Last year, in our December newsletter, I told you about the programs and projects we have planned for the period 2021-2025, focusing on nutrition and food security, maternal and child care and people with disabilities, poverty alleviation and improving living conditions. The continued focus on these topics will lead to longer and more intense involvement in the projects and enable us to live up to our commitment – starting small, handing over, pulling back and continuing elsewhere where the need is also great.

Building partnerships and finding donors willing to support the programs is a big job at a time when there are lots of applications to large and smaller funds. But with our experience and concrete results in the field, we can show that we are a valued organization with specific knowledge and expertise.

We realize that there will come a time when the focus of activities and of the organization will be even more in Vietnam than now, including fundraising. And you may be wondering what your value as a donor to MCNV will be then. That question is very easy to answer: you are vital to our programs and projects because there is always a contribution to be made by the organization itself, often up to a quarter of the grant to be received. The gifts and donations of donors like you are the source of those own contributions and thus a prerequisite for working with partners and donors.

Our great desire is to continue to partner with you in 2023 and support our colleagues in Vietnam and Laos. The work is not yet finished and both financially and morally MCNV desperately needs you to continue with our mission. We feel privileged with your unconditional support and thank you very much in advance for your (extra) donation!

On behalf of all colleagues, I wish you good holidays and a healthy 2023.

Karin Vlug
Senior Advisor Fundraising MCNV

For more information (in Dutch) see page 4-5 of our magazine.

Follow-up to the PROSPER project

In the multi-year PROSPER program we have told you about before, we are guiding small foresters in Quang Tri province toward sustainable forest management. The wood from the trees and the oil from the seeds of the tung trees are given an FSC (Forest Steward Council) label, thus providing farmers with a better, fair price. The EU funds 75% of the program, the remaining 25% is MCNV’s own contribution.

About 100 participating households received compensation for planting tung trees and native plants last year. A trial was also conducted to see if the planting of tung trees could prevent landslides. In total, with support from Project PROSPER, some 300 hectares of forest have now been planted in northern Huong Hoa.

The Vietnamese government has declared PROSPER a best practice in their own program “Plant a billion trees in the period 2021-2025”. A next project, as a follow-up to PROSPER, could allow expansion to more households of foresters in other villages, and certification for CO2 storage and biodiversity, among other things, could also be a next step.

Our question to you

Promoting sustainable forestry is a good way to help lift small farmers and their families out of poverty. They get a better price and higher yield for sustainably grown timber and seeds. But there are more benefits: for nature and the fight against climate change. Planting trees improves the soil, water balance and CO2 uptake. We started a small-scale forestry project in Quang Tri in 2020, and we now see opportunities to support more farmers. The plans are already clear, your support is indispensable to implement them. More trees means more farming families out of poverty!

Will you help us to provide more foresters with more livelihood security in the coming year?
With € 20,000 we can take the next step in a new project in 2023.

Thank you very much for your (extra) gift!
Team MCNV-CVN