Epoch Times
24 September 18 – October 1, 2015
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By Li Yen Epoch Times Staff
Mr Michael Ong, Founder of Social Enterprise - Tea Talk & CoRE
Ordinary Singaporeans, Extraordinary Stories
When Life Hurts, Let Us Help
An Interview with Mr Michael Ong, Founder of Social Enterprise - Tea Talk & CoRE
Michael Ong at the CoRE workshop
Michael Ong with the volunteers and staff of Tea Talk Café
M
ichael Ong – a Singaporean with a down-to-earth demeanour – has devoted his life to the underprivileged and youth of Vietnam for the past 14 years. An alumnus of the National University of Singapore (NUS) who started out as a local social worker, Michael went to Hanoi in 2001 to help build a Social Work curriculum at the University of Labour and Social Affairs. His excellent social work experiences garnered him a full scholarship from the McDonnell International Scholars Academy in 2008, which enabled him to pursue his Master of Social Work degree at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work in Washington University. The idea of setting up Tea Talk Café came about during a social entrepreneurship class which Michael attended while in Washington University. It took Michael some years to make Tea Talk Café a reality. The three-year-old café in Hanoi is a social enterprise that creates employment opportunities for young social workers. It provides a cosy venue for customers and staff to ‘express their soul’ over cups of coffee, which eventually nurtures genuine friendships and builds a home for them to turn to. “The Vietnamese enjoy a good cup of tea and coffee in cafés. Customers must feel comfortable, that they are welcome and the space they are in is a ‘safe space’ for them to express themselves. That is why the slogan of Tea Talk is a pun on the word expresso, i.e. ‘Express your Soul’,” explains Michael. He has also launched an NGO to provide social services targeting young people – CoRE Community (Centre for Counselling, Research and Empowering Community). While Tea Talk provides the space and the finances, CoRE organises psycho-social and educational workshops, training and talkshows to fulfil the purpose and mission of Tea Talk – to enhance the emotional and
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