This is where our journey starts. Aid Asia Initiative was founded in August 2012 with the aim of reducing poverty in South-East Asia, with a long-term view of providing assistance to other Asian countries. Our first initiative is to address one of the key barriers to breaking the poverty cycle – lack of access to Education. As such, our first stated priority is to “ensure families in rural and remote communities have equitable access and a means to education”
Poverty-stricken families in Vietnam, particularly in rural and remote areas are, by and large, outside any safety net provided by the government. The families know that they cannot afford education, and we know that they cannot hope to earn enough to overcome poverty without education.
Aid Asia Initiative has recently implemented its first education program in Kieng Giang Province, in South Vietnam. This has included the funding of an English teacher, rolling out an online education portal, and the provision of accessories (including laptops provided by the Macquarie group). Given that Initiative Asia want to increase the scope of their project, and increase the scope and reach of their initiative; additional funding, resources, and strategies will be required in order to continue implementing their long-term vision of providing an opportunity for children to pursue their educational dreams and to reduce the cycle of self-perpetuating poverty.
Currently (2019) we have partnered with several leading charities and not-for-profit organizations like Reledev Australia and Sao Bien to build infrastructure and schools in remote regions of Asia.
Our point of difference from other charities is that we leverage technology and the internet to provide programs in an efficient and effective way.
Aid Asia Initiative currently consists of 3 directors and 30 volunteers who have successfully raised funds through fundraising events, including 5 fundraising events at NAB, Macquarie, and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. The organization has helped over 150 children in rural Vietnam. In November 2012, the Asia Initiative Donation Fund was established. This is a public ancillary fund trust that holds DGR status.
Our ability to live life can be measured by our level of connectedness to the conscious, to the now. What we do in that very moment can simply change the world.