About Us

What we do

Since 2011, Friends of Vietnam Orphanages Inc., known to supporters as FoVO, has been a small, hands-on Australian charity. It was founded by Peter Kabaila, whose involvement began with a donation of nine weeks of architectural services at the Huong Phuong orphanage for children with disabilities in Central Vietnam.

Our purpose is to work alongside disadvantaged communities in Vietnam to reduce poverty, improve quality of life, and support children, people with disabilities, and vulnerable families.

We take a "hands-on" approach: FoVO has no paid staff, and our administrative costs are covered by members of our board rather than out of donations. Donations made directly to FoVO go entirely to projects in Vietnam.

Today our work spans poverty relief, disability support, village development, health, education and housing, reaching disadvantaged families and ethnic-minority communities right across Vietnam. Caring for orphanages and shelters is part of that work, and it is where we began.

"The first thing people ask me…"

"The first thing people ask me is, 'How did you get into this?'"

In 2010 I got an email that said, "Looking for someone to volunteer for 3–6 months to provide design and construction advice on extensions to an orphanage in Central Vietnam." I thought about it for ten seconds and replied, "I can go for nine weeks." That's how, four months later, I found myself in a remote village in Central Vietnam. The experience touched me deeply, so after returning to Australia I set up this small charity.

Since that time, each year I take a motorbike across the length of Vietnam. I mainly visit orphanages, shelters and villages to make a needs assessment on the ground. This "barefoot charity" model reaches the poorest and most remote communities. We carry out projects with a network of interpreters and local people. Together, we design useful projects to get the best value for money. Each financial year, this grass-roots work is summarised in a report to donors.

– Peter Kabaila

Reports to donors

Every financial year we carry out a wide range of projects. FoVO's own administration cost is $0, so 100% of every dollar donated directly to us goes to direct assistance in Vietnam.

See what your support has achieved

Our manifesto

Value

We believe in best value for money. All of FoVO's administrative costs are covered by members of our board, so 100% of every donation made directly to FoVO is used to improve the lives of people in Vietnam. Donations made online through our DGR-1 partner Myriad Australia carry Myriad's 5% administration fee, which is what makes an Australian tax-deductible receipt possible.

Everyone

"Never see a need without doing something about it." – Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop

We're here for everyone who wants to help socially excluded people in Vietnam: the volunteers, the donors and the orphanage staff. We are a small, hands-on, developing charity with the long-term aim of assisting village communities in Vietnam: to reduce poverty, increase education and raise quality of life, particularly amongst the poor and those with physical and intellectual disabilities. Our short-term goals are to complete achievable projects that benefit communities. We will achieve our long-term goals by continuing to build a support base in Australia and implementing sound policy.

Development

We believe in long-term improvement to people's lives, mainly through education. We evolved our approach from dialogue with local people, to:

1. Stage all funding, using in-kind payments and proof documents (receipts, photos).
2. Work in partnership with locals, gaining trust by following ethical funding practices.
3. Assist development in preference to providing short-term welfare.
4. Give local people ownership by crediting them with successes.

The end state is to have an enduring effect on the community. Because developing countries can rely on a culture of corruption and embezzlement, we provide in-kind funding rather than cash: projects to increase self-reliance, rather than build expectation for continuous charity.

Each program is evaluated with the question: "If the funding ceased tomorrow, would people's lives be better, or would people just have their hands out for more money?" But when faced with an urgent need, we don't put it off. We try to provide immediate relief.

"Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die left undone." – Pablo Picasso

Transparency

We believe in clarity of funding and require proof documents, including receipts and photos of completed projects. To reduce corruption, funding is generally broken down into small projects. We expect some tension between our Western business approach and local gift-exchange traditions (such as handing over cash donations "without strings attached"). Our Project Proposal Form and Standard Funding Contract illustrate this approach. Both are available on request, just email us.

Trust

We believe in gaining the trust of donors and local people by following ethical funding practices. Working in partnership with locals requires gaining trust through direct involvement and through the completion of committed projects.

Australian charities have learned hard lessons about helping poor communities. Focus is shifting from "throwing cash" at projects to earning the trust of communities. To provide sustainable improvement, charities have to maintain the trust and support of the people. Persistence and follow-through are important while working within Vietnam's culture of corruption and embezzlement. Sometimes we act when others refused to act.

"I am thankful for all those who said NO to me. It's because of them I'm doing it myself." – Albert Einstein

By visiting local populations, volunteers gain local trust, more than if they had "supervised" projects from outside. Between visits, English interpreters maintain the flow of communication via email and phone, giving us a continuous presence within the local community. Any solely "kinetic" operation (for example, building construction) has only a temporary effect; a lasting effect is achieved by encouraging locals to take ownership of the task.

Our Ethical Standards Policy (based on the ACFID Code, a self-regulatory standard of good practice agreed by signatories in the Australian aid and development sector) and our Child Protection Policy (an AusAID template, set out as a declaration to be signed by anyone we engage to implement aid) are available on request. Just email us.

Words and promises mean little to poor communities. Trust is best sponsored through actions. It is important to complete every development or action that we have committed to. Trust is built up over time through dialogue and interaction with local people, and by demonstrating commitment through finishing development projects. "Spin" achieves nothing. Quick-impact projects, such as the orphanage playground, are of great benefit in winning over the local population: they are community-based, relatively easy to complete, and show that the Australians are committed to helping.

Connection

We believe in facilitating friendship between Australian volunteers and donors and disadvantaged communities in Vietnam.

We seek advice from local communities on which development projects they want, rather than prescribing solutions. At first, small community-based projects can be recommended by local people. As trust builds, the projects can become larger. Local people provide the guidance on what will be needed for all future development projects.

Equality

We believe in a level playing field, where local people get credit for their own achievements. The credit for development efforts belongs to the local community. A village education project might be supported by donations, but the focus should be on the local volunteers, not on us as a source of funding; after all, they do the hard work. Sponsors of student tertiary scholarships are proud they can open up opportunities for local education, but all the hard work is done by the students. It is the students' own achievement.

Friends of Vietnam Orphanages Inc. is an incorporated association registered in the Australian Capital Territory, with its registered office at 5 Wangara St, Aranda, ACT, 2614, Australia. ABN: 23 398 458 179.