MESSAGE TO FRIENDS OF eHOMEMAKERS FROM CHONG SHEAU CHING, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, eHOMEMAKERS

 

It is very exciting for me to join the eHomemakers team in sending out this inaugural issue of our newsletter to our friends and supporters.

 

Nine years ago when I set up this network, I had no idea we would get to this stage. It all started with an overwhelming response to an article I wrote (A Job Only Mothers Can Do) in my weekly column in one of Malaysia’s leading English language dailies. That particular article described the social stigma I faced after quitting my international career in favour of a home-based consultancy.

 

A lot of readers sent in their thoughts after reading that article and I realised that many women thought motherhood involved only two choices - stay at home for the children or continue with a career outside the home, leaving the children in the hands of caregivers. A third option - working from home - was rarely considered.

 

But, through my e-mail communications with several working mothers, I knew this was an important option, especially for single mothers, the disabled, chronically ill and caretakers of elderly or disabled family members. I decided to begin promoting home-based work as an option that could make a positive difference for so many people.

 

Believe it or not, I was further encouraged by the animated movie Pocahontas. Pocahontas, the Indian princess, had fallen in love with Captain John Smith but war between the Indians and the English was preventing them from being together. Looking for answers to stop the war, the lovers went to see Grandmother Willow and confided their fears to her. Grandmother Willow dipped her vines into the lake, starting ripples that spread outward. "Don’t you see," she said, "someone has to start?" I knew then, that despite the lack of resources, I would have to start the ripples of working @ home too.

 

Today, the ripples have spread and we have grown into an active working @ home community linked by a portal, printed newsletters and support groups on the ground by women for women. Men, husbands, retirees, and people who have lost directions have also opted to join our network.

 

A lot more needs to be done to improve the lives of those who seek to be self-reliant. However, lack of funds will limit how many people we can reach. That is why we are so grateful to you, our friends, who have helped us through your donations, networking and time to provide wheelchairs for the disabled, medical expenses for critical surgery, food for those who are in extreme need and, most of all, assistance to help them to learn skills or set up micro businesses so they can stand up by themselves with dignity.

 

HAA Trainees Being Equipped To Take On Home-Based Jobs   

 

As a recipient of Microsoft's UP Grant, eHomemakers has kick started its Home-Based Administrative Assistant (HAA) programme, making available income-generating opportunities to a special group of 70 women who want to become self-reliant.

 

Now in its second phase, 25 women are being trained under the UP/HAA project in basic ICT (Information and Communications Technology) and office administration skills as well as motivational training to build self-confidence and enhance effective task performance.

 

Armed with these new skills, the women - who consist largely of single mothers, women with disabilities or chronic illnesses, or women who have elderly and disabled/dependent family members, preventing them from working outside their homes – have a chance to dramatically change their circumstances while working from a home-based office.

 

The trainers for the program were recruited from eHomemakers’ own Salaam Wanita membership as well as other community service-based organisations in the Klang Valley who participated in a Training of Trainers (TOT) programme in June of this year. In turn, as the new trainees become more skilled themselves, they too can help create a new wave of tech-savvy women by helping to train others.

How can YOU help? To ensure the successful completion of this initiative, eHomemakers is currently seeking donated computers and printers for the remainder of the training programmes and initial negotiations are underway with companies to secure home-based work, but additional leads are needed. If you or your organization would like to assist in this important project, please contact Wong Peck Lin at research@ehomemakers.net.

 

Malaysia’s First E-Network @ Home Launched

 

eHomemakers has embarked on a landmark effort to bring together Malaysian home business owners under its E-netWork @ Home scheme. This initiative, the first of its kind in Malaysia, will allow a select group of home-based service providers to connect with a global alliance of business enterprises. eHomemakers will provide the expertise to effectively market the service provider offerings, while matching them to the needs of clients around the world.

 

In an environment with few safety nets for home-based entrepreneurs, this initiative provides the connections they need to expand, while cushioning them against default payments, which can be devastating for a micro business.

 

Services offered include writing, translation, administrative support, web design and development and research. You are invited to contact registration@ehomemakers.net to support E-netWork @ Home.

 

eHomemakers Angels Provide New Life For Salaam Wanita Woman

 

Ms Ng Kar Cheng was an active member of eHomemakers' Salaam Wanita project, where she was a core Eco-Basket weaver and inventor of a new and popular weaving technique. However, due to a chronic illness that has weakened her hands and legs, she is now incapable of working and the burden has fallen to her parents to support her and her disabled brother.

 

When eHomemakers became aware of her plight, we highlighted Ms Ng Kar Cheng’s case in our Network of Angels and put out a call for assistance. Now, thanks to the MBA Club @ SyUC, money for a new, lightweight wheelchair has been raised. With eHomemakers’ help, she also received a cash donation from Hearts and Hands Consultancy Sdn Bhd towards the payment of her medical expenses. Similarly, the Association of British Women in Malaysia (ABWM) was kind enough to come forward to donate an upgraded 2^nd hand computer that will allow her to use the Internet and "voice reader" software. With an additional cash payment from the ABWM for her internet connection and monthly fees, Ms Ng Kar Cheng is excited about finally communicating with the outside world again.

 

We are extremely grateful to the individuals and organizations that have come forward to make eHomemakers’ Network of Angels a success in helping women like Ms Ng Kar Cheng. Much more still needs to be done to meet the urgent needs of this special group of eHomemakers members. Please contact adminehomemakers@ehomemakers.net to find out how you can help.   

 

eHomemakers Makes A Case For Working At Home

 

Although there are perceptions (Letter to the Editor from S.M. Mohamed Idris - The Star, Opinion, Friday June 9, 2006) that home businesses should be discouraged because of the increasing number of scams, eHomemakers believes that banning work-at-home options altogether is a drastic move that will be detrimental to Malaysia’s economic and social development. However, the concept of teleworking has been received with some skepticism in Malaysia and eHomemakers is seeking to change this by encouraging official recognition of this sector in the country.

 

Without a work-at-home option, eHomemakers believes that the disabled, those with mobility restrictions and people caring for young children or chronically ill family members could be especially hard hit. The rapidly increasing number of single mothers in our society, as well as their children, could especially benefit from this more family-friendly option. Allowing people to earn income by working from home, rather than having them rely on charity and state assistance, is one way to lessen the burden on social programs. Furthermore, the income earned gives dignity to those who do not have any assistance.

 

To help make this possible for workers across the country, the eHomemakers web site provides access to information and resources for working at home. In addition, members are invited to attend seminars and conferences on entrepreneurship and new developments in ICT that can impact the success of a home-based business.

 

For the full response from eHomemakers, click here.

 

COMING SOON! Keep an eye out for eHomemakers' final report on “Homeworkers and ICTs in South-East Asia,” a year-long study sponsored by IDRC analyzing the use of ICT by urban poor homeworkers to achieve social-economic improvement.

 

eHomemakers, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is a social enterprise network dedicated to economic empowerment through training, research, information sharing and advocacy. Founded in May 1998, the network promotes the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to its active network of 13,000 home workers, home-based entrepreneurs and homemakers, while carrying out corporate social responsibility activities to bridge the digital divide and help the disadvantaged. eHomemakers' Salaam Wanita pilot project provides specialized training in technology, specific skills and micro business, as well as marketing services and personal support to a select group of women.

 

To find out more about the HAA programme, contact Wong Peck Lin at research@ehomemakers.net

 

For additional information on Salaam Wanita/ Network of Angels, contact Anna Robless at adminehomemakers@ehomemakers.net

 

For all other enquiries, contact Chong Sheau Ching at manager@ehomemakers.net

 

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