Good Neighbors International - Vietnam

Good Neighbors improves the well-being of Vietnamese children by strengthening community capacities and partnership networks.

• Child Sponsorship: We provide sponsorship-based services focusing on disadvantaged children. These services include home visits to study children’s circumstances, updating their annual development progress, giving annual gifts based on the needs of children and their families, supporting children in special cases, and providing vocational training and future orientation. To date, we have provided sponsorship support for 18,000 children aged 3 to 18.
• Education: Children in the project site gain access to quality education through support of educational facilities, scholarships, capacity building for teachers, and equipment for developing soft skills in students. We have helped more than 51,000 children access a better educational environment, and 6,456 students have received scholarships or tuition support. Additionally, with the support of sponsors, we have built 17 schools, set up 77 libraries, and provided more than 172,000 books. Nearly 52,000 students have enhanced their capacities and soft skills, and nearly 1,000 teachers have developed their capacities.
• Child Protection: We raise awareness of children’s rights, empower children, and promote their participation in solving local problems. We implement an education program on children’s rights involving 120,000 children. Nearly 400 children take part in the Global Youth Network, and more than 20 small social projects have been developed and implemented by children in the project areas. Attention is also given to preventing child marriage and improving children’s mental health through projects such as “Children are Not Brides” and “Develop Social Work and Psychological Counseling at School.”
• Health and Water: We improve access to healthcare services and better water and sanitation conditions. We support equipment for medical establishments, provide meal support and health checkups for children, and improve access to water and standard toilets. More than 110,000 children receive health checkups every year, nearly 54,000 people gain access to clean water, and 1,741 toilets have been built with our support.
• Environment: We implement environmental education programs, reduce waste, and plant forests. More than 53 hectares of forest have been planted, and we are on track to grow 120,000 plants in mangrove forests. One waste treatment system was supported, benefiting more than 10,000 people, and more than 23,100 people have been involved in environmental protection campaigns.
• Income Generation: We improve household incomes towards sustainable income generation through the establishment and operation of income generation groups and cooperatives. More than 17,000 households are now involved in income generation activities. Households borrow funds to develop production, receive support with production equipment, training to improve production capacity, and assistance in finding market outlets.
• Emergency Relief and Humanitarian Aid: We support efforts to overcome the consequences of disasters and distribute donation goods to disadvantaged areas affected by disasters and plagues. We have distributed donation goods to 26 provinces and cities in Vietnam, benefiting more than 260,000 people.
• Partnership: We establish networks to work with and empower the local community. We have signed 41 cooperation agreements with government bodies, research institutes, and local and foreign enterprises. At the community level, we have established 29 volunteer networks, including 362 local people, to help update the situation of sponsored children and implement community activities.

Our intervention measures align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Overall, we have contributed to 11 of the 17 goals, with major contributions to SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).