The Community Partnership Service is an important part of AFAP’s ongoing strategic development. Through the Service, communities in Australia are linked with communities in Africa, the Pacific, South East Asia and South Asia in the support of specific development and poverty alleviation projects.

With AFAP technical support, development expertise and guidance, Community Partners mobilise the financial and human resources of Australian communities for the purpose of responding to developmental needs that have been identified by communities in recipient countries.

If you are part of a community group that is interested in supporting an overseas aid project and would like to become a Community Partner, please contact us

Our SouthEast Asia Community Partners are:

Cambodia:

Karuna Children's Centre

Karuna was established in 2004 in order to provide support to vulnerable children. Their mission is to identify and support community-based projects that provide basic food, clothing, shelter and access to education for children.

Lotus Outreach www.lotusoutreachaustralia.org.au

Lotus Outreach Australia (LOA) improves the living conditions of vulnerable children and their communities through education and healthcare. The principal activity is the support of education for girls in Cambodia who are at risk of being trafficked into prostitution.

Matesabroad www.matesabroad.org.au

Matesabroad supports 5 slum schools (470 students) in the poor communities of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The program targets the poorest children; those unable to afford to attend Government schools. The program offers free primary level education (grade 1–6) to boys and girls aged between 6 and 14 years of age. Sixteen classes operate five days a week for two to three hours per day. The children study mathematics, Khmer reading and writing, geography, history, science, environmental studies, hygiene and sanitation, mental health, HIV/AIDS, drug prevention and social morality.

Room to Read www.roomtoread.org
Room to Read partners with local communities throughout the developing world to provide quality educational opportunities by establishing libraries, creating local language children's literature, constructing schools, providing education to girls and establishing computer labs.
While Room to Read was founded in 2000 providing support to schools in Nepal, it is now operating in eight countries throughout Asia and Africa. Room to Read believes that education empowers people to improve socioeconomic conditions for their families, communities, countries and future generations.

Tabitha Foundation Australia www.tabithafoundationaustralia.com

Tabitha Foundation Australia is the Australian support group for Tabitha Cambodia, a Cambodia-based NGO that has been improving the lives of the country’s poorest citizens for over 11 years. The main Tabitha Cambodia program is ‘Family Development through Savings’, a micro-banking project using 10-week savings cycles to guide families in financial self-reliance. Over 33,000 families are currently participating in the program (affecting 264,000 people). Typically, families remain on the program for about 7 years and over 30,000 families have now ‘graduated’ to Cambodian middle-class life. Other Tabitha programs include house building, cottage industry and a wells program.

Viet Nam:

Blue Dragon Children's Foundation www.bdcf.org

The Blue Dragon Foundation works with street children in Hanoi Viet Nam. Their 'Step Ahead' program aims at providing these children with the life skills they need to improve their own situation. Step Ahead targets children aged between 8-19 years, and focuses on education and vocational training.

Glencoe Foundation www.challenge.au.com

The Glencoe Foundation is a long time partner of AFAP and was one of the first groups to participate in our Community Partnership Service. Initially the focus was on Education initiatives, ranging from vocational training for disadvantaged groups to the provision of scholarships for talented University stuedents to study in Australia. However, over time the project has grown to include poverty alleviation activities such as micro-credit and income generation and more recently has taken on a health focus with "Operation Cleft".

Operation Cleft funds local surgeons to undertake cleft repair operations in a number of developing countries. This project has enabled over 1.500 peple, predominantly children, born with cleft deformities to have access to life changing surgery.  For more information on Operation Cleft you can visit www.operationcleft.org.au

Oneheart Education Foundation

Oneheart Education Foundation provides educational opportunities to about 70 high-school students living around Ho Chi Minh City and in the Mekong Delta. Children usually enter the program in Year 6. Oneheart pays school-related expenses and its volunteers monitor the students’ progress. Three students have already graduated from the Oneheart program and are now undertaking tertiary studies.