CALL OF DUTY

REBECCA EU IS ON A MISSION TO EMPOWER AND SERVE THE UNDERSERVED. THE FOUNDER OF SOCIAL ENTERPRISE MEI’S OWN TELLS ANNABEL TAN HOW SHE IS DOING HER BEST TO PAY IT FORWARD.

- JOHNNY KHOO

To most people, she is Rebecca Eu, the only daughter of Richard Eu, chairman of prominent Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) company Eu Yan Sang, and the great-granddaughter of late businessman and philanthropist Eu Tong Sen. At home, she is the youngest of four children and affectionately known as “Mei Mei” (little sister in Mandarin). On Instagram, she is @becseu, a social media influencer with 10.3k followers. And as of six years ago, she is also the founder of a social enterprise supporting underprivileged women and children in the Philippines.

Rebecca is all of those things and more. While she struggled with reconciling her privilege as well as public and private personas growing up, the 28-year-old is feeling more comfortable in her own skin. “I’ve always felt like I had to prove myself a lot – especially when starting that journey into high society,” she says. “But my perspective has shifted from worrying about what people are going to say about me, to focusing more on what I can do for others.”

In 2015, she started Mei’s Own (formerly known as Love, Mei), a social enterprise that works with a community of weavers and artisans in the Philippines to create homeware and lifestyle products. Proceeds from the sale of these items go towards preserving local art and heritage, as well as helping survivors of sex trafficking gain education and employment.