Meet Our New Scholars and More

October 2025

Dear friends and supporters,

As we enter the last quarter of the year, I have several updates to share.

In September, we finalized the recruitment of the Foundation’s 2025 cohort of Master’s Program scholars, including young women from China, Hong Kong, Pakistan and Vietnam. In less than two years’ time, our programs have expanded to diverse Asian countries.

In the meantime, we are seeing the Foundation’s alumni doing amazing social impact work. Below, you will learn about Jessie Huang’s giving back work in Kenya. Jessie facilitated a leadership course on behalf of the World Academy for the Future of Women – our partner organization. Please read her heartfelt experience.

I am truly proud to let you know that EGRC alumni in China continue the celebration of EGRC’s 20^th anniversary. From September to October, they organized gatherings in 11 different cities in China with more than 120 alumni participating. I am touched to see the impact we have created together, and the lasting influence in the lives of these young women and future generations. THANK YOU!

Shahnooz Hussain, Pakistan
Emory Laney Graduate School, USA
Master of Development Practice

The Ching Tien Foundation Scholarship offers me a space for learning, growth, and solidarity. It is not only an opportunity to pursue my education, but a chance to learn from other inspiring young women who strive to create positive change in their communities. This is a safe and empowering space where women uplift one another, exchange ideas, and build the confidence and skills needed to lead with empathy and purpose. I aim to bring the knowledge and experience I gain back to marginalized communities like my own, where I can play a role in generating lasting social impacts.

Chau Anh Nguyen, Vietnam
University of Oxford, UK
Master of Science in Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation

Since this is my first time living away from home, I’m learning to adapt to new cultural environments and ways of thinking. Although there might be challenges, I see this experience as a chance to build resilience and broaden my horizons. Receiving the Ching Tien Foundation scholarship means more than just financial support. It connects me to a community where I can share experiences, learn from others, and continue growing. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity and the values the scholarship represents.

Haadia Bibi, Hong Kong
Royal Holloway University of London, UK
Master of Science in Clinical Psychology

This scholarship means so much to me on many levels. It alleviates my dad’s financial burden of international tuition fees and empowers me to take ownership of my education by contributing to my own expenses. More importantly, it opens the door for me to becoming a strong changemaker and leader through valuable mentorship and bi-weekly learning sessions. I am particularly excited about the “giving back project,” which will allow me to design and implement a meaningful, year-long initiative addressing a social issue close to my heart.

Yuchen Jia, China
University of British Columbia, Canada
Master of Science in Human Nutrition
Recipient of Mackenzie Investments Scholarship

I am excited to receive the Ching Tien Foundation/Mackenzie Investments scholarship and have started my new life at UBC in Vancouver. The Foundation offers a community and learning platform where I can form friendship with like-minded women to develop my knowledges and skills that guide me to grow as a leader and researcher navigating global academic spaces. I want to become a capable leader to lift others as I grow.

Jessie is our 2023 scholar and graduated from a master’s program in the University of Nottingham in 2024. Since then, she has spent countless hours volunteering at our Foundation – assisted with the 2025 Undergrad Leadership Program and joined me on my trip to HK in May 2025.

Here Jessie shares her five-week volunteer experience at Karatina University in Kenya.

Between August and September, I spent five weeks at Karatina University in Kenya as a volunteer facilitator for the World Academy for the Future for Women. It was a profoundly challenging and immensely rewarding experience.

I facilitated one module of the WAFW’s leadership course focusing on courage, confidence building, and practical skills such as time management. Surprisingly, in many ways, it was the students I met who taught me.

My students in their undergrad programs are mature and confident, their sincerity to learn inspired me. In the meantime, it broke my heart to learn about the poverty and hardships they face in their daily lives, particularly among women. Some of the young women shared their painful experiences of surviving rape and growing up in polygamous families.

I experienced many emotional highs and lows—navigating cross cultural communication, learning and adapting to the local culture, and building trust and relationships with the students and the staff.

During this time, my calls with Ching were a source of emotional support, which I needed. I received the encouragement and clarity to keep going, especially when things were challenging and I felt overwhelmed.

I was deeply moved and inspired by the magnificent land of Kenya, its colonized and complex history and culture, the deep suffering, and the wisdom and resilience of its people. This experience has fundamentally shaped me and reaffirmed my commitment to stand with women, wherever they are.

As Ching says: when you wholeheartedly help others, you will receive unexpected rewards. It has been proven in my experience in Kenya.

One alumna wrote, “20 years is not just a number, it represents a remarkable journey. It is a road paved with love and generosity, a path of hope that has transformed the lives of countless girls. We are not only celebrating a milestone, but the joy of meeting each other, sharing our personal growth and our fond memories of meeting auntie Tien, and enjoying the warmth of the gathering as one big family.”

In May of 2025, a group of EGRC alumni came to Thailand to meet me and we celebrated the 20th anniversary of EGRC. Six months later, between September and October multiple celebrations took place in 11 different cities in China, with over 120 alumni participating, and some of them brought their families to the events.