Three community initiatives receive funding for implementation

On September 8, Good Neighbors International (GNI), a non-governmental organization, and South Korea’s NongHyup Financial Group awarded prizes in the first round of the second season of the “Change Makers” competition.

Instead of providing ready-made solutions, the competition gives local people an opportunity to identify problems in their communities, develop ideas and propose solutions that suit local realities and can create positive changes.

A total of 15 proposals competed in the first round. They focused on pressing issues such as livestock waste treatment, waste sorting, access to household water, children’s safety in the online environment, life skills, and developing safe facilities and play areas for children.

After the judging process, the expert panel selected three outstanding projects to advance to the second round. Each project will receive a funding package of up to VND 150 million, together with direct technical advice from GNI.

The first initiative, “Safe Pond Banks”, was proposed by Trinh Dinh Duy from Vinh Loc commune, Thanh Hoa province. The project was developed in response to the situation around two large ponds, covering more than 1 ha in total and 1.7 m deep, located along the main road leading to the village cultural center. The ponds currently have no protective fencing, and four tragic drowning incidents have been recorded there. The project will build permanent protective railings around the ponds, improve the surrounding area to make it greener, cleaner and more attractive, provide communications on drowning prevention, and equip all children and young people in the area with drowning prevention skills.

The second initiative, “Dai Phu Green Circle,” was proposed by Lai Tien Son from Dai Phu commune, Tuyen Quang province. It focuses on treating livestock waste through an earthworm farming model. The project aims to create a closed-loop agricultural system. Livestock manure will be treated with beneficial microorganisms and used to raise earthworms, helping reduce odors while producing 10-15 tonnes of organic worm castings. The protein-rich worms will then be used as feed for snakehead fish raised in lined tanks, helping cut the cost of commercial feed. The worm castings will also fertilize three sao of clean vegetables, reducing reliance on chemical fertilizers.

The third initiative, “Building a Friendly Library”, was developed by a team from Tan Bac Kindergarten in Tan Trinh commune, Tuyen Quang province. It aims to support language development among children in mountainous areas. The team found that many ethnic minority children have limited ability to communicate in Vietnamese and few opportunities to access books and stories. They therefore proposed creating a friendly and convenient reading space at the school, with 300-400 books and storybooks suitable for the children’s ages.

The library will be furnished with shelves and cabinets made from recycled materials and materials readily available in the locality. To help children develop a reading habit, the school will introduce the “One Page a Day” model, allowing children to listen to stories and practice retelling them through pictures to improve their Vietnamese. The school will also work closely with more than 150 parents to maintain reading activities at home, while organizing regular book donations and exchanges.

From October 1, 2026 to March 30, 2027, the individuals and groups behind the three projects will put their ideas into practice in their communities, with technical guidance and monitoring from GNI. The projects will then be assessed based on their impact on the community, the effectiveness of resource use and coordination, and their long-term sustainability. The results will determine the winners of the competition’s second round.

The “Change Makers” competition is not only about providing funding for selected community projects. It also seeks to strengthen local people’s ability to identify and address social issues in their own communities. By developing and implementing their own initiatives, participants can improve their skills in identifying problems, planning, mobilizing and coordinating resources, carrying out activities and assessing results.

Under this approach, GNI and NongHyup Financial Group provide opportunities, resources and technical support, while communities take the lead in identifying their own challenges and developing solutions. By starting from local needs, the “Change Makers” initiative aims to achieve a broader goal: helping build communities where people can identify problems, work together to address them and sustain positive changes for themselves.