Dear Family, Friends, Donors, and Supporters,
Since our first trip to Vietnam in 2006 with Tours of Peace Vietnam Veterans and the inception of our own non-registered charity Journeys of the Heart in 2008, many of you have supported our work in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. We are deeply grateful for all your support. We could not have sustained our efforts without your generous contributions of funds and encouragement. Over these years the nature of our work, the people and organizations we have served and the relationships that we have forged have all evolved, as have our own thoughts and convictions about the nature of impactful philanthropy.
Our approach to our work has evolved and changed in several respects.
We have aged and thus our roles have become more advisory. We no longer go on long treks to remote villages. We network with our contacts and link problems with problem solvers.
Only short rides on town streets for us now! Our projects and programs have matured.
Reaching Out now is a solidly founded social enterprise, growing and developing, responding to the changing tourism market in Hoi An. We still assist with Human Resource issues, translation of documents and correspondence and social media. We no longer send funds to this now successful operation.
Children's Education Foundation, despite the shared concerns about a diminishing pool of worldwide donor funding, continues to keep girls in school and is celebrating the graduations of some of the girls from university. They are able to provide tertiary programs in water safety, health and hygiene, life planning skills, awareness of child trafficking and defining and reporting abuse. We work with the founder on those funding challenges.
Children's Education Foundation, founders, staff, advisors, and donors. 
Working with Le Nguyen Binh, CEO Reaching Out in his home office Our concern for the scourge of child trafficking has intensified. Bruce is nearing completion of his third novel focusing on the enslavement, rescue, and rehabilitation of young women, This new book brings attention to the problem on our own shores, set in Mexico and the United States. All profits from the sale of his books go to Blue Dragon Foundation headquartered in Hanoi. Blue Dragon's founder, Michael Brosowski has built a very large and successful organization, garnering co-operation from local and Chinese police forces to rescue victims as well as creating a safe haven for the rehabilitation of these victims and protection and education for street kids to prevent trafficking. Michael has been instrumental in providing real data about his organization and the stories of "his kids" to add credence to the storylines of Bruce's books. We have toured Dragon House, met many of the staff and seen first hand how the kids are cared for.
Bruce speaks with anyone ready to listen in groups, at book clubs. His purpose is to raise awareness of this worldwide problem.
Very early on, despite our good intentions, we made some mistakes. I often use the story of the toothbrushes to illustrate. Our good dentist asked if toothbrushes would be useful in our work. Fabulous, we said, tooth decay is rampant in the remote villages we visited. Off we went, traveling with a well-reputed NGO to these villages. with literally hundreds of toothbrushes and toothpaste, and other hygiene items. Our gifts were received with curiosity. We briefly demonstrated "how-to" use a toothbrush, distributed treats (often candy) and left. We did not sit with the village elders to listen to their needs. We came, as so many good-hearted foreigners still do, with our own interpretation of what the problem was and with our solution. We did not listen and learn, We did not learn the source of the problem. Was the village using impure water? Was the daily diet lacking the nutrition to build strong bones and teeth? Was there even a ready supply of toothbrushes should they develop the practice of cleaning their teeth and if they were available, could the villagers afford to buy them?
This simple allegory reflects an attitude towards philanthropy that is still prevalent. Large international agencies are still investing in huge projects that have little hope for sustainability. The problem is education, let's build schools. Health services are nonexistent, let's build a clinic. The communities often have no resources to staff and maintain these facilities; there is no sense of ownership nor has the community been supported in developing the skills necessary to effectively run the establishment.
We have learned to listen and learn. Over the years our network has expanded and along the way we encountered founders of the Go Philanthropic Foundation, a small but effective NGO whose efforts support small, grassroots organizations. We were working on the same problems. With them, we are learning to "reimagine philanthropy". We have joined their Founder's Circle and Bruce serves on the Board of Directors. What attracts us to this organization is our shared values and the dynamism of a core of dedicated, committed individuals who are creating ways to empower their program partners, to seek the wisdom of local communities in how best to ease their problems. From child trafficking in Vietnam and Nepal, to gender equality in India, to health and education challenges within Mayan communities in Guatemala, not only are the programs carefully vetted but solutions are generated by the locals and they are responsible for their own development. We are certain that along with GoPhil we will learn how to share power with grant recipients and participate in a larger, more effective manner of giving.
 |
| Child Rescue Nepal: picture from the GoPhilanthropic's website. Happy girls in school, not brothels or factories |
Thank you both so much for the work you have done over the years and continue to contribute to Vietnam and the world. Inspiring and heartfelt. The journey continues...
ReplyDelete