Ms. Jessie YU Sau Chu is currently the Chief Executive of Hong Kong Single Parents Association (HKSPA) and a Member of Sha Tin District Council. Over the past ten years, Ms YU has been devoting her efforts to community service by taking up positions on government boards and committees as well as voluntary agencies and concern groups. For example, she was a Member of the Equal Opportunities Commission (1998-2005), the Social Welfare Advisory Committee (1999-2005) and the Commission on Poverty (2005-2007). In appreciation of her contribution to the Hong Kong community, she was awarded the Medal of Honour in 2003 and was appointed as the Justice of the Peace in 2007 by the HKSAR Government.

Ms YU has come a long way from being a single mother of two to a successful woman, who has changed her life and the lives of many helpless single parents by her emphasis on self-reliance. However, she had to overcome countless obstacles before she got the professional qualifications as a registered social worker. When she was encouraged to continue her studies after her divorce some 20 years ago, she began part-time work in a social services agency for single parents. In her

hardest time, she had to attend lectures six days a week to attain a Diploma in Social Work and work as a helper at three households to bring up her two girls. Ms YU believes single parents can strive for more only if they are united. When she started her first job as a social worker for the “Harmony House”, she decided to register a group that would run a hotline for single parents and founded the “Concern Group on Single Parents”, the former HKSPA.

On her way to build a brighter tomorrow for single parent families, Ms YU gained support from the Government, charity funds, celebrities and volunteers, renowned actress Ms. Nancy SIT being one of them. Ms. SIT is also a mother who has gone through single parenthood and associated difficulties. The two role-models for single mothers will share with us their road to success and their experiences in breaking down barriers in the Career Challenge sharing session.