A Voice For the Voiceless

MISSION

The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

Chong Sheau Ching: Founder of eHomemakers

After leaving her full-time job at the UN to pursue a home-based consultancy, Chong Sheau Ching was criticized by many who saw the move as a risky venture.  For many years, it was believed that in Malaysia, women, especially single mothers, had only two options – they pursued careers outside of the home or they were stay-at-home mothers.

Chong Sheau Ching and daughter, Rhonwyn.

Sheau Ching decided to pioneer a third option – to work from home – as a way to balance work and family life and allow her to be at home with her daughter.  When she discovered that other Malaysian women wanted to do the same but lacked the technical skills to do so, she created eHomemakers in 1998. Sheau Ching says, “We started out advocating working at home using ICT because we wanted choice and economic self-reliance, without begging and with dignity.”

eHomemakers is an ICT-based network of stay-at-home mothers across Malaysia who come together on the group’s website and through its local activities.  Through these channels, they discuss issues pertinent to stay-at-home mothers and caregivers.  These topics range from legal queries to family, health, and relationship matters.  The network now includes women from all over the world.

Sheau Ching discusses Salaam Wanita issues with a staff member in her home office.

Sheau Ching depends on a core staff of seven to keep eHomemakers going.  She runs the organization from a small office she set up next to her kitchen.  She runs the network from her house in order to minimize expenses.  When staff members are ‘in the office,’ this usually means that they gather around the family dining table and work from portable laptop computers.

Based on her experiences as a mother, Sheau Ching is very sympathetic to the family needs of her staff.  She encourages her staff to telecommute if they need to be at home to tend to sick or aged family members.  Most of her workday is spent overseeing the various initiatives championed by eHomemakers, such as Salaam Wanita.

In addition to managing eHomemakers, Sheau Ching is a regular contributor to panel discussions and events covering ICT and women’s empowerment issues.  She believes that the combination of these two areas is crucial to the advancement of women’s positions in Malaysia, and seeks to be a voice for the grassroots efforts of these initiatives whenever she can.

Sheau Ching participates in conferences and working group meetings sponsored by local and international organizations.  These include non-profits, the UNDP, the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister, several ministries within the Malaysian government, and others.  In April 2006, Sheau Ching participated in an APEC Telecommunications and Information Working Group meeting in Calgary, Canada as a representative for Southeast Asia.

Sheau Ching at a conference addressing ICT and women's empowerment in Putrajaya.

In addition to managing eHomemakers, Sheau Ching is also a regular columnist for The Star, a widely circulated and popular English newspaper in Malaysia.  She writes about her cultural and social experiences in her column, entitled ‘Stories for My Mother.’  A collection of her articles was also published in book form in 1999, entitled Stories for My Mother – First Collection.

Sheau Ching believes that she is making a difference with eHomemakers.  To her staff and those who meet her, she is an inspiration.  By dedicating her time and efforts to helping those who cannot get help or encouragement elsewhere, she motivates others to do the same.

But Sheau Ching’s most valued achievement through eHomemakers is in the close bond she has developed with her 11-year-old daughter.  She says, “The best thing about working from home is that my daughter and I are very close.  Because I work at home, I got the chance to see her grow up.”