Khulan Davaadorj, the owner of Mongolia's first-ever organic cosmetics brand, works to help women combat the effects of pollution and dryness. After developing a skin disease and being advised by her doctor to reduce artificial cosmetic use, she realized there was a lack of available organic alternatives. She quit her job to research this field. She went on to become the successful owner of a brand selling skincare products made with natural ingredients such as sheep's fat and milk.
Song Sohee sings Gugak, traditional Korean music. Her incredible voice and good looks have seen her nicknamed the "Gugak Idol". These days, in South Korea, many young people enjoy K-pop and Western music, with traditional music taking a backseat. Song uses the media and social networks to try and encourage young people to get back in touch with South Korea's traditional music. She is concerned about keeping traditions alive for future generations and is trying to find new paths forward.
Pham Thi Ngan owns Tohe, a Vietnamese art shop lifting disabled children out of poverty by selling clothes and accessories featuring children's artworks. The artists receive a copyright fee. The salon's success has helped establish social businesses in Vietnam and many companies now hope to collaborate with Tohe. Pham Thi Ngan helps children develop their talents, alleviating poverty while building a viable business. We look at the secret behind her success and the change she is achieving.
Last year, Chan Yuen Ting, made history as the first-ever female coach to lead a team to victory in the top division of a men's professional soccer competition. Chan introduced a data-driven approach rarely seen before in Hong Kong soccer. We watch Chan prepare for the final match of the season to win the league title, discovering the secret behind her success.
Kouv "Tin" Chansangva is a Cambodian female skateboarder. She has placed highly in several events competing in a mixed field of both male and female skaters. In Cambodia, women who take part in sports face prejudice, so Tin hopes that young girls watching her compete will find the courage and inspiration to follow their own dreams, leading to a brighter sporting future for Cambodia's women and girls.
Huynh Thi Xam was born with a disability affecting both her arms and her left leg, but through repeated practice, she learned to use her right foot for all kinds of everyday tasks. Xam teaches young people with similar disabilities to read and write the Vietnamese language. She believes literacy will help the disabled, who can sometimes be left on the margins of Vietnamese society, to take their first steps towards greater social participation.
Crueahtong Kayan is a vet who works at a veterinary hospital in northern Thailand specializing in the treatment of elephants. She is treating 12-year-old female elephant, Mosha, which lost her front right leg at the age of 7 months after she stepped on a mine. Mosha now uses a prosthetic leg, which needs to be resized regularly as she grows larger. Crueahtong hopes one day Mosha will be able to walk in the forest like other elephants do.
Hartini Zainudin works to support undocumented children in Malaysia. Children without official papers are prevented from attending public schools. Even after they become adults, their employment options are severely limited. Lacking passports, they cannot even leave the country. Hartini runs a home and school that takes care of these children, providing them with a free education. She helps the children grow up with the strength to survive their difficult living conditions.
Chumvan "Belle" Sodhachivy is one of Cambodia's leading royal court dancers. Royal Court Dance has a history of more than 1,000 years, but it has recently struggled for relevance among the changing tastes of young people. Belle is attempting to rekindle the art by tackling modern topics, and integrating traditional moves with contemporary dance. We follow her efforts to breathe new life into Cambodian traditional dance and pass it down to the next generation.
Krie Lopez is a Filipina entrepreneur. Her company, which mainly sells home care products, actively hires disadvantaged young people who cannot afford to go to university. Half of the company's 110 employees are from poorer households. They can all take advantage of a system Krie set up allowing them to attend university while working. Krie is encouraging other companies to introduce similar programs to give more young people from impoverished communities a better chance in life.
Chen Yan is a Chinese piano tuner. Born without sight, she harnesses her unique ability to distinguish sounds in order to win the repeat business of many clients. Chen runs her own company, which she uses to promote employment for visually impaired piano tuners who have difficulty finding work elsewhere. She now employs 80 people, and is working to change the image of disabled people in Chinese society through high-quality piano tuning service that goes above and beyond that of other businesses.
Kim Dokyung runs an organization supporting unwed mothers in South Korea, where mothers who are separated rather than widowed or divorced face discrimination. Dokyung provides dormitories sheltering unwed mothers who have been cast out by their families, removed from their jobs, or simply lack anywhere to go. To encourage understanding of unwed mothers, she holds speaking events called "human library." She seeks to create a society in which they can live without prejudice.
Bella Galhos teaches farming to other women living in East Timor so as to help them achieve financial independence. After continuing conflict with Indonesia, East Timor achieved its independence in 2002. However, its industries remain underdeveloped. Half the country's citizens live on less than $2 a day. Bella's efforts have allowed numerous families to sustain themselves and send their children to school. She hopes that eventually, her work will greatly contribute to the country's recovery.
Yang Hui Ling is a wheelchair user who researches restaurants and hotels in Taiwan to check how accessible they are to the disabled: Whether they have barrier-free toilets or if the floors are flat. She then releases this information on an app. Hui Ling has employed 300 or more people with disabilities as researchers for information to be featured on the app, and helps them to participate in society. Hui Ling hopes for a society where the disabled can actively make use of the city.
Comma Leung is a designer from Hong Kong who creates items for everyday use that are geared for the physically disabled and the elderly. Her past work, such as wallets that allow blind people to differentiate bills, as well as coin purses that can be used without the fingers, have earned high praise. She also teaches the intellectually challenged the joys of designing by creating products from their own drawings. Comma hopes that the power of design can help people live more fulfilling lives.
Salinee Hurley sells solar generators to remote villages in Thailand, where there are still 2 million homes without electricity. Salinee offers affordable 5-year payment plans, and trains young villagers to provide maintenance to the equipment. Thanks to her, schools have been able to use computers, and villagers can work at night, giving an opportunity to increase their income. Salinee hopes that electricity will help people improve the quality of their lives.
Kim Lim owns a catering company in Malaysia that has refugees prepare foods from their homelands. The families Kim cooperates with hail from 5 countries and territories including Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. She gives half of the sales back to them, in hopes of improving their standard of living. Over 3 years, Kim's business has grown to serve over 250 corporate clients. Kim wishes to use food as a way to deepen the understanding Malaysians hold toward refugees.
Human trafficking is a serious issue in Nepal, where many girls are tricked and forced into prostitution. Some survivors who are rescued from brothels are discriminated against and become unable to live in their hometowns. Sunita Danuwar established an NGO and houses survivors at shelters. Survivors heal their mental wounds and learn to read and write, as well as receive vocational training at shelters. Sunita hopes the survivors can go on to live normal lives in society.
The village of Sa Pa, in northern Vietnam, is a destination for 2 million tourists yearly, who travel to enjoy verdant nature and mingle with ethnic minorities. Shu Tan, a member of the Hmong people, operates a travel agency there. To give income to minority groups, she offers tours including homestays at local villages and craft workshops. She used the proceeds from her tours to establish a free English school where youth from poor families can gain language skills for future job hunting.
In Mongolia, very few visually impaired children are fortunate enough to receive an education. They stay at home, without enough confidence to engage in society. Batbayar Enkhmandakh persuades the parents of these children to send them to a school for the blind. Her NPO provides financial assistance to their families in order to enable the children to attend school, and actively participate in society.
Chantha Nguon operates a textile dyeing workshop in northern Cambodia. The workers are women who were unable to attend school. In Cambodian farming villages, the value of education for women is often underestimated, making it hard for them to find work later. Chantha teaches her workers not just textile-making techniques, but also reading and mathematics. She has supported over 800 women with these efforts, strongly believing that education will create new opportunities for them.
Kate Hsu is a former teacher bringing about an education revolution in Taiwan by promoting self-directed education called Design for Change, or "DFC." This curriculum encourages students to find problems around them and take action against them. Kate believes that it imparts children with empathy, creativity, agency, and confidence. The program has allowed children in schools all over Taiwan to tackle over 800 problems. In 2019, the government officially approved "DFC" for use in textbooks.
Pia Ocampo works to preserve the oceans around the Philippines, which are home to the most diverse array of aquatic species on Earth. Illegal dumping of plastics has posed a growing threat to coral reefs and marine life. Pia works with local communities providing incentives for gathering plastic waste. The garbage is recycled into chairs and building materials for schools. Pia aims to inform more of society about the importance of saving the beautiful waters of the Philippines.
Nurse Chikako Ito is the only medical practitioner on Suwanosejima, a remote Japanese island that a mere 65 people call home. With no resident doctor, it's difficult to provide adequate medical attention to the elderly residents of the island. Chikako holds a weekly exercise class and visits the homes of the elderly as a form of preventive medicine, in the hope that they can lead happy and healthy lives on the island.
Melissa Yeung Yap buys unique goods cultivated by minority groups living in impoverished regions of the Philippines to use as ingredients at her restaurant in Metropolitan Manila. She also sells other products such as soaps and essential oils that incorporate these products she procures from regional villages. We introduce an entrepreneur whose business has greatly contributed to the standard of living for ethnic minorities in the Philippines.
Ivy Singh-Lim is a 71-year-old Singaporean farmer and YouTuber with a series in which she critiques perpetual problems such as economic status and employment in her home country, calling out to the government to enact reforms. As Singapore is gradually stripped of its natural environment, Ivy's views are a breath of fresh air for her viewers. Calling herself the "Gentle Warrior," Ivy shows her courage by raising a voice to those in power.
Abe Noriko operates a hotel in Miyagi Prefecture's Minamisanriku, one of the areas hit hardest by the Great East Japan Earthquake in March, 2011. When reconstruction efforts began, Noriko focused on encouraging tourism in order to stimulate the local economy. But with the recent spread of COVID-19, tourism has all but vanished under self-imposed isolation, and the region faces a new crisis. Noriko draws upon her past experiences, proposing idea after idea to cheer on the local residents.
3 women introduced on past episodes of Her Story make a return: In Malaysia, Kim founded a delivery food company helping refugees from war-torn nations. Cynthia, from Myanmar, opened a free medical clinic at the border of Thailand to support the disadvantaged. In the Philippines, Pia formed an inter-island community to protect the oceans by gathering and recycling plastic waste. Now, as the world struggles with the spread of the coronavirus, the efforts of all 3 are put to the test.
Over 5 years, Her Story has introduced 46 women from 19 countries and regions across Asia. They blaze new trails in fields commonly associated with men, stand with the disadvantaged to achieve a society where all can coexist, and save lives in the name of their cause. This episode touches base with 6 of them, taking a closer look at how their efforts have contributed to a better society for all.
Malaysia's Mangkok Village is a spot well-known for its natural mangroves and the sea turtles that migrate yearly to lay eggs. One local resident, Rusnita Binti Ngah, began holding eco-tours in the village. Women of the village, formerly encouraged to remain in their homes, are trained to work as tour guides for activities involving mangrove planting or release of the turtles. Rusnita's tours do more than just protect the environment: they give the women a chance to be involved in society.
Nantarika Chansue is a Thai veterinarian who specializes in aquatic animals. For over 30 years, she's treated everything from fish to turtles and even whales. She insists that no matter how grave the injury, all animals deserve a chance at recovery, so she's implemented medical techniques formerly used only with humans, such as casting prostheses. Many of the injuries sustained by the animals are due to human negligence, which Nantarika strongly opposes for the safety of aquatic life.
The geographical conditions of the Philippines subject it to frequent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons and floods that together claim over 2,000 lives each year, while the country still lacks adequate training in emergency management. In response, Sandy Montano began teaching courses on preparation of emergency bags, evacuation and first aid. She also started manufacturing unique emergency rations, using the process as a means to help disaster victims financially recover.