The second half of the year was off to a good start! On June 3, 2026, we celebrated our 20th Anniversary Reception and Founder’s Briefing in Upper House Hong Kong’s Sky Lounge. The crowd was an exciting mix of new and old faces. It was attended by 60 guests from Hong Kong’s education, finance, and community sectors, including long-term sponsors and friends.

We cannot express our thanks enough, so we did so by ensuring that our guests experienced only the warmest reception in the best way we could. We welcomed them with drinks and canapés upon arrival. And then started the program with an official warm welcome from our Fundraising Manager, Serena Cole. Later, followed by Karen Seymour, CEO of World Flourishing Organisation and Captivating International’s Hong Kong Board Member. Our very own CEO, Andrew Colquhoun, shares his Keynote Address and Future Vision for the organisation.

 

A man stands at a podium, presenting to an engaged audience in a well-lit conference room in Hong Kong.
Andrew shares his vision for Captivating’s future and the opportunities ahead to create lasting impact.

 

In his speech, he shared his reflections on the last two decades since he and his wife and co-founder, Julie, left their corporate jobs to pursue something bigger for humanity. Twenty years later, we have impacted lives across China, Nepal, and the Philippines—with a growing team from countries across Asia! These are not merely numbers; rather, they are lives that are being helped to reach their full potential. He also accompanied his speech with a short video insight courtesy of International Justice Mission.

Moreover, Andrew shared Captivating’s vision to expand the Manila Slum Program (MSP), a Philippine-based initiative launched in 2023 in partnership with the Sanghaya Foundation to bring lasting change to Metro Manila’s informal settlements. By helping girls stay in school, equipping mothers with livelihood and financial skills, and strengthening families through child protection, health, and positive parenting education, the program addresses the root causes of poverty while helping protect children from Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC).

 

People sitting on the ground near a hut in a densely forested slum area in the Philippines, surrounded by trees and foliage.
Many families have built their homes within this forested area in the city, where access to basic services and opportunities remains limited.

 

One more piece of news we are happy to share about our recent efforts for MSP: Recently, we started working on our fourth community in Arboretum—a forest area that has become home for many informal settlers in Quezon City. We found that this is one of the communities with the most out-of-school children. Instead of going to school and playing in their free time, they beg, sell sampaguita on the streets, or scavenge for recyclable materials. This heartbreaking reality pushed us to act right away. Currently, we are working with our Philippine partner to create a baseline survey through house-to-house interviews and comprehensive community data collection. Overall, we cannot help but share more news about Arboretum in the future!

 

Two individuals stand outside their homes in a slum area in the Philippines, engaged in conversation during an interview.
Our team went house to house to interview families, establish a baseline survey, and gather information to better understand the community’s needs.

 

We send our warmest thanks to all our attendees, GPA Global Packaging for sponsoring the event, the Upper House Hong Kong team for their warm welcome and support for our initiatives, and, most of all, to all our donors for believing in our work all these years. Here’s to more decades of impacting more lives!

Events