On March 29th 2022, Uplifters celebrated it’s 4th anniversary with a virtual event attended by our partners, core team, community members and supporters. . Board Director, Alex Misseri shared the following sentiments during the party:

“Tonight we’re celebrating Uplifters’ 4th anniversary. I can’t believe how much time flies. I clearly remember my first meeting with Marie, in Uplifters’ first office. I remember her passion and dedication in pursuing her dream of significantly helping foreign domestic workers. Her devotion was so sincere, her competence so evident, and our relationship so natural, that I was instantly convinced that I would love to take part in Uplifters’ adventure. And looking at the number of us on the call tonight, it looks like I was not the only one!

3 years later, I am amazed by 2 things. First, by the journey that has already been travelled: from 2 people in 2018 to a team of 6, from 10 Team Leaders in 2018 to 62 active Team Leaders today, from 200 students to 6,300 today. Amazing! I have worked with many startups and NGOs: very few are as solid and have as much potential as Uplifters.

The second thing that amazes me is the power of the Uplifters community. The situation in the last 2 years has been very difficult everywhere in the world, and maybe even more so in HK with the current outbreak, and in SG where Covid-19 restrictions were also among the strictest on the planet when the pandemic started. All of you have experienced things you never expected to experience in your life. You have faced difficulties you were not prepared for. Some of you have faced the toughest situations of their lives.

Yet you have shown, and are still showing, great resilience throughout these turbulent times. At an individual level, you have shown incredible strength in the face of adversity. You did your very best to stand up to every challenge you faced, adjusting to your employers’ changing schedules while looking after your family back home. I am humbled by the willpower you demonstrated since the beginning of the pandemic. And at a collective level, you have shown the power of supporting each other, the power of looking after one another, the power of a tight community. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” they say. I am amazed by the strength and power the Uplifters community has gained in the last 2 years.

I take the opportunity to sincerely thank and congratulate all Team Leaders: without you, Uplifters would have no community. You, dear Team Leaders, are the heart of our community. By helping your fellow domestic workers, you help the community, by helping the community, you help Uplifters. Your contribution is critical and we will never thank you enough for it.

I also want to thank the staff and active members of Uplifters who do everything they can to adapt to the current challenging situations and meet the domestic workers’ needs in these very special circumstances. All without losing sight of the NGO’s educational mission.

Because in the end Uplifters is all about education. Money Management and personal growth have always been at the core of our educational programs and now we also focus on Mental Health education, being so much needed by the community. The pandemic only increased and brought to light the need for such focus on mental health. 

On this topic, I want to congratulate the team for the successful launch of the updated version of the Dare to Dream program. More complete and more profound than the first version, this program is even more powerful in equipping all domestic workers with the life skills they need to plan and prepare for their future.

When I said that Uplifters is all about education, I missed one word. A critical word: “Online”. Indeed Uplifters is all about “online education”. We see since the beginning of the pandemic how critical this nuance is. We see that no amount of social distancing can reduce the strength of the Uplifters online community. Quite the opposite. The community grows stronger in the face of adversity. We see that no lockdown can stop online education.

Because efficient online education relies on efficient technology, I want to also congratulate the Uplifters team for the successful launch of the new technology system in fall 2021. The project took months to define, the system took months to build, and weeks to test. It was a lot of work, and although very few people will ever see or use the system directly, every single student, team leader and staff will actually benefit from it. So congrats again for this achievement.

I’d like to conclude by saying that the pandemic of the last 2 years, with all its difficulties, is demonstrating one thing: that Uplifters is fundamentally relevant. Uplifters focuses on the right thing – education – in the right way – online. As a consequence I am confident that whatever happens the Uplifters community will continue to grow and become always more powerful… in your benefit… all of you amazing Ladies. 

Thank you, all the best, and happy birthday Uplifters!”