stood with us.
Women and girls
6,080
Family members
1,299 had accessed to Zubin’s Family Centre and engaged in services such as senior gatherings, support groups and special needs therapy for children with autism and ADHD in government primary schools
1,260
3,300
Individuals received emergency relief provided with a safe space to share, build friendships, and learn new skills
I in the form of food and hygiene products.
Youth
given opportunities in education and employment to empower them to break the cycle of inter-generational poverty.
1,167
Hours of one-on-one counselling service for adults and children helping them manage their stress, depression, and anxiety, enabling them to better deal with challenges
228
Hours of training
t provided to universities, public and international schools and companies, about the status of ethnic minorities and the importance of racial diversity, equity and inclusion.
WOMENANDGIRLS
In ethnic minority communities, women and girls are among the most marginalised We offer support across several of our services with a focus on building women’s self-confidence through creating safe spaces for them to share and learn, empowerment and upskilling.
Call Mira
A helpline for women and girls in crisis. When the nature of a call is related to the law, legal information is provided by our Call Mira Legal Leads.
calls received 636
395 new women and girls reached
Chai Gathering in Tung Chung and Yau Tsim Mong
Service Spotlight
Under Call Mira Helpline, we work with our volunteers to offer hand-holding service to callers who required assistance with getting to medical appointments A recurring issue that elderly callers mentioned was not being able to navigate transportation to get to their medical appointments, and so, volunteers were trained to provide this service to elderly service users Our service users expressed deep gratitude for the additional support.
87
858
sessions attended by women who formed friendships and learnt skills
Forced Marriage Assistance & Support
In Hong Kong, we do not have official numbers of forced marriage cases It was in 2018 that The Zubin Foundation was faced with our first case of forced marriage In 2024, we launched the “Time to UnMute | Understanding Forced Marriage in Hong Kong” report and curated the “Hong Kong Forced Marriage Assistance List for Victims and Their Friends”
Time to UnMute: Understanding Forced Marriage in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Forced Marriage Assistant List for Victims and Their Friends
YOUTHOPPORTUNITIES
For ethnic minority youth, we provide financial bursaries for higher education and provide mentorship during higher education, training to obtain internships and jobs, internship placements and job matching. We collaborate with government schools, universities, NGOs, the private sector, and the Equal Opportunities Commission.
UniversityandCommunityColleges –FinancialScholarships
Provided students with resources, including financial bursaries to study at a higher level, either at universities or community colleges An independent Scholarships Committee interviewed and selected students
55financial scholarships given with a monetary value of
HK$1.9million (370 applications received)
ScholarshipandFinancial AssistanceFairs
Grassroots families learnt about financial bursaries and scholarships
26 institutions (international & private schools, post-secondary institutions and universities) share their financial assistance schemes with low-income families
Sub-degreeandUndergraduateScholarships: Applications&ScholarshipsAwarded(2020-2024)
AcademicFieldsPursuedby2024scholars(n=55)
Provided job advising and placements
77 placed in full and part-time jobs roles and stayed in the role for at least 1 year Each of them received coaching and career support for one year after securing their roles
HK$17.3million
total yearly income of full-time jobs provided.
Internships
Ethnic minority students at university and community colleges are placed in internships to gain work experience in the private and NGO sectors.
55students in paid internship placements
HK$5.6million is the total amount paid to interns this year (paid by the internship provider directly to the intern)
Built employability through soft skills training, both online and in-person The topics ranged from CV clinic, interview skills, and work-life balance to STEM design thinking
253 volunteers involved
204 skilled based training sessions provided (each 45 min)
Support groups and skills building provided to the youth – especially women – in higher education by ethnic minority mentors working in the private sector students trained
585 sessions
Mentorship
11 mentors 6 participants
40
FAMILIES
In the ethnic minority community, families tend to be larger in size, and it is not uncommon to have five or more children. It is mostly mothers who take responsibility for their children, and we provide them with parenting workshops and support groups so they can learn and build friendships.
Zubin’s Family Centre in Austin MTR Station has become a focal point for ethnic minorities in the Yau Tsim Mong District, and we provide a wide variety of services and activities, ranging from storytelling for children, socio-emotional support workshops, customised academic support for children with critical chronic health issues and distributing pre-loved books to the community.
SENCentre
Our Special Educational Needs Centre (SEN Centre) is Hong Kong’s first, and it provides therapy for ethnic minority children showing signs of ADHD and autism. We work in collaboration with government schools and NGOs who refer parents and children to us.
Catered to primary aged children in government mainstream schools showing signs of ADHD and autism
101 children and their families provided with individual therapies and training
Elderly
The ethnic minority elderly community frequently lacks opportunities for social engagement, which can lead to isolation. We are dedicated to changing this, and in 2024, we started to organise a weekly gathering that actively engages the elderly ensuring they feel cared for and valued.
Sessions designed to create a community for the elderly along with learning skills and improved health
85 sessions attended by
3,649 ethnic minority elderly
The Zubin Foundation provides free counselling to adults and children in English, Hindi, Urdu and Nepali. Adult counselling is provided through the Ethnic Minority Well-being Centre, and for those under 18 years old, counselling is provided by our Children’s Counselling Centre.
We know that as a small NGO, the more we collaborate, the greater the impact we can have on individuals and lives. We provide training to social workers, the police, health practitioners and others in the public sector so that they can better understand the mental health issues of our community.
Ethnic Minority Well-being Centre
Free 1-to-1 for non-Chinese residents in Hong Kong
151 clients received
932 hours of counselling
HK$1,118,400 conservative estimate of market value of free counselling provided
Service Spotlight
Based on data analysis by the Department of Nursing at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), amongst 57 clients who completed treatment and corresponding assessments with the Ethnic Minority Well-Being Centre, there is a significant decrease in depressive and anxiety symptoms from moderate to normal levels, and stress levels from mild to normal.
Pre-andpos-CASScores(n=57)
Free 1-to-1 counselling for children
235 hours of counselling
HK$282,000 conservative estimate of market value of free counselling provided
Youth
Mental Health Ambassador
We taught young people to support mental health needs in their community by providing them with mental health knowledge and awareness
15 Youth Mental Health Ambassadors trained
2,870 individuals learnt about mental health and self-care from Youth Mental Health Ambassadors
Workshops
and Booths
On-site and on-demand mental health relief and education
35 awareness talks and workshops
531 total participants
One in four ethnic minority families lives in poverty W i h i i i f ilies in urgent need of basic daily necessities by providing
CareBox
Food supplies for families in need
3,125 individuals received basic food necessities equivalent to the monetary value of:
HK$206,500
RedBox
Period Care for Women and Girls
175 HK$61,200
women and girls received period products equivalent to the monetary value of
SYSTEMICCHANGE
In addition to our direct services where we work with individuals in the ethnic minorities, we also provide capacity building to other stakeholders in the community. Our aim is to build a more inclusive Hong Kong and we collaborate with schools, universities, NGOs, companies and the government to do this.
InstituteofRacialEquality
Enhancing DEI Awareness in Hong Kong and in Asia.
Lunch & Learns, Workshops, Talks, Panels and Cultural Tours conducted at schools, universities and companies
Diversity List
Diversity List is Hong Kong’s directory of ethnic minorities who have demonstrated talent and commitment to serve on government Advisory and Statutory Bodies (ASBs) The Zubin Foundation released Diversity List 2024 and encourages the government to continue to onboard ethnic minorities onto ASBs
21 individuals were selected for Diversity List 2024
Based on self-reporting by the individuals on the Diversity List, since 2016 to date, 38 have been appointed to 81 ASB positions, accounting for a success rate of 27%
2015-2024AUDITEDINCOMEANDEXPENDITURE
NATUREOFEXPENSES
THEZUBINFOUNDATION
(Registered Charity: IR 91/12344)
Improves the lives of Hong Kong's ethnic minorities by reducing suffering and providing opportunities
BOARDOFDIRECTORS
Ravi Gidumal, Co-Founder and Board Chair
Catherine Husted, Board Vice-Chair
Don Taylor, Board Director
Guneet Banga, Board Director
Kishore Sakhrani, Board Director
Ranoo Wasan, Board Director
Sasha Allison, Board Director
COMMITTEES
Diversity List Committee
Jeremy Young (Chair)
Gary Wong
Meena Datwani
Naubahar Sharif
Sabita Prakash
Theresa Cunanan
Advisory Committee for Ethnic Minority Well-being Centre
Prof Dinesh Bhugra
Prof. Eric Chen
Dr. Paul Wong
Dr Yi Nam Suen
Legal Leads for Call Mira
Archana Kotecha
Gladys Li
Kay Chan
Puja Kapai
Sasha Allison
EXECUTIVE
Shalini Mahtani, Founder and CEO
Sandy Chan, Director of Services
Prachi Phadnis, CFO
Sharon Etherington, HR Director
Winnie Ng, Project Director
Scholarship Committee (Sub-degree & Undergraduate Scholarships)
Catherine Husted (Chair)
Arfeen Bibi
Jafar Amin
Nick Studholme Wilson
Saajandeep Singh
Sala Sihombing
Scholarship Committee (Postgraduate Scholarships)
Theresa Cunanan (Chair)
Arfeen Bibi
Sandra Tsang
Fundraising Committee
Ranoo Wasan (Chair)
Don Taylor (Vice-Chair)
Madhu Mirpuri
Mayurh Aggarwal
Neil Howard
Ravi Gidumal
Vishal Tourani
SEN Centre
Dr Melissa Ortega
Dr Reena Choi
Dr. Se Fong Hung
Sharmila Rodricks
Urvi Kamdar
Dr. Valerie Pereira
Dr. Wong Lai Yin
Peggy Kan
Matthew Yu, Director of Core Functions
Donation by cheque should be made payable to “The Zubin Mahtani Gidumal Foundation Limited” and posted to: The Zubin Mahtani Gidumal Foundation Limited Unit F, 5th Floor, High Fashion Centre No 1 Kwai Hei Street
Kwai Fong, Hong Kong
Attention: Ms Anky Chau, Office Manager
Donation by bank transfer to our bank account
Bank name: HSBC
Account name: The Zubin Mahtani Gidumal Foundation Limited Account number: 848 516316 292