Charity
Supporting children’s education all over the world
We all share this one world where we live. We want to acknowledge this by contributing our share to people in need. At the same time, we want to raise awareness of charity work. In addition to giving back to local communities at our study abroad destinations, we donate to charity programs each year. By signing up to study at our partner universities with a charity icon, you are also entitled to impact our frequent charity donations. Students participating in our programs also have the chance to engage in voluntary work in the children’s homes we support.
With our charity work, we support educational possibilities for children and young people all around the world. We strongly believe education to be the key to personal and social progress and prosperity. Occasionally, we participate in local charity events, and we encourage everyone to support charity organizations where and however they can. Let’s make the world a better place together!
If you share our vision and would like to participate somehow too, we have gathered a list of charity organizations at the end of this page for you to choose from.
GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITIES WE VALUE
The local communities our students are a part of are an essential and extremely enriching part of their study abroad experience. We at Asia Exchange want to actively engage with the communities that give so much to our students and us and help where we can.
We encourage all our students to take part in the community outreach projects we organize. Seeing the local life from a different perspective is crucial for comprehending the communities and destinations fully.
We organize visits to orphanages in Bali and Phuket. The children have always enjoyed the individual attention and time they’ve gotten from the students. We also support the orphanages with biannual donations.
SEEDS OF HOPE (BALI, INDONESIA)
Poverty and low quality of living are everyday life for the local people in many places in Asia – also on the paradise island of Bali. Asia Exchange started its charity work in the children’s home, Seeds of Hope, in Bali in 2011. As part of our efforts, we have made donations to Seeds of Hope to make the living conditions of the children’s home better and support the children’s education.
In addition, our exchange students in Bali can personally get acquainted with and participate in the activities of the children’s home during their study abroad semester. This has been a moving experience for both the students and the children.
Seeds of Hope is located in the village of Dalung and run by a Balinese couple.
The children’s home operates like a large family where the older children take care of the younger ones. Seeds of Hope’s purpose is to provide primary education and sufficient knowledge of English to the children in a loving and safe environment.
There are approximately 70 children, from babies to 21-year-olds, living in the home. Despite their young age, many of the children have gone through traumatic experiences and some don’t have parents. The children’s home provides the children with alimentation, education and possibilities for a proper life. Fifteen young people, whose education would have been impossible without the children’s home, study at a university and their dreams of normal life and employment are materializing. We hope to help more young people achieve this goal.
DONATIONS FUNDING THE ACTIVITIES FOR SEEDS OF HOPE
Seeds of Hope is completely dependent on donations. Money is needed for buying basic groceries, such as rice, school supplies and construction materials for the house. Asia Exchange’s donations have been used e.g., to remove mold from children’s bedrooms, redo the toilets, renovate the playground and fix the leaking roof of the kitchen.
EXCHANGE STUDENTS’ CONTRIBUTION TO CHARITY WORK
Asia Exchange invites the voluntary workers at Seeds of Hope to visit Udayana University every semester to introduce life at the children’s home to exchange students. The students will later have a chance to visit the orphanage and spend time with the children. After the experience, some of the students decide to start visiting Seeds of Hope regularly.
Read more about Seeds of Hope and watch a video of everyday life at Seeds of Hope.
VISIT TO SEEDS OF HOPE WITH ASIA EXCHANGE
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ASIA CENTER FOUNDATION (PHUKET, THAILAND)
In 2010, Asia Exchange started supporting Asia Center Foundation (ACF) – a children’s home in Phuket, Thailand. ACF is a non-profit organization that takes care of underprivileged children’s welfare and education. Volunteers and interns work at ACF together with its permanent staff.
ACF is in charge of several projects that help underprivileged children in Phuket to have a better life. The Patong Childcare Center project, for example, helps to take care of and teach 3-6-year-old children whose mothers work at go-go bars at night and are not able to raise their children on their own.
The Jumpstart Learning Center organizes education for children from Myanmar living in Phuket. These children are not allowed to attend Thai schools or are entitled to any benefits Thai children receive.
Read more about Asia Center Foundation and the projects on the organization’s website. You will also find below an introductory video from ACF.
NON-REGULAR DONATION
Asia Exchange recently supported its PSU representative Colin Gallagher in the Laguna Phuket International Marathon. Asia Exchange pledged to donate a given sum for every km Colin ran, who had chosen the Phuket Loves You club as his cause.
The Phuket Loves You Club is an association that seeks to help fund community-based HIV projects in Phuket. In this case, the chosen project was the Life Home Project Foundation, whose aim is to provide a safe environment for children infected or affected by HIV. This can range from providing education to supplying much-needed medicine. Read more about Phuket Loves You and the Life Home Project Foundation project.
Colin finished the run, and Asia Exchange proudly contributed to his cause for the whole 42.195 km. You may read more about the marathon in this article.
VISIT TO ACF WITH ASIA EXCHANGE
This day was one of the best experiences of my stay, maybe of my life. It is really hard to put into words how it felt to give so much to these children with such small things. I was able to see the joy and happiness in their faces as I had never seen before. They were very thankful for the beautiful day at the beach and so were we students. Everybody went home with a great feeling of doing something that mattered!
– Former Asia Exchange student experience with the Asia Center Foundation
