reach vietnam magazine

{ A N D B E Y O N D }www.eastmeetswest.org

a well-educated workforce is essential to power vietnam’s development. east

meets west’s comprehensive approach to education delivers real solutions.

fall 2010

a tribute to dr. peter singer, chairman of emw’s board of directors for two decades

emw volunteers bring professional services to enhance our mission

washington governor a special guest at emw school opening

l e a v e n o m i n d b e h i n d

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leave no mind behindA well-educated workforce is essential to power Vietnam’s development. EMW’s comprehensive approach to education delivers real solutions.

snapshotsA new infant care technology is released to support our Breath of Life program; New website launched for Life Is Beautiful campaign; EMW Dental Program teams up with US Navy; Governor of Washington a special guest at EMW school opening; recent EMW-related events.

donor spotlight

a tribute to dr. peter singerFor over 20 years EMW board chair Peter Singer has been a passionate advocate for the people of Vietnam. We celebrate his service.

inside emw

volunteersVolunteers bring their skills and passion to EMW. What do they get in return?

doing the numbersOur program results broken down by the numbers.

donor spotlight

albatros foundationThis family foundation did its homework before choosing EMW.

donor listEMW major donors in 2010.

Reach Vietnam is published by the east meets West Foundation, an inteRnational deVelopment

oRganization WoRking in Vietnam and southeast asia FoR the past 23 yeaRs. emW designs and implements

solutions to challenges Faced by the Region’s most VulneRable populations in sectoRs such as

clean WateR and sanitation, education FoR the most disadVantaged, people With disabilities, inFant health

and pediatRic caRdiology.

find out more at www.eastmeetswest.org.

reach vietnam magazine

managing editoRRachelle Galloway

lead WRiteR and editoRSylvia Townsend

editoRsJohn AnnerRachelle Galloway design and layoutRachelle Galloway

coVeR photoKevin German www.luceoimages.com

WRiteRsJohn AnnerCao Vu Hoang ChauRachelle GallowayVan LyMinh Chau Nguyen

contRibuting photogRapheRsPatrick Alleyn Kevin GermanStephen McGeeHanh NguyenEMW Staff

subscRibeDonors who give $100 or more per year receive Reach Vietnam by mail. Back issues can be viewed at www.eastmeetswest.org.

This issue was printed using soy-based inks on New Leaf Reincarnation Matte, a 95% post-consumer recycled paper, at GreenerPrinter.com in Berkeley, CA, a certified green print shop.

east meets west foundation

pResidentJohn Anner

Vietnam countRy diRectoR

Minh Chau Nguyen

chieF Financial

oFFiceRAnn T. Truong

emw board of d irectors

chaiRmanPeter A.

Singer, M.D.

Vice chaiRman and secRetaRy

Stephen Gunther

tReasuReREric Hemel

boaRd membeRs

Jerry FalkGil Kemp Tom Low

Lena Tran

headquarters

u.s.a.1611 Telegraph Ave.

Suite 1420 Oakland, CA 94612

Tel: 510-763-7045

VietnamNo. 1, Lane 40 Linh Lang St.

Ba Dinh District Hanoi, Vietnam

Tel: 84-43-834-7790

issue 11

fall 2010

Could EMW’s ClEan

WatEr prograM

bEnEfit by bEing

turnEd froM

{ A N D B E Y O N D ! }

spring 2010

www.eastmeetswest.org

a traditional

dEvElopMEnt

prograM into a truE

soCial EntErprisE?

w h y v i e t n a m i s v u l n e r a b l e

P E AC E AT L A STA veteran talks about the healing effects of

humanitarian work

YO U N G P H I L A N T H R O P I STSIncome isn’t the only pathway to philanthropy

B R E AT H O F L I F ETackling the next effective step in neonatal healthcare

G R A S S R O O T S D E V E L O P M E N T I N V I E T N A M + C U LT U R E , T R AV E L & C O M M U N I T Y

summer/fall 2008

a n d w h at E A S T M E E T S W E S T I S D O I N G A B O U T I T

3 www.eastmeetswest.org FA L L 2 0 1 0 RE ACH VIETNA M

emwcountry

director

Doers and SeekersHands-on learning, constant analysis and persistent questioning have always driven East Meets West’s program design and implementation—but those traits characterize our donors’ approach to giving, too.

Those of us who work professionally in developing countries are in love with plan-ning—we devise master plans, five-year plans, action plans, strategic plans and even plans to help us make plans. But at East Meets West it’s hands-on learning that guides much of our work, and makes it so effective. From its inception, East Meets West has been a “seeker.” This means that, rather than sitting in our headquarters making up plans to impose on Vietnam, we spend most of our time in the field—in the classrooms and hospitals, at construction sites, and at the homes of those we serve—working side by side with our Vietnamese partners in designing programs for local communi-ties. Our mission, our vision and our values come from that grassroots experience.

In this issue, we feature some of EMW’s other doers and seekers. We’re paying a special trib-ute to Dr. Peter Singer in honor of his 20 years of service as chairman of the East Meets West Board of Directors. But Peter has been so much more than a titular chairman and financial supporter. He has been intimately involved with EMW since its earliest days, helping guide the organization and mentor-ing its growth. Peter and his wife Margie’s hands-on approach exemplifies EMW’s way of working: on their frequent visits to Viet-nam they spends hours talking with staff members, local officials, and doctors and patients, analyzing the program, suggesting ways to improve it and sharing their profes-sional expertise. Peter and Margie have been a constant and engaged presence in the field, bringing EMW the benefit of their many years of medical experience.

EMW is fortunate to have deeply committed board members like Peter. An active and en-gaged board is also a feature of the Albatros Foundation, a family foundation established

in Geneva, Switzerland, and also profiled in this issue. The foundation is relatively new, and its board is conscientiously and carefully seeking the most effective way to use the family’s resources to make a difference. Of the Albatros Board’s five members, four have visited Vietnam to experience for themselves how ideas are implemented and programs managed. And the more they’ve seen of EMW in action, the more engaged they’ve become.

In recent years, we’ve made some signifi-cant progress in influencing public policy in Vietnam in the areas of education, climate change, medical care and clean water and sanitation. Our Breath of Life program, for example, is now the national standard for neonatal care. That we are able to play this kind of role is the result of many years of implementing programs and carefully ob-serving what works and—perhaps more im-portant—what doesn’t. When we try out new ideas, we monitor the results and use that information to make our work more effective and efficient in the future.

Vietnam is growing rapidly and this growth has given the country the resources to tackle many big problems. But organizations like East Meets West are still vitally necessary for trying out new ideas and creative solutions and helping government agencies adopt the ones that really work. We rely in turn on donors who are seekers, who invest in us—not just their resources, but their time and attention, and their insistence that we keep doing what we’re doing—seek-ing solutions and providing results. n

from top Vietnam countRy diRectoR minh chau nguyen in the Field: at an emW-built compassion home With membeRs oF emW’s boaRd oF diRectoRs, including chaiR dR. peteR singeR on the FaR Right; touRing a Rehab clinic FoR the disabled; and With a disabled child and his motheR.

Minh Chau Nguyen EMW Country Director

Best regards from Vietnam,

4 www.eastmeetswest.orgRE ACH VIETNA M FA L L 2 0 1 0

hospitals in Vietnam providing primary health care and struggling to reduce the volume of newborn patient referrals need a safe and inexpensive tool to provide infant phototherapy.” Such facilities too often have to refer patients with complications to larger hospitals, resulting in higher mortality rates and chronic overcrowding at those hospitals. Be-cause these district-level clinics lack the resources (staffing, training, reliable electrical supply) to take advantage of BOL’s full neonatal suite, simpler and less expensive tools are needed to improve their ability to treat patients and reduce referrals.

A Design that Matters team partnered with Breath of Life staff in Vietnam in August to train medical staff on the new device. Project Firefly is now de-veloping a “beta” or second-generation prototype of the machine and human trials are expected to begin in early 2011.

Timothy ref lects on the choice of name: “The firef ly is a symbol of hope and joy, light in darkness, and is found worldwide.” As EMW and DtM bring the Firef ly to more rural clinics in the developing world, it will provide a reli-able source of the warmth and light so critical to fragile newborns. n rachelle galloway

“it Was a VeRy easy decision FoR my WiFe and me to decide to donate money FoR

a neonatal machine. We kneW exactly

What the donation Would make possible,

and emW donated the machine to a site

in Vietnam WheRe We kneW it Was

uRgently needed. the pRogRam has also Wisely decided to manuFactuRe the

machines in Vietnam, thus FosteRing the biomedical industRy

in Vietnam While ensuRing that paRts and seRVicing Will

be aVailable... i Want to thank emW FoR

giVing us this gReat oppoRtunity to

donate.”Rob GeRtleR, MD, PhD

AnesthesioloGist, GRouP heAlth CooPeRAtive of

PuGet sounD AnD DiReCtoR, GRouP heAlth GlobAl heAlth

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th e n e w e st p i ece o f eq u i pm e nt in the fight against infant mortality is the appealingly named “Firefly.” But don’t let the image of a tiny, fragile creature fool you: while small, this is a rugged ma-chine designed for use on babies born in low-resource community clinics in the developing world—sites where the usually overburdened staff contend with unreliable power sources, high heat and humidity and chronic overcrowding. This new infant care device, which treats newborn jaundice with phototherapy and facilitates warming during the critical first days of life, was designed by EMW’s new partner, Design that Matters (DtM).

Over four million infants in developing countries die within a month of birth due to prematurity, low birth weight and infection. India alone accounts for one quarter of the world’s total neonatal mortality. Equip-ment that is standard in the developing world could save most of these infants, but machines donated by wealthier countries often prove ineffective. They are usually intended for an industrialized setting with highly trained users, a reliable power supply and ac-cess to spare parts and skilled maintenance—assump-tions that rarely hold true in a developing country.

Designing medical products that work for develop-ing world situations is something that DtM cofounder Timothy Prestero knows a thing or two about. As a fellow at MIT, he toured a hospital in Indonesia with a group from DtM that was researching how to design a more reliable, less expensive incubator. The hospital had eight neonatal incubators donated by international relief organizations, but all eight were sitting unused—rendered inoperable by common stresses like power surges and humid weather, as well as the fact that the hospital staff were unable to understand the repair manuals. Based on their findings from that trip, DtM designed an incubator built out of car parts that could be powered by an adapted cigarette lighter or standard motorcycle battery. This efficient design utilized both the local supply of parts and the local knowledge of

automobile repair.

The situation that Timothy and his team witnessed in Indone-sia is one that East Meets West staff working in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Timor know well. The collaboration

on Project Firefly arose when EMW’s Breath of Life program began to expand to district-level hospitals. EMW Interna-

tional Program Direc-tor Luciano Moccia notes, “District-level

from concept to release (l-r): the neWest machine in the bReath oF liFe neonatal suite oF pRoducts—a phototheRapy deVice dubbed the “FiReFly”—is ReVealed at design that matteRs headquaRteRs in cambRidge, ma, and Released FoR testing at a hospital in noRtheRn Vietnam.

Firefly Lights Up Vietnam Hospitals

Equipment standard in the developed world could save hundreds of thousands of infants, but donated machines are usually intended for an industrialized setting with highly trained users, a reliable power supply and access to spare parts and skilled maintenance—assumptions that rarely hold true in a developing country.

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washington governor christine gregoire was in attendance at the September opening of a new primary school built by East Meets West with funds donated by the Boeing Company. Governor Gregoire sent an excerpt from her journal about the importance of the day, explaining why it was the highlight of her trip to Vietnam.

“Today I visited a new school, Quang Vinh 2 Primary School, located an hour outside Hue, Vietnam. It was a unique and heart warming experience. It was built through a partnership between East Meets West, The Boeing Company and Hue Province. Upon arrival we were greeted by young students lining the walkway, with some playing the drums. It made me feel very special. As the school opening ceremony began, young female students entertained us with dance and song. We had speeches sharing the pride of the community and the partners.

Over 100 students sat and watched and I was most im-pressed with their patience. They obviously understood the sig-nificance of the event for their future. Along with the US Ambassador Michael Micha-lak, my husband and I planted three trees on the school grounds to mark this historic event. We toured the class-rooms and after the students left for the day, we shared a meal with parents, teachers and community leaders. Most of all we shared in the friendship of the gathering and the knowledge of the promise this day represented.

As memorable as my trade mission was for the State of Washington, what will always stick in my mind is the significance of this school opening for these stu-dents. It was the highlight of my trip. In this poor rural area of Vietnam, these students and their edu-cation are the future of Vietnam. Without the vision and support of East Meets West, this day would not have been possible.” Christine Gregoire, Governor State of Washington, USA

...the significance of this school opening for these students was the highlight of my trip...

user-friendly, content-rich, and visually engaging, lifeisBeautiful.vn is the newly launched website of the Life Is Beautiful (LIB) campaign, a joint effort by East Meets West and Vietnam Television (VTV), Vietnam’s largest broadcaster, to raise funds and aware-ness to support people with disabilities in Vietnam. The website shares com-pelling stories about the disabled in every province of Vietnam and serves as an online resource and community for people all over the world to support the Vietnamese disabled. The website channels individual donations to orga-nizations that work directly with the disabled there. Ten organizations were chosen to receive support as “Top Ten Program Models” by an independent panel of experts.

In addition to the new website, other features of the Life Is Beautiful cam-paign include a traveling promotional

i n au g u st, th e U S S J o h n S . Mcc a i n, in cooperation with the Vietnamese Navy and East Meets West’s Dental team, conducted a five-day medical outreach mis-sion dubbed CARAT (Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training). The mission, which commemorates the 15th anniversary of the normalization of relations between the United States and Vietnam, is the first time the two navies have participated in a train-ing event together. As part of Mission CARAT, EMW’s Dental Program worked with the US Navy’s Western Pacific Logistics Group and the Da Nang Health Department on a medical civic action project at a local hospital in Son Tra District. Over two days, 312 patients benefited from a total of 1,279 free dental services, including fillings, sealants, extractions, and preventative care. US Navy representatives also visited the Village of Hope, EMW’s home for disadvantaged, orphaned, and disabled children, where they planted a flower garden and taught the center’s hearing-impaired children a few words

of American Sign Language. n van ly

us Navy teams up with emw deNtal program aNd performs service at village of hope

Log On to a Beautiful Life

operation carat (l-r): the Uss John s. mccain landed in da nang in august as paRt oF its FiVe-day engagement commemoRating the 15th anniVeRsaRy oF the noRmalization oF Relations betWeen the us and Vietnam. RepResentatiVes WoRked With emW’s dental pRogRam on a dental outReach seRVice pRoject and peRFoRmed a community seRVice pRoject at emW’s Village oF hope.

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road show and live performances in Vietnam with celebrity goodwill am-bassadors recruited for the cause. This fall, the LIB campaign had a booth at the Food Fair in Brussels, Belgium to showcase opportunities for investors and customers to learn more about social entrepreneurs in Vietnam and increase access to disabled people’s products in Europe. In September, LIB Goodwill Ambassador Kasim Hoang Vu, an extremely popular Vietnamese singer, performed a good-will concert in Ukraine in an effort to bring the message to Vietnamese com-munities overseas.

All of these activities will be broad-cast frequently on VTV Channel 4, reaching millions of Vietnamese all over the world. A calendar of events can be found on lifeisbeautiful.vn. This EMW initiative is funded by the Ford Foundation. n cao vu hoang chau

snapshots

Governor of Washington Reports from EMW School Opening


for the City, for a discussion on civil society in Vietnam and the role of the Vietnam-ese American community in its development. The event, titled “Vietnam’s Future: Choices and Obstacles,” opened with presentations by the featured guests, followed by a lively question-and-answer period.

august 2010Over 100 EMW staff gathered in the Vietnamese coastal city of Quy Nhon for a three-day training entitled “Nurturing Our Talents for the Future.” Staff took part in sessions on managing and implement-ing projects and attended a presentation by President John Anner on EMW’s stra-tegic plan and a workshop by Country Director Minh Chau Nguyen on visionary leadership. Staff from all the Southeast Asian offices pre-sented their program accom-plishments and shared ideas. The training was capped by a remarkable display of abilities in the final evening’s “EMW’s Got Talent” competition, which showcased comic skits, hip-hop dancing, singing and rapping. n sylvia townsend

of Life (BOL) technologies. The three-day conference was attended by over 80 doctors and nurses, representing 43 hospitals in 25 provinces. Workshops covered diagnosis and treatment of jaundice in infants, hospital improve-ments (including infection control), and counseling and education for parents. The Hanoi conference was the first in a series of workshops whose overall goal is to stan-dardize jaundice treatment in Vietnam to promote newborn health.

june 2010Two EMW Breath of Life expert medical consultants were invited to present at this year’s Global Health Council Conference, held June 14-18 in Washington, DC. On a panel titled “Helping Babies Get to One,” Dr. Micol Fas-cendini presented the results of an EMW pilot program us-ing LED-phototherapy to treat neonatal jaundice in Vietnam. Dr. Steven Ringer of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard University focused on BOL’s success in distrib-uting and implementing neonatal continuous posi-tive airway pressure (CPAP) machines for infants in respiratory distress. EMW’s Luciano Moccia and John Anner manned the BOL exhibit booth and hosted a reception entitled, “Reduc-ing Neonatal Deaths: Proven Solutions from Southeast Asia.”

On June 9, EMW President John Anner hosted a gather-ing in Oakland to welcome well-known Vietnamese philanthropist Doan Phung and Dang Huong Giang, Ex-ecutive Director of the Hanoi-based organization Action

Design work continues on the hanoi school of puBlic health. The planned 10-story building of approxi-mately 11,000 m2 will include classrooms, lecture halls, labs, administration and study areas and a possible 400-seat conference auditorium. EMW is work-ing with international hospital planning consultants including Vietnemese archi-tects, Singapore-based M&E experts and American hospital planning experts.

The first phase of construction at the national hospital of pediatrics proj-ect in Hanoi was completed in July when the final of

the project’s four buildings was handed over by EMW, less than a year after ground was broken. The new structure, which houses general wards, kitchens and laundry facilities, will help allevi-ate serious overcrowding at the facility. The EMW project management team responded with characteristic flexibility when, midway through construction, hos-pital directors requested a major change: the inclusion of a neonatal intensive care unit to address desperate overcrowding in the existing unit. EMW, the contractors and NHP produced a design to accom-modate an intensive care unit that would hold up to 84 babies in a neonatal ward meeting international standards. The project’s funder, the Atlantic Philanthro-pies, agreed to provide extra funds and, remarkably enough, the project finished only two weeks behind its scheduled completion date.

FeatuRed guests doan phung and dang huong giang speak at the Vietnam’s FutuRe eVent

emW staFF and attendees at the national WoRkshop on neonatal jaundice in hanoi

emW staFF tRaining, quy nhon, Vietnam

april 2010On April 16, EMW’s Chief Fi-nancial Officer Ann Truong and Development Admin-istrator John Hieu Nguyen presented EMW’s internation-al media campaign, Life Is Beautiful, to members of the US-Vietnam Dialogue Group on Agent Orange/Dioxin at the Asia Foundation offices in San Francisco, CA. The cam-paign, which is funded by the Ford Foundation, raises funds and awareness for people with disabilities in Vietnam. Attending were Charles Bai-ley, Director of the Special Agent Orange Initiative at the Ford Foundation, as well as Vietnamese delegates of the

construction corner

The emw construction project management team gets “greener” every day. Construction of all EMW-man-aged buildings have a strong environmen-tal focus, utilizing green building methods, practices, and products that are resource and energy efficient and reduce the over-all impact on the environment. EMW staff have been visiting factories, quarries, and asphalt, pre-cast concrete, and truck mix plants to observe their methods of waste treatment and pollution control and de-velop a list of vendors to work with who meet the inspection requirements. n rachelle galloway

dialogue group. Vietnam Ambassador Ngo Quang Xuan expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the work of East Meets West and said he was touched by the dedication of Vietnamese Americans helping the disadvantaged in Vietnam.

may 2010EMW hosted the first Na-tional Workshop on Neo-natal Jaundice Management and Prevention in Vietnam, offering hands-on training on a variety of topics, includ-ing the use of EMW’s Breath

snapshots


$2,800provides a hospital

with a neonatal machine to help

reduce infant mortality.

$300provides one

disabled person with corrective surgery and a prosthetic

device.

doing the numberslaosThe program distrib-uted 44 machines to 9 hospitals and 16 doctors and nurses received intensive in-struction in basic new-born care at training courses and seminars.

compiled and written by sylvia townsend

clean water & sanitation $20

provides a household connection to safe water for Vietnam’s

poorest.

spell Tutoring programs in 10 schools were evaluated. Special classes were set up to prepare 28 exceptional students for the gifted high school en-trance exam. Staff verified the eligibility of 250 sixth-year students for funding, visited the families of 340 ninth graders to prepare student pro-files; and conducted field trips to nearly 50 schools. Events to celebrate SPELL’s success over the last six years were held at 91 primary schools.

village of hope

four new water systems were completed, providing 2,448 new house-holds with connections to clean, piped water, and 8 new systems are due to be completed by the end of 2010. in the Poorest of the Poor program, 159 free connections were provided to households who could not afford the connection fee. in the sanitation division, 941 new latrines were built.

Breath of life

p r o g r a m u p d a t e s f r o m j a n u a r y - a u g u s t 2 0 1 0

vietNamBOL distributed 120 neonatal machines to 31 hospitals. More than 150 medical staff received training in basic newborn care.

cambodiaThe program distrib-uted 36 machines to 5 hospitals and 40 doctors and nurses received in-tensive instruction in basic newborn care at training courses and seminars.

168 children with congenital heart defects received lifesaving surgeries. 25 cardiac specialists were provided with on-site training seminars on advanced surgical skills and an additional 5 specialists were sent over-seas for formal training in advanced cardiac techniques.

operation healthy

heart

A total of 29,205 free dental services were provided to 6,639 chil-dren through treatment at EMW’s Da Nang Dental Clinic, on 6 outreach trips to rural areas of Vietnam, and on 3 moBile dental trailer trips to Da Nang primary schools. in-kind donations totaled over $21,049, and 96 international volunteers donated 4,512 volunteer hours, a humani-tarian value of $136,400 in services.

dental program

support network for people with disaBilities

EMW’s comprehensive program to support the disabled in Vietnam pro-vided the following services: 935 individuals received rehabilitation and physiotherapy, 287 received corrective surgeries or medical interven-tion, 234 Beneficiaries were given assistive devices and 210 volunteers received training in physiotherapy and rehabilitation. in the program’s education component, 600 disaBled children received school scholar-ships, 112 of them in the form of private tutoring, and 50 teachers received specialized training on working with disabled students and 6 disaBled indi-viduals received vocational training or job placement.

$10provides a child free modern dental care

for one year.

$82provides one poor child with a year’s

scholarship for primary school.

$600provides care for a year for one child

living at the Village of Hope.

$2,000provides a child

with lifesaving heart surgery.

what we do

EMW’s home for disadvantaged and disabled children is housing 136 chil-dren, including 109 orphaned and 27 hearing- and speech- impaired students. Children receive full education and are able to choose from vo-cational training classes—sewing, cooking, computer skills, carpentry, em-broidery, greeting card production and painting—every week. in the VOH graduate program, 17 former voh residents are studying at vocational schools, colleges or universities.


feature

written by sylvia townsendphotos by hanh nguyen and kevin german

P arents everywhere share the belief that education is the key to their children’s success in life, the best path to a sense of security in the face of an unpredictable future and, in the most optimistic scenario, a ladder up to a better standard

of living. In first world countries, where access to pri-mary and secondary education is a given, parents focus their anxiety about their children’s futures on trying to ensure that even their earliest educational experi-ences (kindergarten applications, anyone?) provide the foundation for later admission to prestigious colleges and the attainment of degrees in lucrative fields.

But for poor parents in developing countries like Vietnam, the struggle is more fundamental: To ensure, in the face of myriad obstacles, that their children can go to school and can stay in school, from the earliest elementary grades through high school graduation. That the dream of securing an education remains elusive for many of the world’s families is reflected in the UN Millennium Goals for Education: “Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.”

Preparing students for higher education is also crucial for the emerging Vietnamese economy. While the country’s impressive literacy rate indicates that much of the population has acquired basic skills, it is far from the large, well-educated workforce needed to power the country’s development.

The familiar pairing of poverty and insufficient ca-

pacity continues to deprive a segment of Vietnam’s chil-dren of the very education they need to improve their circumstances. So what is East Meets West doing about it? The answer is two-fold: providing individual sup-port through scholarship programs to Vietnam’s most vulnerable or marginalized children—the orphaned, disabled, hearing-impaired and the most impover-ished—and, on a macro level, improving the overall capacity of the country to deliver education to its popu-lation through the construction of primary schools and kindergartens, wide-scale teacher training and building higher education facilities at the university level. EMW’s programs were created and evolved in response to the twin challenges of poverty and lack of capacity.

Education programs have long been a corner-stone of EMW’s work in Vietnam. But even long-time followers and supporters of EMW

may be surprised by the number of education projects EMW implements. Our largest, flagship education programs are: SPELL, our scholarship initiative which reaches almost 5,000 of Vietnam’s poorest children and funds scholarships to enable high school gradu-ates to attend college; our School Construction and Early Childhood Education initiatives, which build kindergartens, primary schools and university infrastructure; and the Village of Hope, a center in Da Nang that houses and educates 150 of central Viet-nam’s most impoverished and disadvantaged children. But EMW also supports an anti-trafficking initiative (ADAPT); provides customized educational support

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it’s all sUpplied ouR education pRogRams pRoVide Full suppoRt FoR students and teacheRs, including supplies, books and tRaining tools.

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for children with disabilities through Support Net-work for People with Disabilities; and runs a new initiative that trains students in computer skills.

E ast Meets West has a long track record in ad-dressing the problem of inadequate school facili-ties in Vietnam. Conditions in badly deteriorated

buildings like inadequate lighting, leaky roofs, poor ventilation and no source of safe drinking water inter-fere with learning. As the rate of school construction lags behind growth in population, schools in some rural areas can provide only half a day of education to each child. Few of Vietnam’s schools can accommodate the needs of disabled children, who frequently reach adult-hood without formal schooling of any kind.

East Meets West built its first primary school in 1995. Since then, EMW’s School Construction program has built or renovated over 300 schools in rural and underserved areas, with local governments contributing a portion of the cost. Facilities constructed by EMW at large university campuses, primarily funded by long-time EMW major funder The Atlantic Philanthropies, include resource centers, dormitories, a sports complex and, most recently completed, an International Center at Thai Nguyen University in northern Vietnam.

While EMW’s school construction team increases the capacity of Vietnam to make education available to thousands of ad-

ditional students in rural areas, many families in poverty cannot take advantage of that opportunity. School is not free in Vietnam—while there is no tuition, various fees imposed can total about $50 a year for primary school and $75 a year for high school, an expense often beyond the reach of the poorest families. Further compounding the problem, sick or disabled wage earn-

grassroots sUpport spell paRtneRs With local educational VolunteeR leadeRs and gRoups to monitoR and implement the pRogRam.

gifted programs seVeRal spell students Recently passed RigoRous exams to enteR giFted pRogRams in loWeR secondaRy and high school.

feature

ers depend on their children to contribute to the family income or care for younger siblings, often forcing an early drop out. Unsafe water and poor sanitation result in frequent illness and absence, and untreated chronic conditions like heart disease may keep children out of school entirely.

EMW’s innovative and highly successful SPELL (Scholarship Program to Enhance Literacy & Learning) program is one of the answers EMW provides. The evolution and success of SPELL provide a glimpse into how EMW designs a program, monitors and adapts it, and may ultimately use it as a model or launching pad for other programs. When founding SPELL donors Eric Hemel and Barbara Morgen vis-ited Vietnam several years ago on a walking tour, they witnessed bright young children not attending school. Eric says, “When I found out why these kids weren’t going to school–for lack of about $35 a year–I had a transformative moment of realization: my wife and I felt that we had a responsibility to make sure these kids could go to school.”

Back in the US, Eric’s research on development or-ganizations working in Vietnam led him to East Meets West. Working together, they began constructing an education program that would address the root causes of drop out and poor school attendance in Vietnam. The goal was to target the poorest 10% of Vietnam’s families. Not only would school fees be paid, but the cost of books, uniforms, and other expenses would have to be covered. The program also mandated tutor-ing, regular family visits and regular progress reports. The Vietnam SPELL team recruited respected commu-nity leaders in the day-to-day running of the program. “The idea,” says EMW President John Anner, “was to remove every barrier that could prevent these children from staying in school.” Another key factor of the pro-

c o n t i n u e d f r o m p. 8

c o n t i n u e d o n p. 1 2


“East Meets West has learned that true progress is only possible when people of all ages are fully educated. As the old saying goes, up until second grade you learn how to read, after that you read in order to learn.”- EMW President John Anner

art classes the Village oF hope has a thRiVing aRt pRogRam: students can cReate and sell theiR paintings and gReeting caRds.

edUcation for the disabled emW Funds special education FoR heaRing-impaiRed childRen. such pRogRams aRe a RaRity in Vietnam.

village of hope childRen leaRn to use computeRs in the donated computeR lab.

east meets west’s learning cUrvealthough school Fees WeRe Fully paid thRough spell, emW staFF noticed a dRop oFF in attendance When some students Reached middle school. the pRoblem? schools WeRe too FaR FoR students to Reach. the solution: bicycles Funded FoR all spell students liVing FuRtheR than 2 km to school.


gram design is that donors have to commit to support a student for all 10 years - from third grade until high school graduation, provided the child stays in school.

As the program tripled in size from its initial 1,500 students, regular evaluation and feedback ensured a flexible response to unanticipated developments. When lack of transportation emerged as a problem for some students, SPELL provided bicycles. When participation in SPELL tutoring was observed to be a critical factor in students’ progress, that component was redesigned to promote attendance and monitored more closely to ensure effectiveness.

Despite the progress Vietnam has made in primary and lower secondary education in recent decades, upper secondary education en-rollment rates hover stubbornly at about 50% and graduation rates are lower still. So as the first cohort of SPELL beneficiaries approached high school age, the program was adjusted once again, to focus on preparing its hardest working, brightest students for high school admission and ensuring they receive the support they need during the academically demanding high school years. SPELL staff made detailed assessments of each student and, for the first time, scholarship awards had a merit component. All SPELL children continue to receive assistance, but those who display the most promise receive extra support towards the goal of eventually enrolling in college.

The SPELL model was also successfully applied in 2005 in the An Giang/Dong Thap Alliance for the Prevention of Trafficking (ADAPT) program, run by the Pacific Links Foundation with support from East Meets West. SPELL’s comprehensive education support is an ideal model for girls whose difficult life circumstances make the threat of trafficking all too real.

Perhaps the greatest tribute to the success of the SPELL program is the three-year, $3 million grant awarded this May to EMW by the World Bank’s GPOBA (Global Partnership on Output-based Aid) fund, the first time this type of support has been made available to an education program (GPOBA previously funded a large expan-sion of EMW’s water program). With funding GPOBA received from the Australian Agency for International Development, SPELL scholar-ships will be given to an estimated 7,500 additional impoverished students in 11 provinces in Vietnam so they can attend high school. Output-based aid (OBA) is a results-driven model. In the case of SPELL, this means that schools are reimbursed for a student’s tuition fees only when that student’s satisfactory attendance and academic performance have been verified. EMW will use the experience it gains applying the OBA model in this novel way to shape the program for maximum effectiveness. Once the OBA approach is optimized, it can be adopted by other NGOs working in the education sector.

SPELL is not the only EMW education program to adapt and ex-pand into new territory. In 2008, EMW completed the USAID-funded Kon Ray Boarding School for Ethnic Minority

Students, designed to serve about 200 students. The school was built with the goal of improving education outcomes in the impoverished Central Highlands province of Kon Tum, where only an estimated 10% of the local populace completes high school. As the project neared completion, EMW built on the relationships established with the area’s organizations and community leaders to launch a new arm of the program that would address some of the root causes of poor educational achievement there. With additional funding from USAID, EMW began implementing its Early Childhood Care and Educa-tion (ECCE) program in the region. To reinforce the importance of preschool and kindergarten education, the new program works with parents and local groups such as the Women’s Union on community outreach. EMW will rebuild or refurbish several dozen kindergartens, and hundreds of teachers will be trained in tactile and interactive learning methods to more effectively prepare their young students to succeed in primary school.

Other EMW programs contribute to the improvement of education conditions in Vietnam and help ensure access to learning. EMW’s Clean Water and Sanitation divi-

sion has installed water filtering systems at more than 30 schools, making a clean, safe source of water available during the school day. EMW has also educated almost 400 community water manag-ers through its training component, providing them with the skills to maintain and operate clean water systems. The Support Net-work for People with Disabilities (SN-PWD) program counts, among its many components, the provision of educational support to children with disabilities, including one-on-one and home based tutoring. EMW also runs the Village of Hope, a disadvantaged children’s center where those from the bleakest of home lives are provided education and a safe and nurturing environment. When VOH residents graduate and leave the school, they use the skills ac-quired at VOH to support themselves as adults. But some who show significant academic potential can continue their educations with help from the VOH Graduate Program: They attend vocational school, college, or university, supported by individual scholarships that cover tuition and living expenses.

Over 23 years, EMW’s education programs have grown in size and multiplied in number, as lessons learned are applied, new needs iden-tified, and new approaches tested. And as the beneficiaries of these programs grow into adulthood and enter the workforce as contrib-uting adults, the education they received will produce benefits, not only to them and their families, but to their communities and their country. As the Chinese saying goes: “If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are plan-ning for a lifetime, educate people.” n

“Regular family visits and fostering family involvement are a critical piece of our approach to comprehensive education.”- EMW President John Anner

c o n t i n u e d f r o m p. 1 0


adaptThe An Giang/Dong Thap Alliance to Prevent Trafficking operates in four provinces on or near the Vietnamese border with Cambodia, an area notorious for trafficking young girls into the sex trade. ADAPT uses the SPELL scholarship model to give vulnerable young girls an education.

school constructionIn rural areas of Vietnam, access to education is severely compromised by a shortage of school facilities. Lack of classroom space means children may receive only a half day of schooling. EMW has an unequaled track record in building facilities in poor, marginalized and ethnic minority areas. To date, EMW has built 319 kindergarten and primary schools in Vietnam.

support network for people with disaBilities

EMW’s comprehensive program to support the disabled in Vietnam has an education component that serves disabled children. With no

formal support available to the disabled, these children often stay home and receive no education. Based on the type and severity of

the child’s disability, SN-PWD provides customized support—from home-based tutoring, to transportation assistance, to scholarships—

to enable the child to learn and thrive.

village of hopeOne of EMW’s original projects,

the Village of Hope is a home for extremely disadvantaged

children, where up to 150 orphaned, abandoned and

hearing-impaired children are provided with shelter and a

full education. A wide range of activities is made available:

Athletics, music, dance, art, theater training, and English

as a Second Language. VOH provides specialized education for hearing-impaired students

and also funds college or university education for

academically promising students.

large-scale infrastructureEMW’s Project Management division

helps fill in the gaps in Vietnam’s higher education system through the

construction of university facilities such as dormitories, libraries, English

language training centers, sport complexes and more.

education programs at-a-glance

scholarship program to enhance literacy & learningSPELL targets students from the poorest 10% of impoverished families and provides them with funding for school fees, books, uniforms, and other expenses. It also mandates and pays for after-school tutoring. Each student in the program is guaranteed a scholarship until graduation from high school, provided he or she remains in school. SPELL supports over 4,500 students and families who are among the country’s poorest and a recent $3 million grant from the World Bank will expand the program’s reach to thousands of high school students.

kon tum early childhood educationA comprehensive education program targeting early childhood education in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum. The average annual family income in this impoverished region, largely populated by ethnic minorities, is about $120 per year (Vietnam’s national poverty line is set at $240 per family). The program builds off the success of a boarding school built by EMW and is training teachers province-wide, rebuilding preschool centers and providing age-apppriate learning materials and curriculum.

siNce our first project over tweNty years ago, east meets west’s commitmeNt to educatioN is reflected iN programs that are compreheNsive, iNNovative aNd flexible

eNough to adapt to chaNgiNg circumstaNces.


One of the most important factors that donors consider before committing sup-port to a charitable organization is its overhead rate. Also known as operating costs, overhead is the amount an organi-

zation spends to run its offices, administer its finances and raise the money needed to provide services to its beneficia-ries. East Meets West’s latest audit shows 93 cents of every dollar going directly to program work, a percentage that places EMW squarely among the most efficient international development nonprofits. Charity Navigator—a respected rat-ing system of nonprofit organizations used by many donors to evaluate their gift giving—awarded EMW four stars, its highest rating. A low overhead rate is important to donors because they like to know that as much of their money as possible is going directly to support their chosen cause.

A special subset of East Meets West donors are doing their part to help keep that rate low. They are EMW volunteers. These committed supporters contribute their time and pro-fessional skills, providing services to the organization that translate into big savings in operating costs.

EMW has long had a highly popular international dental volunteer program, where dental professionals from around the world provide free treatment to poor children at EMW’s clinic in Da Nang, on outreach trips to rural areas, and at the mobile dental trailer. The dental trailer itself was a donation made by one of the program’s most active volunteers, Mel Potter. Mel has participated in outreach trips, organized sizeable donations of dental equipment from dental supply companies, and been a tire-less fundraiser for the program.

But volunteer activity throughout the organization has flourished in recent years, from programs in Vietnam to administration, fundraising and finance in EMW’s operat-ing offices. EMW volunteers perform all manner of tasks, and also offer new perspectives, dedication and flexibility. In turn, volunteers gain skills, experience and the chance to observe and participate in the day-to-day running of a non-profit. For all involved, this is a classic “win-win” situation: The more quality volunteers EMW attracts and maintains, the more it saves on overhead; and the more volunteers see and experience EMW first-hand, the more committed they become as donors.

In Vietnam, partnerships with professional organizations have led to several fruitful volunteer relationships. Engi-neers Without Borders (EWB) Australia works in Australia

eMW thAnks All ouR 2010 volunteeRs. YouR seRviCe hAs been invAluAble! william akridgesPell

anastasia BurysPell

helen Breanna leebReAth of life

gary field-mitchellCleAn WAteR

my-anh hafunDRAisinG

catherine ganleyquAlitY MAnAGeMent

larry glendinningADMinistRAtive suPPoRt

jeppe nelsonCleAn WAteR

nguyen thi ngoc uyenCleAn WAteR

mel potterfunDRAisinG/DentAl

hugues hoang faucheuDsnA PRojeCt (sPell)

pham thi viet haDsnA PRojeCt (sPell)

pham van coDsnA PRojeCt (sPell)

stephanie wangCoMMuniCAtions

linda ZhaofinAnCe

free-for-hireemW VolunteeRs bRing pRoFessional seRVices that gReatly enhance emW’s WoRk and eFFiciency

insid

e

emw

written by rachelle galloway

and parts of Asia providing technical knowledge to grass-roots engineering projects. Their goal is to encourage inno-vative and appropriate solutions generated by communities in Vietnam. EWB Australia placed two engineers, Catherine Ganley and Gary Field-Mitchell, in volunteer positions at East Meets West. Working out of the Ho Chi Minh City of-fice, Gary has been instrumental in helping the Clean Water and Sanitation staff expand the program in the south of Vietnam, with a focus on developing and evaluating private/public partnerships. From the Hanoi office, Catherine over-sees the quality of the Upper Secondary Education Enhance-ment program—planning, monitoring and evaluating the activities carried out by program staff and by EMW’s local partners, the Study Promotion Associations, in 11 provinces.

In EMW’s Oakland, California headquarters office, two current volunteers have contributed many hours. Vietnam native My-Anh Ha came to EMW after completing a gradu-ate program at Duke University on a Fulbright Scholarship. My-Anh works closely with the fundraising team, provid-ing research and data integration support, to update EMW’s many files—enormously time-consuming, but invaluable, work. And long-time Oakland volunteer Larry Glendinning is not new to volunteering. He and wife Judith spent two years in Africa with their two young daughters as Peace Corps volunteers. Larry’s willingness to perform all manner of office tasks for EMW, from editing to envelope stuffing to recording the voicemail message in his firm, welcoming baritone, has been a boon to the Oakland office.

These are just a few of the volunteers who donate their time in EMW offices. Volunteers also contribute their talents to other EMW programs, including the Scholarship Program to Enhance Literacy and Learning and the Breath of Life program.

EMW volunteers seem to feel they get as much out of their service as they put in, calling the experience “life-en-riching,” “rewarding,” “inspiring,” and “one of those things money can’t buy!” Money, of course, can’t buy a volunteer either. With volunteers, time is money, and in return for their contribution, they seek less tangible rewards: a sense of purpose, new experiences, or even karma points. As EMW volunteer Stephanie Wang (graphic design, Hanoi) puts it, “When you devote your time to help others, it will be an inspiration and cause a ripple effect among everyone else.” Volunteers are at the center of that ripple effect, their dedica-tion inspiring to both staff and other donors, their presence a reminder to all of us that our mission is to help others. n


Larry GlendinningAdministrative Support Oakland, CA

RetiRed school pRincipal; FoRmeR peace coRps VolunteeR

“I am amazed at the ‘bang for the buck’ that EMW gets for such programs as SPELL (which is my favorite); small amounts of money make large differences in children’s lives. I have been to Vietnam several

times and have a very warm feeling for the country and the people. I like being able to contribute in a positive way to a country that was historically very badly treated by the U.S. I like to learn new skills and make new friends; both have been my rewards for volunteering.”

Gary Field-MitchellWater Manager Ho Chi Minh City

engineeRs Without boRdeRs

“Volunteering your time for a worthy cause is not only good for the orga-nization that you are working with but it is really good for yourself as well. It makes you a happier and mentally healthier person. You can’t get the same level of fulfillment from a com-mercial organiza-tion: this is one of those things money can’t buy!”

Catherine GanleyQuality Manager Hanoi

engineeRs Without boRdeRs

“As an interna-tional volunteer you get so much out of the experi-ence of living in another country. International humanitarian work—helping others—makes volunteering a very life-enriching experience. Whilst living in Viet-nam I have been to some of the poorer provinces and seen what real poverty is like. This experi-ence puts life into perspective and makes many of the things back home seem trivial to me now. I have also had the op-portunity to visit many places in Vietnam and have seen how beauti-ful the country is.”

Mel PotterFundraising, Dental Program

RetiRed coRRections oFFiceR

“Volunteering has been a rewarding part of my life the past 12 years. When asked by others why I give so much energy to something I don’t get any monetary reim-bursement for, I have to wonder if they have ever ex-perienced a child with nothing other than a few pieces of clothing, one meal a day and no medical care. By giving a little of myself, I receive more back than any paycheck could provide—a child’s smile or a mother’s tears of joy is a treasure I can keep forever.”

My-Anh HaFundraising Oakland, CA

post-gRaduate student FRom duke uniVeRsity on tWo-yeaR FelloWship

“Working with the Oakland staff allows me to gain insights about how the organiza-tion operates its overall manage-ment responsi-bilities from the headquarters of-fice. Having learnt about the great achievements of the organization, I was not surprised to see first-hand how professional and dedicated the staff is. It has been such a reward-ing experience to work with a group of people who are passion-ate, innovative and supportive in an encouraging and fun environment.”

Stephanie WangGraphic Design Hanoi

english teacheR, bloggeR (chas-ingendlessdays.blogspot.com), and gRaphic design

“In general, volun-teering is one of the most inspir-ing experiences a person can have. When you devote your time to help others, it will be an inspiration and cause a ripple effect among everyone else. Per-sonally, the appre-ciation I receive is enough. A simple ‘thank you,’ makes me smile and that’s all I need. I always feel happy, accomplished, and fulfilled after

doing volunteer work. Because of those feelings, I want to keep vol-unteering for who knows how long.”

“Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless.” - AnonYMous


T he last twenty years at East Meets West have seen tremendous changes, but if there has been one constant throughout those two decades, it has surely been generous donor, medical advisor, Board Chairman and all around EMW booster, Peter Singer, M.D. As EMW has grown and

developed, Peter’s presence and approach have helped ground the organization and keep it true to its roots.

Peter Singer can locate the roots of EMW better than almost anyone—indeed, he has planted and tended many of them. Those roots lie in his connection with founder Le Ly Hayslip more than 20 years ago; in his wife, respected UCLA professor Dr. Marjorie Kagawa-Singer, his partner in life and in service to EMW; in the many friends and colleagues he has cajoled into serving on the board and giving financial support over the years; in the partnerships with hospitals and doctors in Viet-nam he has nurtured while advising on the development of EMW’s health programs; and, last but never least, in his tireless care for sick children, beginning with those he treated in Vietnam more than 40 years ago.

In 1966, as a young doctor fresh out of medical school and internship, Peter Singer embarked on the path that would eventually lead him to EMW. His deci-sion to join the military led him to Vietnam and what he terms a “life-changing” experience. “Without that,” he says with a grin, “I might have had all the rewards of a medical career in the US, but missed the greater rewards of humanitarian service.”

As a US Navy Lieutenant and battalion doctor in Da Nang, his first duty was to treat American soldiers. But the war had caused a severe shortage of Vietnamese doctors, and soon Peter was spending the bulk of his off-duty hours as a volunteer at the local general hospital and an orphanage, treating children with illnesses ranging from typhoid to intestinal parasites to bubonic plague and tetanus, maladies he had never

dedication, pRoFessional expeRtise, and a natuRal ability to netWoRk haVe Fueled emW’s boaRd chaiRman FoR the past tWenty yeaRs. We celebRate his seRVice.

a tribute to dr. peter singerwritten by sylvia townsend

donor

profile

peRFoRming emeRgency suRgeRy on child With

collapsed lung

With le ly hayslip, FoundeR oF emW

examining a chld With a heaRt deFect

tRaining Vietnamese doctoRs

encountered in training, but which he had to quickly learn to treat.By the time he finished his tour of duty in Vietnam, Peter was, by

his own admission, “hooked.” Hooked on the country, hooked on the people, and he says, “deeply committed to the medical care of children. I made up my mind to return some day.”

Though Peter’s determination never faltered, it would be years before he had the chance. During that time he was far from idle. He resumed his specialty training, met and married Margie Kagawa and had two kids (Jonathan, a faculty physician at UCSF, and Joana, a new mom) and established a successful academic and clinical career in endocrinology at the University of Southern Califor-nia, where he is a professor. All the while, Margie had been encouraging him to return to Vietnam, knowing that the country tugged at his heart. In 1988, while working as a medical advisor for the television show China Beach, Peter was introduced to EMW’s founder, Le Ly Hayslip. It was a serendipitous meeting that led to an ever deepening involvement in the fledgling organization’s activities.

Peter describes the early days of EMW’s existence as “strictly grassroots” in focus, recalling that its first efforts were mostly medical clinic projects, Village of Hope, microloans, and direct emergency relief. “In the first half of the 1990s,” he recalls, “I spent a lot of

time scrounging for equipment, trying to raise money, and talking up our work. It took time to develop EMW’s credibility here and in Viet-nam. What helped us in Vietnam was that we actually had an office with a few permanent staff beginning in ’90 or ’91. So gradually the Vietnam government recognized we were serious about contributing, in partnership with the Vietnamese people, to improve their health and well-being.”

Former board member, fellow physician, and long-time friend Brian Dolan describes Peter’s role during EMW’s early days and its evolu-

1967 1991 1997 2006

peter singer:

a history of service in vietnam

Peter’s decision to join the military in

1966 led him to what he terms a life-changing

experience.


enteRtaining childRen at a pRimaRy school built by emW on one oF his

FRequent tRips to Vietnam

at the opening oF the hue caRdioVasculaR centeR With FelloW

boaRd membeR tom loW

tion over time: “During the years of lesser funding, his single-minded dedication kept up the spirits of the small Da Nang staff. Once EMW grew, he moved easily into the role of visiting medical professor at the hospitals and that of chairman of an important NGO at official Vietnamese functions.” Brian calls Peter “a natural emcee,” who once confided, “I’ve never met a microphone I didn’t like.”

While his medical expertise was surely invaluable then, as it is today, Peter’s equally impressive people skills helped sustain EMW’s growth. He speaks about the organization with passion and refreshing direct-ness, nicely leavened by a sense of humor, noted by all who know him, that can only be called mischievous. At all times, his dedication to EMW’s mission shines through.

Several board members can attest to the combination of charm, humor and not always gentle coaxing (qualities we associate with the best physicians) that convinced them to join the board. Says former board member Linda Meier, who served with Peter for over ten years, “He embodies graciousness. Schmoozing with others is something he seems to love and excel at. What great fortune for EMW.” She also alludes to another personal trait that has been a boon to EMW and informed its management sensibility: an extraor-dinary ability to be democratic.

College friend and fellow EMW board member Jerry Falk confirms that assessment, concluding that it is rooted in Peter’s “uncommonly high degree of compassion” and noting that it “carries over into everything we do together for East Meets West. He listens to all points of view, and bends over backwards to accommodate different opinions and reach a consensus that can make everyone happy.”

For his own part, Peter expresses his personal gratitude to the “virtually hundreds of staff, board members, and volunteers who’ve worked so hard over the years to make our vision a reality. Each and every one has brought something unique and valuable to EMW. And of course we’re indebted to our countless supporters and partners over the past 20 years.”

Peter describes EMW’s expansion over the past decade as “trans-

“Peter is one of the most deeply committed people I know—in

all aspects of his life.”-FoRmeR emW boaRd membeR linda meieR

With a 14-yeaR-old boy, Whose blue FingeRs and VeRy small size aRe due to seVeRe heaRt deFects

With WiFe maRgie Visiting a Family suppoRted by emW’s spell pRogRam

formational,” citing the key involvement of Atlantic Philanthropies in funding large infrastructure projects in health and education, and the skill and dedication of a staff, now numbering over 100, in devising and implementing a host of successful new initiatives, including the Breath of Life neonatal program, the innovative SPELL scholarships, and the Clean Water and Sanitation program.

Unsurprisingly, his own personal passion is for EMW’s health programs, to which he and Margie (who possesses a masters in nursing and a PhD in medical anthropology) have devoted countless hours in Vietnam, consulting, treating, and developing professional and personal relationships with Vietnamese doctors and public health officials.

Ask Peter about EMW’s most recent development—expansion into other countries—and his reply is typical: “The strengths of EMW have always been that it is nimble and opportunistic. Where we see a need (in the case of BOL, in Laos and Cambodia), and have a suc-cessful program than can be replicated, we do it. After all, isn’t EMW about helping people?”

Peter Singer, too, is all about helping people. In discussing what the next years may bring, he dismisses the notion of retirement, noting the satisfaction he gets from seeing patients and teaching

at USC. “Also, we have our first grandchild, with whom we want to spend as much time as possible. With regard to EMW, I plan to con-tinue to contribute my time, efforts, and support.”

That Peter mentions his new grandson and EMW in the same breath is not surprising. In the end, this may be the most notable of many remarkable features about Peter Singer: He brings the same level of passion and commitment to all his endeavors, be they personal, profes-sional, or philanthropic. Says Linda Meier: “Peter is one of the most deeply committed people I know—in all aspects of his life. He seems to seamlessly move from physician to chairman of the board to proud father and husband and now, grandfather.”

What great fortune, indeed, for EMW. n

2007 2008 2009 2009


tion’s existence traveling in Cambodia and Vietnam, making personal visits to organizations in order to select projects to finance. In Cambodia, their first project was supporting Friends International to provide education, vocational training and placement for street children. In Vietnam, Claude and Solange Demole found East Meets West through a philanthropic consult-ing organization. After a trip to the field with EMW president John Anner, they decided to provide $70,000 to finance a clean water system in Quang Nam in 2009. In 2010, the Albatros Foundation contributed an additional $50,000 to EMW to fund sanitation facilities for the poor in Vietnam’s central and Mekong regions.

Three years after its founding, the Albatros Foundation has already made a significant impact through its phil-anthropic giving: an additional 2,000 people in Quang Nam now have access to clean water, and about 2,000 fami-lies will soon have access to improved sanitation facilities and training in personal hygiene behaviors.

“In making grants, we look for honest, passionate and results-oriented social entrepreneurs and organiza-tions, exactly what we found at EMW. Fostering sustainable human devel-opment is what drives us, so we set benchmarks to measure success and monitor progress to ensure that goals are being met,” says board member Eric Collombin.

Impressed with the results that EMW’s Clean Water and Sanitation program provided to the communi-ties served, the family members paid another visit to Vietnam in August 2010 and were introduced to more EMW programs, including Village of Hope, the Dental Program and Breath of Life. Those programs are likely to benefit from the Albatros Founda-tion’s generosity in the future, as one family’s philanthropic spirit helps improve the lives of families in need in Vietnam. As Eric notes, “Nurtur-ing philanthropic values across the family is a good thing, but what really counts is taking action, both indi-vidually and collectively.”n

Development projects in today’s world are not just supported by governments, institutions, and

corporations—countless individual philanthropists play a vital role in supporting disadvantaged communi-ties. When members of a family do the giving together, through a fam-ily foundation, the value of giving back is nurtured and the tradition of philanthropy is passed on from one generation to the next.

One such example of family members working together to fulfill a philanthropic mission is the Albatros Foundation, an EMW donor since 2008. Established three years ago by Claude and Solange Demole in Geneva, Switzerland, the foundation is run by the couple, their daughters and their son.

From its inception, the foundation focused its attention on Southeast Asia, but the family members involved had not settled on which country, or in what sector, they would work. Their interests varied, from education to health care, to small infrastructure projects like clean water systems. They could all agree, however, on one criterion for decision making: That the organization they support be well managed and reputable.

“It’s often challenging for small-scale foundations like Albatros to decide on what programs to give to and where. Most of them don’t need a big proposal package, but a project that has specific, realistic goals and will have a strong impact in the chosen community,” said Minh Chau Nguyen, EMW Country Director. The family spent the first two years of the founda-

“In making grants, we look for honest,

passionate and results-oriented social

entrepreneurs and organizations, exactly

what we found at EMW.”-AlbAtRos boARD MeMbeR

eRiC ColloMbin

18

donor

profile

giVing thRough geneRations

albatros foundation

written by cao vu hoang chau


The Power of Your Donation

A donation to the East Meets West Foundation provides

powerful and life-changing support. EMW offers a variety of ways to support our work.

Donate MoneyThree easy ways to donate:

Make an instant, secure tax-deductible contribution

using your credit card at www.eastmeetswest.org;

send a check in the envelope enclosed with this magazine; or, call a local EMW office to

make your donation.

Create a Lasting LegacyConsider including EMW in your estate plans. A bequest

can allow you and your family to minimize estate taxes while helping you

realize your philanthropic objectives. For more

information, contact EMW.

Give the Gift of StockA gift of publicly-traded secu-rities can provide tax advan-tages for the donor as it sup-ports EMW's mission. Please

consult your tax advisor.

Make a MatchAn easy way to add value to

your gift to East Meets West is through a matching gift pro-gram. Numerous organiza-

tions match their employees’ charitable contributions—sometimes for double the amount of the initial gift.

donors to east meets west $500 and above • jan 1 - sept 30, 2010

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non-profit org.Us postage

paidoakland, ca

permit no. 232

P.O. Box 29292 Oakland, CA 94604

www.eastmeetswest.org

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