The Emerging Markets Foundation (EMPower) Project

With the sponsorship of the Emerging Markets Foundation , PlaNet Finance and Beijing Xicheng District Public Library have been cooperating on a one-year training session to help Beijing-migrant workers understand physical and psychological health issues that can arise for them as they adapt to their new lives in a big city. See EMpower's website on our project: http://www.empowerweb.org/grantees/planet-finance.

The program, which began on July 1, 2007, targets young migrant workers and disadvantaged urban communities, providing training in basic health promotion and protection, with a particular emphasis on psychological health. During the first grant term there were been 20 lectures by volunteer health and counseling professionals; these lectures focused primarily on healthcare, hygiene, and combating gender discrimination, and also offered over 200 hours of free group/individual sessions of psychological therapy. This program dispersed educational materials about common issues among migrant worker populations, such as healthcare, first aid, and disease prevention.

The team thankfully acknowledges the granting of a second year of activities by EMpower.  The Emerging Markets Foundation is a not-for-profit that ties the resources of Emerging Market professionals world-wide with the vitality of community-based social sector initiatives in developing countries. EMpower’s mission is to provide disadvantaged young people in emerging market countries with the resources, skills, mentoring and opportunities to improve their lives, and in turn help better their families, communities, and the world around them.

Fall 2008 Graduates at Xicheng Library

Note: PlaNet Finance’s first CTLC program with Microsoft was at the Xicheng Library, and EMpower’s program seeks to increase the facility’s sustainability after the end of the Microsoft grant period. We are looking for more ways to do this at different CTLC centres.