Chinese for Labour is proud to be the lead organiser of this year's MuLan Awards, about 90 people gathered on Wednesday, November 27 in the opulent River Room, House of Lords to congratulate the winners of the MuLan Awards 2010.
Amongst the guests were Baroness Helene Hayman, the Lord Speaker, Baroness Margaret Jay, former leader in the House of Lords, Lord and Lady Woolf, Lord Pendry, Madam Lu Xu from the Chinese Embassy.
Lady Katy Blair in her welcome statement said, "I would like to say how pleased we are to gather here tonight to acknowledge, honour and celebrate the tremendous effort of women in the Chinese diaspora who put themselves forward in so many worthy projects, either as an individual or working within an organisation. Although instigated by Chinese for Labour, the Award is understood from the outset that it is a non-political event."
Chair of Chinese for Labour and Chair of the Organising Executive, Sonny Leong said, "Chinese women up and down the length and breadth of the United Kingdom are the pillars of the community – they run and manage the hundreds of voluntary community centers and associations. With little or no help from the government or local council they provide vital and needed services to the young and elderly Chinese. These unsung MuLans are reflected on tonight's winners, and I congratulate every one of them – they make us proud to be Chinese."
The judging of the Awards led admirably by Mei Sim Lai comprised of Lady Woolf, Merlene Emerson and Dr Qu Li. We thank them for their time and impartial deliberations.
The judges' short biographies are as
Mei Sim Lai OBE DL
She was the first female partner of a leading city chartered accountancy firm and now runs her own practice. Having clearly mastered the art of time management, Mei Sim also holds a dizzying array of posts in the commercial world and is active in promoting diversity within business for both women and ethnic minorities. Mei Sim is the Deputy Lieutenant for the London Borough of Brent and one of the Award judges last year.
Lady Marguerite Woolf
The Wife of the former Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf, Lady Woolf served as a lay magistrate for over 25 years and Chairman of the Richmond Family Proceedings Court. Though not a lawyer herself, she was attracted to the Bench by the prospect of doing public service. In 2003, Lady Woolf did not hide her dismay at proposals to close almost all the family courts in London. She argued that the plans would put battered women and children at risk. She is a trustee of The Woolf Institute of Abrahamic Faiths. Lady Woolf was one of the judges for the Award last year.
Dr Qu Li
Dr Li did well enough in her studies in China that she was allowed to come to Britain in 1990 to study for her PhD at Leeds University. Graduating in 1996, she dedicated her 450-page thesis on metallurgy – entitled 'The effects of vanadium and nitrogen additions on the grain coarsening characteristics of titanium steels' One account suggests that to pay her way through university, she started working in a local restaurant. She is now a successful entrepreneur based in the UK.
Merlene Emerson
Merlene was born in Singapore and came to London in 1979 as a law student. After graduating from King's College London, she obtained a Master of Laws degree at Cambridge University. She qualified as a Solicitor and worked at a leading City law firm in the high adrenalin-fuelled world of corporate finance and banking. She is currently a Director of the Chinese Welfare Trust and the registered social landlord, Richmond Housing Partnership (serving in the New Developments and Finance Committee). She is also an active member of her local Save the Children branch.
Cherie Blair
A successful barrister and mother, Cherie has extensive charitable and public involvements. Her own foundation's mission is to strengthen the capacity of women entrepreneurs in countries where they lack equal opportunities so they can start and grow their businesses and become greater contributors to their economies.
COMMUNITY WOMAN OF THE YEAR
Maria Gingell
Maria has worked hard for the Chinese community in SE London for over 25 years, which continued after her retirement from the caring profession.
In 1984 Maria became the first Chinese/Vietnamese Development Officer, acting as translator and link for refugees accessing their rights in the local authority. She has over the years set up various projects including the 'Lunch club' which has since been replicated across other local authorities. As an assessor at Lambeth College she helped students achieve their NVQ's in Health and Social care.
In 2007 she co-founded the Orpington Chinese Association for elder Chinese, secured funding for their services and helped raise the profile of the Chinese in Bromley. Maria is also a loving wife, mother and full-time carer.
Angela Jim Kwok
Angela was the organiser and Chair of the South Wales Chinese Woman Group Organisation since 1983 and has contributed for most of her life to the South Wales Chinese Society.
She was the Secretary of the Shuen Wan Overseas Joint Village Association in UK and in 2007 successfully established the first funding of £10,000 from the HongKong Shuen Wan Overseas Joint Village Association. After the Sichuan earthquake, she was instrumental in raising some £13,000 from the South Wales area to help the victims of the earthquake in China.
Angela has also worked to counter against racism in Wales and served as trustee on the board of Race Equality Firsts in Wales. She is a Director of the South Wales Chinese Sunday School and now the President of the South Wales Chinese Woman Federation Group.
CONTRIBUTION TO PUBLIC LIFE
Yoke Koh
Originally a journalist from Malaysia with a commitment to redressing social injustices, Yoke won the prestigious British Chevening Scholarship to the UK in 2002. She completed her Master's degree in Gender and the Media in the LSE, after which she worked at the Chinese Information and Advice Centre as the Women's Worker.
She worked tirelessly for a number of years to help women who were victims of domestic violence, marital breakdown and family crisis. Despite being in this high stress environment, Yoke managed to work over and above her routine duties and by her own initiative managed to raise additional funds (of about £160,000) for the charity.
She has also pioneered a programme for Chinese children affected by domestic violence and was involved in a women's consortium with women from Asian, Iranian, Turkish, Latin American and Afro Caribbean background.
Passionate about raising awareness on women's and migrant issues, Yoke has organised multi-agency seminars and workshops across London and continues to champion the rights of the weak and vulnerable.
Irene Chu
Irene has worked for the Birmingham Chinese Society since 1994, first as an Employment Development officer and then as Chief executive from 1997. She has succeeded in developing the Society's services with limited resources to provide from counselling, CV writing, ESOL training, vocational training to inter-generational programmes for the elderly and the young.
Irene has served on the boards of the Birmingham Specialist Community Health Trust, Women's Health Group and often been recognised as the "voice" of the Chinese community. As a Board member of the West Midlands Minority Business Forum, Irene has also championed the needs of the Chinese business community, establishing effective working relationships with the local authority, a local college and the NHS.
Irene has been a great role model for Chinese women, the impact of her work on cultural life of the community has been substantial and she continues to help countless people with her dedication and passion for her work within the Chinese community.
WOMAN VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
Magdeleine Chia
A devoted volunteer at the Lambeth Chinese Community Association since her retirement, Magdeleine has worked tirelessly at the centre, fundraising for the association and running and arranging the lunch and leisurely services. She was elected as a member of the LCCA's Management Committee and was Vice- Chair since 2008.
As a result of Magdeleine's activism and fundraising efforts, the centre now owns the freehold of the premises at 69 Stockwell Road. With her excellent language skills, Magdeleine has led the volunteer team in organising a variety of programmes and outings, and spends 6 days a week at the Leisurely Club, serving and looking after the elderly.
She was also largely responsible for organising the LCCA Dragon Boat race team which has taken part in the annual boat race in East London in the last few years.
FEMALE BENEFACTOR OF THE YEAR
Connie Alexander
Connie is a graduate from the College of Further Education in Beijing Dance Academy. She came to Britain for her further education completing her MBA in financial management and fashion design.
However dance has always been her passion and she established the London Chinese Dancing School in 2008. She is also passionate about promoting the exchange in Chinese and Western culture and has pioneered a number of culture related charitable projects.
She has set up an Alexander foundation for children and adults from poorer background to benefit from dance and mandarin study. She helped to organise events and performances for China Now - China in London with V&A charity performances and at London Trafalgar Square. She had also organised charity performances to raise funds for the Sichuan earthquake.
Last year she joined in activities for the 60th anniversary celebrations in London of the Chinese PRC and this year participated in the Chinese Tiger Year celebrations organised by the Chinese Embassy at Westfield Shopping centre. These are only some examples of the activities that Connie has spear headed – for promoting Chinese culture in Britain.
Connie Jay
Connie Jay has been involved in charitable work since the 1980s and was one of the founding members of the Lambeth Chinese Community Centre. She became a member of the association's Management Committee in the 1990s and subsequently the Chair in 1999.
Her contribution to the Chinese community range from fundraising for the acquisition of the premises to working with the elderly in the community. She was also instrumental to the setting up of the weekend Mother tongue school and volunteered her time over many weekends talking to students and teachers and listening to views on running of the school.
Amongst her other interests are in singing and calligraphy and she has over the years organised London-wide activities, including writing Chinese calligraphy and telling stories about Chinese people's lives.
FEMALE YOUNG ACHIEVER OF THE YEAR
Maxine Chan
Maxine is 22 years of age, in her 5th year of Medical study at University College, London. She is a bright student of many talents. She obtained her Grade 8 in Piano at the age of 15 and has also started giving piano lessons to partially support herself. A gifted cook, her cooking has been described as "heavenly" and to restaurant standards.
Maxine has used her medical training, music and cooking to raise funds for her volunteer work with disabled children both in UK and overseas. She has so far made a trip to Ghana in 2008 and another to Argentina in 2009 promoting various charitable causes. She continues to champion the needs of disabled children and has worked on projects to train nurses in Ghana, working with medical teams in both the UK and Ghana.
