Aug 14, 2023

Philanthropy: Partnerships for greater impacts

In late August, the ASIF Foundation with the project team “Gùi nước về làng” conducted an event titled “1234 Guis for the village” – part of a series of activities including giving the specialized Guis, communication with local villagers about using clean water, eating well cooked and drinking boiled water for good health. These activities reached out to 5 poorest villages, an equivalent to 1,250 households in Gia Lai.

Unlike previous activities of Guis giving, the project team Gùi nước về làng designed something different and practical on this trip to Gia Lai. Experts communicated to explain about contaminated and unsafe waters such as ponds, rivers and encourage the village people to use water from the wells.

Series of activities including Guis giving, and communication for change in water use practice

Although the ASIF Foundation built water wells in the project Giếng sạch trao buôn, many minority ethnic households still sought water from unsafe sources, opting for the old practices. As a result, these series of activities were done with the objective to alter old practices and slowly create positive social impacts in the daily lifestyle of the highland village people.

People from remote villages in Gia Lai gather at the commune cultural house

It would not be possible for ASIF Foundation to achieve a larger goal if it goes on the journey all by itself. The further we want to achieve, the more connected we should be to each other. ASIF Foundation was accompanied by 3 other important partners on our trip to Gia Lai. In order to make the most of the partnership, there are noteworthy things to remember.

A smooth-sailing partnership with the Gia Lai Red Cross

To implement a project in the highland provinces where people can be distinctively and ethnically different in their lifestyle, customs and cultures, we must seek to understand all these elements and to respect their roots before we can talk about any help or partnerships.

The project for the community gets support from the local government

Gia Lai Red Cross is the local organization that connected the project team with the local villagers. It was also involved as the site inspection team in the most remote areas of Gia Lai province to help the project access the right group of beneficiaries.

Thanks to the participation of the Red Cross, the project team could reach out to the village and save a great deal of time in understanding and assessing the local needs as the people at Red Cross were close to and insightful of local life.

A science-based partnership with the Gia Lai Centre for Diseases and Prevention (CDC)

Gia Lai CDC and Ms. Nguyen Thi Quynh Anh are two partners with the projects, accompanying us on the trip to speak about using water sources to the village people and encourage them to make an attempt to give up unsafe water-using habits, adopt the practice to use from clean water sources.

Indeed, being based on science is the first requirement for a community project to build trust. The project Gùi nước về làng particularly aims for improving public health in a sustainable approach, shifting behaviors and awareness of the village people. Hence, those that were invited to the project are people of reliable backgrounds, pro-science, and seeking to achieve sustainable impacts for the project.

Environmental engineer Ms. Nguyen Thi Quynh Anh called on villagers to use safe water

A fruitful partnership with the Duy Tan Plastic Company

A supplier of the specialized Guis in the project Guis for the villagers, Duy Tan Plastic Company is furthermore the project donor, funding 1,250 Guis worth 202,500,000 VND. They made a visit to the project site in Gia Lai in August.

Given the donation from Duy Tan Group, 1,250 households had more means to store water. It is estimated around 6,250 villagers benefit from the donation. Having a specialized gui means beyond water storage; it helps save time and human labor in the household needed for water carrying, giving the villagers more time to focus on income generation activities, and children can go to school. The positive social impacts brought about stretch over the long term.

Duy Tan representative guiding how to use the Guis

The project outcomes need to be measured numerically over time, e.g. how many gifts are given, and how many beneficiaries. These should reflect how far of an impact the project has made through the contributions of donors. The collaboration with companies and relevant organizations is building the first bricks of a sustainable philanthropy ecosystem, creating momentum for more philanthropic activities with positive social impacts to be realized for vulnerable and marginalized people over the longer run rather than short-term change.