Blog Details

Ponheary Ly Foundation secondary school scholarship programme

Welcome to the Spring edition of PAWA’s newsletter, as much a time of renewal and growth for PAWA as it is the natural world.

A lot has happened over the last three months. From our Annual Meeting in London, to organising upcoming fundraising events (including the June return of our much-loved PAWA walk), to hosting our first Founder’s Dinner, and celebrating the continued success of PAWA’s girls around the world – the PAWA calendar has been jam-packed.

You are receiving this newsletter after the PAWA Annual Meeting, held on March 17th at Euronext’s offices in Canary Wharf, London. We typically host our Annual Meeting as part of the wider International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrations that occur in March across the world. The theme of IWD 2025 is Accelerate into Action and we are proud of PAWA’s ongoing actions to keep disadvantaged teenage Asian girls in school.

Keeping girls at school, informing and educating them of their rights and the opportunities available to them through education, is key to enabling them to accelerate their progress as they become young adults. This IWD we had the special opportunity to raise funds through a collaboration with London womenswear brand WRAP, through the sale of beautifully designed T-shirts. All proceeds were given to PAWA and specifically for our work with Karuna Trust. Thank you to WRAP!

PAWA’s work, and that of our Partners, is particularly important at this time as global aid programs are under greater scrutiny. I am pleased to say that at the time of writing, our project Partners are not impacted by these decisions but we recognise that this is going to have a significant impact on fundraising more generally as many charities will have to look elsewhere for funds to maintain their commitments. So with this in mind, a huge thanks to our PAWA Patrons, Benefactors and Friends – and of course our volunteers. Your contributions and our ability to make sustained commitments to our Partners makes a real difference to our team and our PAWA girls.

At our annual meeting, we celebrated our 15 years of operation. It was a wonderful opportunity to look back at each project that we have worked on, the number of girls supported and showcase some success stories. We also took the opportunity to celebrate all our volunteers, some of whom have been part of the PAWA family since our inception in 2009.

We were delighted to welcome our Partners Karuna Trust, who we partner with in India, and Learning for Life from Bangladesh. It was wonderful to have the Trust Manager and Programme Manager from Karuna Trust, and the Programme Director of Learning for Life, join us in person and share their work and priorities. Through this sharing we were able to get a better sense of the lives of some of our PAWA girls, their aspirations and achievements and the difference made through PAWA’s funding.

Our meeting also kicked off our plans for the year ahead. We have a lot to look forward to including our PAWA@15 walk, a visit to our Partner in Nepal as part of a fundraising trek and, of course, our annual fund raise during the International Day of the Girl (October 11th) and our Christmas campaign. We look forward to your participation and support in each of these events and of course any of your own fundraising efforts as a PAWA CHAMPION.

Thank you for your continued support of PAWA.

Clare Muhiudeen, Chair of PAWA Trustees

Girls at Sadakbari Nepal Jesuit Society, 2025

Without your commitment, we couldn’t help improve the lives of nearly 2370 teenage girls this year, supporting 11 projects in eight countries and four higher education scholars under the Serena Janssens Memorial Fund.

Two new projects are included in this year’s projects, which are listed below. In Nepal we are supporting another St Xavier School, this time in Sadakbari – a rural hamlet in East Nepal.

Established in 1992 by the Jesuits to educate marginalised indigenous children, the school was initially run in a makeshift shelter made of bamboo walls and a thatched roof. The Nepal Jesuit Society was able to build a proper purpose-built school in 2014 with classrooms for 400+ students from Nursery to Grade 10. This year PAWA will support the studies of 13 teenage girls at the school.

We are also very pleased to have a new project in the Philippines this year, working with Partner Children of the Mekong who run the Dumaguete Residential Centre.

Dumaguete is the capital of Negros Oriental on the island of Negros, well to the south of Manila. It is one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines and opportunities for higher education for young people are severely limited. We are supporting five talented girls to stay at the centre and pursue degree courses at universities in Dumaguete.

As well as providing safe and welcoming accommodation, the centre also provides holistic support to encourage intellectual, emotional and self-development.

72% of the students supported in the centre are female and come from disadvantaged backgrounds such as subsistence farming. The PAWA girls have started their courses – the first to enrol in university in their families – and we wish them well and look forward to hearing about their progress.

In 2025 we are continuing our support of four SJMF scholars – Priyanka, Manisha, Cathryn and Samikshya. We just heard that Priyanka, who is studying law, has been offered a one-month internship at the National Human Rights Commission – an amazing opportunity for her.

We are also pleased to announce that with the help of the Euroclear Fund, we are supporting two PAWA girls from Home of Peace – Puvanesswari and Carolina – to study Hotel Management at Taylor’s University this year.

PAWA Funded Projects, 2025

Partner, Children of the Mekong

PAWA’s Annual Meeting

Founders, Patrons, Partner managers, dozens of PAWA volunteers and other supporters gathered in Canary Wharf in the glass-walled Euronext London offices in Canary Wharf – a space generously shared with PAWA for the evening as part of Euronext Foundation’s ongoing support for charities.

Much was on the agenda, as PAWA’s Chair of Trustees, Clare Muhiudeen, PAWA’s new Finance Trustee, Richard Timmins, Euronext London’s CEO and Head of Global Sales, Simon Gallagher, Chair of PAWA Projects, Sheila Clarke, and individual project leaders, shared news of PAWA’s work around the world and details of PAWA’s future plans.

“I want to reassure all of you that we’re still committed to what we set out to do 15 years ago: focus on girls, focus on teenagers, and stay 100% volunteer,” said Clare Muhiudeen. “We remain committed to our mission, which is to educate teenage girls in Asia.

“One of the things we’ve learned over the years is that staying focused, staying small, has enabled us to keep responding to different situations that our Partners face. And right now, I think that’s a very important attribute to have.”

Speakers also shared videos and photos of some of the girls that PAWA supports, reminding attendees of the transformational impact of PAWA and its Partners’ work on so many girls’ lives.

Akashamitra, program manager for Karuna Trust, shared the story of Neha, a young girl from a village in rural West Bengal whose parents were trying to arrange her sister’s marriage before legal age. Neha contacted Partner Nishtha, who was able to support her sister.

“She managed not only to stop her sister’s marriage, but she got involved in the project and went through the Nishta program, which supports girls by keeping them in school, giving them all sorts of practical support,” said Akashamitra. “She stayed in the project all the way up to the age of 18 when she graduated.”

One of Learning for Life’s floating schools

Rebecca Paling, Learning for Life’s Programme Director, shared inspiring testimonies of the success of their “floating schools” – schools built in boats in flood-prone Kishoreganj, in Bangladesh, to ensure girls have access to education even during the monsoon and post-monsoon seasons, which can last up to nine months.

“Forced marriage, often at a very young age, is extremely common in this area. Girls in particular have very limited access to services and are frequently deprived of their rights,” explained Rebecca Paling. “But Learning for Life has been working to address the needs of these communities by providing education, healthcare, rights training and community capacity development aboard specially designed boats.

“With PAWA support, we were able to establish the first small floating school, which can navigate narrow waterways, reaching even more marginalized communities. This school has been so successful that we now have five other schools in the region.”

The uplifting evening concluded with drinks and food in the downstairs hall.

 PAWA Founder’s Dinner

PAWA was thrilled to organise a special and exclusive Founder’s Dinner, the first of its kind, to mark its 15th anniversary.

Sungjoo Kim OBE, PAWA’s founder, generously invited Patrons to a private dinner in London on February 6th. It was a wonderful evening where Patrons learned about Sungjoo Kim’s background and passion for creating support initiatives for women and girls today. Indeed, her great sense of mission in life led to the inception of PAWA. Her strong work ethic in both professional life and charity work is highly inspiring.

Several PAWA charter founder members were invited to share their experiences in working and building the steady growth of PAWA over the last 15 years as volunteers.

It was also a fantastic opportunity to express and exchange both present and new ideas on future directions for PAWA, with a deep sense of collective commitment for all to continue making an impact. We hope the new patron programme will be the beginning of an impactful new tradition – part of a growth in future support. With a great sense of optimism we hope to make this special Founder’s Dinner an annual event.

We are grateful and honoured to have constant support and inspiration, so enthusiastically given by our founder Sungjoo Kim.

PAWA’s Battersea Park Charity Run and Walk, 2025

Join PAWA’s Charity Run and Walk at Battersea Park on Sunday 22ndJune 2025

PAWA would like to invite all of you to lace up your running shoes and join us for a meaningful and enjoyable day at Battersea Park to celebrate PAWA’s 15th anniversary!

This is an opportunity to come together, enjoy the beautiful park, exercise and, most importantly, make a lasting impact on the lives of teenage girls in Asia through education.

The event, which starts at 10am, is part of the Run for Charity series. Everyone can join: from individuals, to groups of friends, to families, and there are two distance options (5km or 10km) to complete.

By signing up, the participants will receive entry to the event, and be given a race number and more event information before the day – plus a chance to receive goodie bags from event sponsors. All PAWA participants will also receive their own specially designed PAWA hat!

In addition to the entry fee – which only just covers the event cost – we encourage all participants to fundraise a minimum of £50 sponsorship which is PAWA’s average cost for supporting one teenage girl’s education in Asia. Every step we take helps change a life.

There are 2 categories for entry: £30 for an individual (for which you can use this link). Groups of 4 or more need to email: pawawalk@pawa-london.org to get a £25 discount link.

Come and enjoy a social PAWA gathering on the longest day of the year, stay active and support an incredible cause!

Whispering Blossoms

A huge thank you to artist Nanda Khiara for offering PAWA five limited-edition prints of one of her original artworks, Whispering Blossoms, to sell to raise funds for PAWA’s 15th anniversary year.

The stunning canvas prints have been specially created for this unique collaboration. The sale is a wonderful opportunity to support PAWA’s impactful projects while also championing women artists.

A contemporary abstract artist, storyteller, writer and speaker, Kuwait-born Khiara travelled widely after being educated in the UK, living in Hong Kong, Dubai and India before settling in London.

Her warm and vivid works, which often explore themes of change and evolution, have been exhibited internationally, including in Dubai, Mumbai, Delhi, Amsterdam, Miami and New York.

Her work has been selected for both the Florence Biennale 2019, the London Art Biennale 2021, and her digital series, Walk My World, was exhibited at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris in 2022.

Limited edition prints, £800 for a rolled canvas (35 x 53 inches), £1100 for a stretched canvas (30 x 48 inches). If you would like to purchase a print, please email zehan@pawa-london.org. Proceeds of the art sales will go towards PAWA’s fund for teenage girls’ education.

PAWA Volunteer Special Discount

PAWA volunteers have access to an exclusive discount for Manifest Masterclass, a transformative five-session program “designed to enhance intuition, focus, and the power of manifestation”, offered by holistic platform Wellness Curated in collaboration with The Monroe Institute, a leading centre in the study of consciousness.

The course, which takes place between May and June 2025, is being led by UKCP-registered hypnotherapist and personal development facilitator, Luigi Sciambarella. The 12-hour total masterclass offers both in-person and online sessions, so can be attended from anywhere in the world.

Founder of Wellness Curated, Anshu Bahanda, a PAWA Champion, Patron and Honorary Council member, is offering PAWA volunteers 10% off with the code WC10.

In-Person (St John’s Church, London), or Online via Zoom, May 5th to June 23rd, from £35. For more information, visit www.wellnesscurated.life.