We are Giving Back

May 2026

Dear Supporters,

In the past few months the young women we support have made great progress. This newsletter will update you on participants in our 2025 Undergraduate Leadership Program. Two weeks ago, the students made final presentations on their “giving back” projects, which marks the completion of the entire program. I am proud to introduce their projects and the impacts achieved.

In April, we launched a new program – Virtual Leadership Training – targeting young Asian women who don’t have the opportunity or plan to study abroad but have the desire and potential to advance themselves in their studies or at workplace. The 14 participants selected are from China, Myanmar, Philippines and Afghanistan. This program consists of six two-hour online sessions, facilitated by volunteer professionals. We will have more on this program in a future newsletter.

Our Undergraduate Leadership Program is a 14 – 16 months program with four phases –

• March to June – Bi-weekly online learning provided by the Foundation
• July – Participating in a four-week long leadership program provided by the Global Leadership Academy at Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC and the Foundation’s Annual Leadership Forum in Vancouver.
• October to March – Under the guidance of the Foundation, each participant creates and executes a four to six month “giving back” project by choosing their own cause.
• April – Final presentation on their Giving Back projects.

Following is a summary and impact of their projects.

Syeda Zaibunnissa, India
Graduated in 2025 – Government Degree College for Women Begumpet, Osmania University
Major: Applied Nutrition and Public Health, Psychology and Zoology

Project name: Empowering Girls
Purpose: To break the mindset that higher education is unreachable for girls in rural India

My project was to conduct bi-weekly workshops with rural girls who attended school mostly for the free meals. They did not see opportunities beyond going back to their villages and getting married.

I recruited two volunteers to join me on the four hour journey back and forth each time to meet with more than 30 girls. In addition to our workshops and teaching, which was effective, just meeting us was an eye opener for them to see what is possible for them.

Besides offering emotional support and sharing our own journey to receive college education, we also talked about the importance of getting higher education and provided hands-on tools to find colleges with the financial support. This content helped them see their potential and possibilities.

By the end of the four months, everyone showed improvement in their studies, and 10 had already made the decision to pursue college education.

Jiayan Huang, China
Graduated in 2025 – University of Finance and Economics
Major: Burmese

Project Name: Med Help Project
Purpose: Make hospital visits accessible for rural people and seniors

With China’s fast technological development and the implementation of AI and robots, navigating the hospital system for treatment has become increasingly difficult and even impossible for seniors and rural patients. My own parents had incredibly challenging experiences of visiting hospitals in the past. This motivated me to create a project to help and guide vulnerable people to navigate hospital registration system and getting treatments.

As soon as I started, I found the biggest challenge was to get permission to do this work. I spent the entire first month, tried several hospitals and spoke to numbers of admin staff to get permission. Through this process I overcame my shyness and learned how to reach out and talk to different people.

Between December and March, I provided both online video guidance and in-person support to help people navigate a complicated system at a time when they are most vulnerable. During these months I spent 12 hours per week, on average, and provided support to over 300 hundred people.

Esme Feixiang Lyu, China
Graduated in 2025 – Zhengzhou Sias University
Major: English

Project Name: Green Motion – Youth in Action
Purpose: To make environmental protection a daily action

Based on my experience in Canada, I feel many youths in China lacked awareness of environmental protection and the opportunities for outdoor activities.

I recruited 20 university students in the region and organized 10 hikes and focused on collecting plastic waste. In the first two months alone, we collected over 180 liters of waste. Everyone had fun on those hikes, and made new friends.

Over the winter months, I focused on creating awareness online by using social media accounts to raise awareness. From springtime, I expanded the activities to Beijing and Yunnan with more volunteers involved.

I am proud to see my initiative has grown into a much bigger action-packed activity. I am continuing this project to create even bigger impact.

Sadaf-Riaz, Hong Kong
Graduated in 2025 – Hang Seng University of Hong Kong
Major: Business Administration & Management

Project Name: Strength in Our Scars, Telling Our Stories
Purpose: To provide culturally grounded mentorship for HK Muslim girls to grow confidence based on their ethnic identity.

Having navigated my own mental health struggles in secret as a young woman, I wanted to break the silence surrounding depression and the quiet loss of self that many teenagers experience.

The project was six months long. I recruited five Muslim teenage girls in my neighborhood and met them in-person every other weekend. Besides trust building and story sharing, I provided tools which had helped my healing such as structured journaling, practice of self-love, and communication training through playing games. When the trust was built within the group, they started opening up, and the magic happened. In a short few months’ time they built close friendships, have become more outgoing, expressive, and they see this group as a trusted place to share, play and grow. I gradually helped them to see and realize that being a minority is not a disadvantage; it is something that makes them unique and an advantage.

Jasmine Yuting Li, China
Graduated in 2025 – Zhengzhou Sias University
Major: English

Project Name: Rise Together
Purpose: To provide advice and emotional support to females in job searching and navigating the competitive job market

The Chinese economy has not been strong. For new graduates, particularly female, finding a job is not easy. I was fortunate to obtain employment before graduation. During the process I had accumulated experience which I wanted to share with other women.

I created a professional development resource group for 50 young women on a social media platform, to share job openings and host HR speakers from different industries. I also documented my personal growth and career insights and published one article per week, with total views exceeding 7,000.

Additionally, I provided 1-on-1 sessions to seven women, where two of them successfully secured jobs. Through the process I discovered the growth within myself. I overcame my shyness, gained confidence, developed soft skills which I did not have before. It has been such a rewarding experience.

I am continuing my project beyond the six-month timeframe and want to make an even bigger impact.

Shokria Muhsini, Sadaf Yaqobi & Fatemah Mozafari, Afghanistan

The three young women are all Afghan nationals. After the Taliban took over in 2021, they were fortunate to be able to leave the country and studied at the Asian University for Women in Bangladesh. All of their “giving back” projects are focused on helping young Afghan women to learn virtually.

Shokria Muhsini
Asia University for Women
Major: Computer Science

I will always remember that I had the opportunity to receive an education while thousands of my fellow sisters in Afghanistan continue to be deprived of this right.

Since November 2024, I have been volunteering for “Covered Girls” to provide virtual learning and emotional support to girls from 17 to 25. Our team is helping them learn about feminism, society, and equity. In addition, some students receive guidance in preparing for the next steps of their academic journeys. I spent four hours per week, on average, on this work.

As long as the right of education is not provided to women in my country, I will continue this important work.

Sadaf Yaqobi
Asia University for Women
Major: Computer Science

Since girls above grade seven in Afghanistan are banned from attending in-person schools and universities, online education – especially English language learning and computer literacy – plays a critical role in helping girls connect with the world and access international educational resources.

Since 2023, I started online volunteer work by providing English language classes, computer literacy training, and mentorship for girls living in Afghanistan aged 15 and above.

In August 2025, after completing the courses offered by the Ching Tien Foundation and Royal Roads University, I joined the Future Builders Hub Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting Afghan youth through education. In Afghanistan, online learning has become a crucial approach. Our program aims to equip these girls with language and computer skills, enabling them to connect with the world and utilize global resources to continue their education.

Over the past nine months, we have provided online English language courses, computer training, and mentorship to approximately 200 students. I devote 10 hours per week, on average, to do this work and will continue.

Fatemah Mozafari
Asia University for Women,
Major: Bioinformatics and Biotechnology

I have dedicated my spare time to my fellow Afghan young women who are determined to advance their education despite the challenges they face in the country. This program is self-created and self-led, and the duration was eight weeks long.

This project is to leverage resources and provide online English language training focusing specifically on the Speaking and Listening sections of the TOEFL iBT. The goal is to help women meet international standards for academic goals.

The project consists of an 8-week intensive online curriculum. It has resulted in measurable growth in student performance on practice exams. Participants have shown improvement in confidence, particularly in speaking and real-time communication. The program has fostered a supportive virtual community and provided essential resources for independent study.

If you are inspired by these Giving Back Projects and the impact our Foundation has made on these young women, please make a donation!

– Ching Tien