Vietnam

Focusing on Vietnam...

Facts about Vietnam:

Capital: Hanoi

Population: 88.78 million (2012)

Government: Communist state, Socialist state, Single-party state

Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 90.0 million inhabitants as of 2013, it is the world's 13th-most-populous country, and the eighth-most-populous Asian country. The name Vietnamtranslates as "Southern Viet" (synonymous with the much older term Nam Viet); it was first officially Gia Long, and was adopted again in 1945 with the founding of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh. The country is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east. Its capital city has been Hanoi since the reunification of North and South Vietnam in 1976.

Vietnam was part of Imperial China for over a millennium, from 111 BC to 938 AD. The Vietnamese became independent from Imperial China in AD 938, following the Vietnamese victory in the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. Successive Vietnamese royal dynasties flourished as the nation expanded geographically and politically into Southeast Asia, until the Indochina Peninsula was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century. Following a Japanese occupation in the 1940s, the Vietnamese fought French rule in the First Indochina War, eventually expelling the French in 1954. Thereafter, Vietnam was divided politically into two rival states, North and South Vietnam. Conflict between the two sides intensified, with United States, in what is known as the Vietnam War. The war ended with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975.

Vietnam was then unified under a Communist government but remained impoverished and politically isolated. In 1986, the government initiated a series of economic and political reforms which began Vietnam's path towards integration into the world economy. By 2000, it had established diplomatic relations with most nations. Since 2000, Vietnam's economic growth rate has been among the highest in the world, and, in 2011, it had the highest Global Growth Generators Index among 11 major economies. Its successful economic reforms resulted in its joining the World Trade Organization in 2007.

However, regardless of the advancements that have been made in recent years, the country still experiences high levels of income inequality, disparities in access to healthcare, and a lack of gender equality.

Read more about Vietnam at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam

ADRA Vietnam:

ADRA Vietnam is situated in the capital Hanoi

ADRA in Vietnam is a non-governmental organisation which has been consistently and actively operating for25 years, implementing over 200 development and relief projects across the country in various sectors.

ADRA in Vietnam works with vulnerable communities and people in special needs, so to help improve their opportunities and quality of life.  Our programs and activities are implemented through strong partnerships with local authorities and civil society organizations, in order to develop their capacity to achieve long-term sustainable change.

ADRA in Vietnam is part of the global Adventist Development and Relief Agency network, the humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. With a presence in 134 countries, ADRA seeks to identify and address social injustice and deprivation in developing

countries.

Projects:

Examples of a few:

Livelihood Improvement for Building REsilient Communities Project

The project activities will focus on sustainable economic development, specifically targeting agriculture, and community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM) mainstreamed by:

1. Community members trained in community-based disaster risk management
2. Community members have developed community-based disaster risk management plans
3. Training provided in market-oriented production and value-added activities
4. Revolving cow loans provided for cow husbandry initiatives
5. Revolving monetary loans provided for income generation models
6. Market analysis conducted on cow and agro-products and on prospective business partners, and Market Event Forum held

SLDP Cao Bang

Working closely with Cao Bang Province since the early age of establishment, ADRA in Vietnam has built up strong relationship with the local authorities and communities in this Northern Mountainous Region.

A recent 3-year-project LICEEM has laid strong focus on empowering ethnic minority women by increasing literacy to thousands of members. As a result, lots of women have gain confidence to speak out their opinions and take lead in development schemes.

In order to reach out a wider community and to promote sustainable growth, which necessarily employs a community-led and people-centered approach, ADRA in Vietnam executes a livelihood improvement project with fund from ADRA Australia.

Read more about ADRA Vietnam at http://www.adravietnam.org/