Asian Philanthropy Forum

Growing community of social leaders for Asia

The indigenous nonprofit sectors and its leadership is growing rapidly across Asia in countries like China, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.  These organizations are bringing innovative approaches to bear on systemic and chronic issues such as human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, environmental protection, and other human rights abuses.

More than ever, we needed, and now have a forum to raise awareness about these issues and to support local leaders who are investing heavily in their community's health and social development.  These unsung community leaders have concrete ideas about how to approach the problems in their own communities and can achieve much with very modest grants.  Their humble and unassuming work does not routinely make the front page of newspapers, or attract the attention of large funders.  But their work creates micro-changes that will eventually reach a tipping point.

Here at Asian Philanthropy Forum, our goal is to enhance the knowledge of donors and funders and improve our collective understanding of Asia and its needs.  We believe this can be achieved by calling attention to local, small scale programs and organizations working in the region.  In addition, we hope to grow a network of experts that donors can turn to for credible information; a place where leaders can share successes and best practices. 

The video highlights APPC Diaspora Philanthropy Conference attendee, Asif Saleh and his work with Drishtipat.  Mr. Saleh provided comments on television station, Al Jazeera, regarding the overcrowing of prisions and the background of the political impasse in Bangladesh. 

If you have stories and news to share, please email us. We welcome your suggestions and feedback.

Jaipur Foot Factory: built with compassion & technology

One of the first non governmental organizations that I became aware of while growing up in India, was the Jaipur Foot Factory. It’s an impressive organization that provides an ingeniously designed, low-cost prosthetic device for the disabled. The prosthetic foot costs US $35 while a comparable device costs US $8,000. In addition, the Jaipur foot only takes 1 hour to fit while others take approximately 3 months.

The Indian government recently honored the founder of the Jaipur Foot Factory, Mr. Devendra Raj Mehta with the Padma Bhushan award, the third highest civilian award, in recognition of his contributions in the field of social work. Last year, Indians for Collective Action (ICA) had honored D.R. Mehta with their annual award for Social Innovation and he was also conferred with the prestigious Tech Museum of San Jose Equality Award a week before that.

I had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Mehta and hear him speak at the ICA annual dinner where he recounted a turning point in life. In 1969 he had met with an accident causing serious injuries and numerous broken bones in his leg. Mr. D.R. Mehta recovered from the accident but was moved by the plight of those who lose limbs in similar accidents and are unable to cope with life.