Hope by Design: How human‑centered, data‑driven solutions break the poverty trap

[This is a talk in Gear Up Training Series (GUTS)*] 

[This event is co-organized by HKUST Connect and the Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies]

In this session, Mr Bernard Lee shares how International Care Ministries (ICM) combines human‑centered design, rigorous data, and community‑led action to break the poverty trap for families living on less than US$0.50 a day. Drawing on ICM’s 30‑year track record and evidence‑based programs that have uplifted more than two million people across the Philippines, Uganda, Guatemala, and Burundi, Mr Lee reveals how local pastors, community volunteers, and research‑driven strategies come together to deliver lasting change in health, livelihood, values formation, and early childhood education.

Blending global nonprofit experience with on‑the‑ground insights, Mr Lee will offer you a powerful look at how hope can be engineered, scaled, and sustained, and how you as a young changemaker can play a meaningful role in designing a better future for the ultra‑poor.

Director of Donor Relations, Hong Kong, International Care Ministries(ICM), Certified Fund-Raising Executive

Mr Bernard Lee is an international nonprofit and philanthropy leader with over 17 years of experience advancing social impact across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. His career spans major institutions including The Nature Conservancy, The Women’s Foundation, INSEAD, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, HKUST, and HKU, where he has stewarded multi‑million‑dollar partnerships, built high‑trust ecosystems, and supported causes ranging from gender equity and education to environmental conservation and global development.

As Director of Donor Relations at International Care Ministries (ICM), Mr Lee helps drive one of the world’s most effective poverty‑alleviation organizations. ICM’s human‑centered, data‑driven programs, validated by randomized controlled trials and global research partners, have uplifted more than two million people living in ultra‑poverty across the Philippines, Uganda, Guatemala, Burundi, and Cambodia. Through the Transform program, local pastors and community volunteers deliver holistic support in health, livelihood, values formation, and early childhood education, creating measurable and lasting change for families surviving on less than US$50 cents (HK$4) a day.

A Certified Fund‑Raising Executive (CFRE) and recognized speaker on Asian philanthropy, Mr Lee brings a global perspective, deep community experience, and a passion for equipping young changemakers to design solutions that honor dignity, strengthen communities, and build a better world.

Sustainable Development Goal(s):SDG 1, SDG 3, SDG 8

Remarks:

1. To avoid interruption and hindering the progress of the session, facilitators may not admit new participants who are late for more than 10 minutes.
2. [HMAW1905] This is a recognized event in the “Self-directed Experience” component of HMAW1905: Behavioral Foundations of University Education: Habits, Mindsets, and Wellness. To receive 1.25 hours, you must attend the event in full and miss no more than 10 minutes.

Enquiry: Jacky Shum (sajackyshum@ust.hk)