ASIA CONNECTION INC. --- 2007 Annual Report


Time to put forth a summary of Asia Connection's activities over the year gone by, and share a financial report with our supporters. We're still a very miniscule NGO in the grand scheme of things, but we take

satisfaction in being able to provide small but useful grants with minimal administrative costs.

 

We pretty much followed the pattern of previous years in our actions and donations in 2007: main focus is still on programs being implemented in Kontum, Viet Nam — clinics, orphanages, training programs in midwifery and home economics — and we assist programs in Cambodia and Bangladesh as well.

 

The Indradevi Association's AIDS care and prevention program in Cambodia is a major recipient of ACI support, thanks to the vigorous fund-raising and liaison efforts of Don Luce in Buffalo New York and Kay Halvorson in St. Paul. Minnesota.

 

Also, we do what we can to help support the work of Dr. Edric Baker and his colleagues at the Kailakuri Health Care Project in Bangladesh — a model program of 'poor helping the poor', which we consider in some ways a reflection of the late Dr. Pat Smith's work at Minh Quy Hospital in Kontum.

 

ACI Program Director John Havican carried on with his medical outreach activities, participating in three reconstructive surgery missions with different volunteer groups from the United States, to benefit disfigured children in various parts of Viet Nam including the Central Highlands.

 

Not only has John established an excellent working relationship with the National Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology in Ho Chi Minh City, which collaborates on the missions, but, thanks to his regular visits and phone calls to our friends in Kontum, he has kept us informed of special needs there that call for ACI support. A number of NGOs are now active in Kontum, and we rely on John's insights and the special 'Minh Quy' relationship that we have with our friends there to avoid duplication and distribute our financial help where it's most effective.

 

A new clinical laboratory in Kon D'rsin village is now in place, funded by ACI. Scholarship money has been provided for three students who are now preparing for entrance exams to medical school in Ho Chi Minh City. The clinic in Kon J'dreh village has been constructed and furnished with ACI help. Medicines and medical supplies have been provided to the Clinic in Kontum as well as one of the orphanages,

and for the facilities in Kon J'dreh and Kon D'rsin.

 

The above programs have absorbed most of our effort and donations, but as always we are ready to make smaller contributions to other worthy causes that come to our attention: Christian Peacemaker Teams and Rabbis for Human Rights in the Middle East; East Timor Religious Outreach which supports needy schools in Timor; Good

Samaritan Mission, which provides daycare services for migrant worker families in central Florida; and the Institute of Integrated Rural Development, which supports numerous aid and development projects throughout Bangladesh including the Kailakuri Health Care Project.

 

By and large, as Viet Nam's economic development progresses, we regard the situation in Kontum Province with cautious optimism. The ethnic tension that flared up in the Highlands several years ago appears to have subsided. There are indications that the central government has become more tolerant in the sphere of human rights —e.g. recognizing Protestant organizations in various parts of Viet Nam, including Kontum.

 

Also, according to a recent report from the World Bank, Viet Nam ranks high in the list of developing countries entering the global economy, which are distributing their new revenues efficiently and equitably. We still wonder about the health and welfare status of some of the Montagnard villages not yet accessible to foreign visitors; but what we have seen in and around the city of Kontum is encouraging, and we are pleased to continue contributing to the overall progress.

 

After much discussion among ourselves, and a lot of work by Laura Motton, a volunteer web-site designer with Grassroots.org, an organization that helps fledgling non-profits with web-sites, we've finally gotten ourselves a presence on the web (as you can see!). We had some initial hesitation about this, wondering whether it might be just as well to carry on our efforts in traditional low-key ACI style without extraneous publicity. But for practical reasons we decided to go ahead and occupy our own little corner of cyberspace. “Better to light a candle...”

 

 

Here's a review of ACI financial activity over the past year:

Income: 
Balance on hand 1 January 2007   

Total contributions received
        (including 52,155 earmarked 
        
  
for Indradevi AIDS program) 

Total income                                     
130,159.80

Disbursements:
Kontum
Indradevi
Kailakuri
Christian Peacemaker Teams
Rabbis for Human Rights
East Timor Outreach
Good Samaritan daycare 
IIRD (rural development, Bangladesh)
Certificate of Deposit (scholarships)
Administration (bank fees, postage,

Florida registration fee)
Total disbursements                                90,964.80

 

Balance on hand 31 Dec. 2007              39,159.00

 

 
18,479.80


111,680.00





35,322.00
18,000.00
19.000.00
2,000.00
1,000.00
3,000.00
 1,500.00
750.00
10,000.00

392.80