Manisha is a nonprofit leader and lawyer with over 16 years of experience advancing social impact and philanthropy in Asia. She currently serves as Executive Director of HELP, a Hong Kong-based nonprofit organisation, where she is driving a shift toward more inclusive, community-led models of support for Hong Kong’s migrant domestic caregivers.
Under Manisha's leadership, HELP has transitioned into an independent organisation with a clearer strategic focus and growing impact. She has led major crisis response efforts, including during the 2022 COVID-19 fifth wave and the 2025 Tai Po fire, both of which greatly affected Hong Kong’s migrant domestic caregiver community. Her leadership highlights the importance of rapid, community-centred systems during times of crisis. She also spearheaded the MeHeal wellbeing programme, one of Hong Kong’s first long-term initiatives designed specifically for migrant domestic caregivers, and has championed participatory approaches that place communities at the centre of programme design and delivery.
Manisha’s broader work reflects a commitment to strengthening systems that enable dignity, access, and agency. Prior to HELP, she worked with UNICEF Sri Lanka and as an independent consultant for Save the Children and UNDP, contributing to national-level training programmes and institutional guidance that strengthened public-sector responses in child protection, gender equality, and migration.
Beyond her executive role, she contributes to the wider social impact ecosystem as an advisor to MindHK and EMpower by The Amber Foundation, and as a mentor to emerging leaders through initiatives such as The Women’s Foundation, Pro Bono HK, PILnet, and speaking engagements with the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, the University of Hong Kong, and Lingnan University.
Manisha's work reflects a commitment to building leadership pipelines and fostering cross-sector collaboration. Manisha’s leadership has been recognised through the Tatler Front & Female Award (2022), the American Chamber of Commerce Women of Influence Award (2023), and the Spirit of Hong Kong Award (2025). As co-author of the Co-Creation in Action report (2025), she continues to advance practical approaches to participatory, systems-driven change that can be adapted across contexts.
I have seen change happen when people closest to the issue are trusted to shape the response. When communities move from being passive recipients of support to active partners in identifying and designing solutions that affect their own lives, they help create lasting change. When organisations and professionals recognise them as equal contributors, the process becomes more inclusive. Although change is often gradual, when it is built on trust, respect, and agency, its impact is enduring.Manisha Wijesinghe