It was not easy for Phan Thai Van to convince the factory manager of Unigen Vietnam to halt production for 90 minutes so that workers and managers could learn about international labor standards. After all, productivity is measured in output, and in short, time is money.
“This is the first
Volunteer Steps Up to Help the Vulnerable and Abandoned
Improving Community Health for Healthy Aging
“Will they be lonely? Will they be left alone? What will they have for breakfast, lunch and dinner?”
Wassana Tadthong worries about her elderly neighbors who have no spouse, children, or siblings remaining. With no loved ones to turn to and a social safety
Health Official Learns Simple Steps to Active Aging
Just as someone who saves small amounts of money consistently from an early age can accumulate tremendous wealth for their retirement, one needs to build good health habits years and even decades in advance to maintain an active lifestyle in their senior years. The small daily choices one makes in
Leader Uncovers New Ideas to Care for People with Disabilities
Before entering the 10th grade, healthcare worker Dr. Hoang Manh Hoai faced the most difficult decision of his young life. A horrible spell of weather had just wiped out all the crops on his family’s farm. Worsening matters, Hoai’s father had fallen dangerously ill. With the family’s sources of income
Why Women Workers are Struggling to Seize their Rights
Vietnam has made great strides to increase women’s participation in the economy over the past 30 years. Today, 72% of women are in the workforce, giving Vietnam one of the highest female employment rates in the world, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). That fact, to be sure, is
What can one dedicated doctor do to change a community?
Dr. Ratana Monprajak has moved her office outside on a cool, refreshing morning in Bangkok. It’s Constitution Day, and schools and many businesses are closed. A mobile health clinic has been set up at the end of a tucked away soi. The area is buzzing. Kids laugh and ride bicycles
Tourism Leader Stays Ahead of the Curve
Thailand began appearing on the radar of international travelers in the 1960s when a few hundred thousand people started coming each year to take in the gilded temples of Bangkok, lush valleys of Chiang Mai, and picturesque beaches of Phuket. Since that time, the Thai tourism industry has skyrocketed,
Same Heart: a seamstress, cook, caretaker and student find the pulse of financial freedom
Praphasri Chanlek flipped through her accounting notebook.
On the fifth of August, revenue from sewing was 300 Baht (9 USD). In the rows of expenses for the entire month, a single check mark adorned the column for unnecessary expenditures, captioned: “Clothes for children.”
“Actually, I’m very proud of myself,”
Young Leader Helps Community Share its Hidden Gems with the World
In 2045, exactly 100 years after winning independence, Indonesia will have one of the five largest economies in the world. That’s the future that Arsalan, a 22-year-old leader, envisions and has taken painstaking steps to make a reality since he was a small child.
Arsalan’s dream of seeing his nation
“A happiness that never ends”
One man’s mission to transform his community through financial literacy Every night before bed, no matter how exhausted, 43-year-old Thammasak Maknakorn sits down and takes out his workbooks for his daily ritual. “In the beginning, it felt tedious,” he says, flipping through dozens of pages, each one filled with the […]