Conference on Social Enterprise

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Conference on Social Enterprise

• Session Theme The Road to Become a Social
  Entrepreneur
• Presentation Topic Accounts of social
  entrepreneurs on their path to operate social
  enterprises and how an enterprising approach can
  help achieve the social mission

Noel Yeung Executive Secretary Kwun Tong
Methodist Social Service April 6, 2006
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Project Name Healthy Mothers-to be A women
and Community Network Project

• Background
• The project addresses three sets of local social
  problems

• A community with few ready job opportunities
  especially for unskilled middle-aged
• A group of middle-aged, unemployed grassroots
  women without formal education, at risk of
  depression and long term financially dependent.
• Mothers with newborn babies without family
  support and hence at risk of post-natal
  depression.

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Project Highlights

• Quality Post-natal Mentor Training Course

• Grassroots unemployed women were trained to
  provide post-natal companionship, mentorship and
  support.
• Training courses were conducted by doctors,
  registered nurses and social workers.
• Mock, verbal and written examination were held
  for ensuring their learning

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Project Highlights

• Job Creation

• Post natal mentors creates a unique women
  career, a new and innovative job nature through
  which service is the same time provided to the
  needies.
• Develop local economynew business with market
  potentials

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Project Highlights

• Healthy Mothers-to-be Club

• Mentors were trained to develop, manage and
  operate their own business.
• Cohesiveness and the fundamental development of
  the women- networking can be enhanced and
  strengthened.
• Mentors were encouraged to promote community
  education and participate in community service so
  that the women networking functions and works.

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Stages of Development

• Formation Stage 1999-2002 focus on job
  creation, training and market development
• Expansion Stage 2003-2005 emphasize on building
  up social capital
• Consolidation Stage 2005-2008 develop of
  co-operative partnership

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The Social Missions That We Are Trying To Achieve
Include

• Fill social needs services provided by the Club
  could meet the community needs and fill the
  existing service gap.
• Create jobs

• The Club generates employment opportunities for
  middle-aged and unemployed women with low
  education attainments who are less competitive.
  

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b. Some Achievements
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Social Missions

• Empower participants The Club encourages women
  to become self-reliant and integrate into
  society. With a participatory nature, the Club in
  mode of co-operatives particularly advocates
  collective efforts and workers involvements.

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Social Missions

• Building up social capital

• Women Network Co-operatives

• No. of members from 25 to 64
• Taking up part of the management and operation of
  the co-operatives

• Mutual care, trust and respect

• Feedback from employers
• Feedback from mentors

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Social Missions

• Mutual Assistance and reciprocity

• Job orders referred by ex-employers
• Sharing and assistance among mentors
• Pulling resources among Professionals to help
  nursing mothers

• Prevention on Postnatal Depression

• More practical and experience sharing based
• Community education programmes

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Social Missions

• Advance sustainable development

• promote breast feeding
• promote mental health of nursing mothers
• promote harmonious family relationship
• promote quality child caring at home

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Difficulties Encountered

• Full time working could not take up all the
  management and operation responsibilities.
• Lack of management knowledge and skills
• Complicated job matching process

• Average no. of calls in out per day 35
• Average time to be spent on a call 10-15
  minutes
• No. of contacts to be made for getting one job
  order 20-30

• Handling difficult complaints

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Difficulties Encountered

• Inadequate fund to support the operation of the
  co-operatives
• Increase in competition
• High stress level taking care of babies,
  handling emotions of nursing mothers and
  relationship of employers family members.

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Ways Ahead

• In need of venue for learning, meetings and
  development.
• Financial support full time worker to operate
  the co-operative, especially job matching
  service.
• Train up committed and capable leaders
• Develop side business, such as selling products
  for babies and nursing mothers