Overview

Village Focus International (VFI) is committed to strengthening the capacity of poor and marginalized rural communities and local non-government organizations in Southeast Asia. VFI works with rural communities in SE Asia where the needs are the highest and the assistance is the lowest. VFI also provides technical expertise to build the capacity of local organizations and government counterparts. VFI believes that a strong, empowered people, with the capacity to plan, implement and manage their own lives, should be the foundation of all development work. Towards this end, VFI provides training and education in sectors identified by the community, including health care, sustainable agriculture, natural resource management and legal protection with a special emphasis on participation and protection of women and children. While VFI does build schools, conduct health care trainings, dig wells, and supports other tangible activities in every village in which the organization operates, improving quality of life for the long term can be accomplished only if local people have the skills to lead and maintain their own development initiatives. VFI is committed to local management, to supporting local organizations and to participating in regional networks. Village Focus International (VFI) is a 501 (c)(3) tax exempt non-profit organization based in Portland, Oregon, USA with offices in Lao PDR and Cambodia. Specifically, VFI initial projects in Cambodia focus on support for community-based natural resource management, development and extension of legal reform in the natural resource sector and support for local organizations working on urban and rural poverty issues, anti-trafficking, community credit and savings, and non-formal education. VFI began working in Cambodia in 2000 by providing technical expertise to the Royal Government of Cambodia and NGOs on the drafting and public negotiations of reform to natural resource legislation. VFI also provides support for the extension of reform legislation relating to the rights and duties of local communities in natural resource management and land tenure. VFI continues to work with local partners to develop implementing legislation and training materials on extension of reforms in the natural resource sector and in providing advocacy to communities attempting to secure such rights. In 2003, VFI opened a Cambodia country office in order to work more closely with local partner NGOs. VFI aims to provide technical and capacity-building support to these organizations, as well as small project-based grants so that they can enhance and expand their work. While VFI’s partner organizations focus on different sectoral issues, all of them work directly with community stakeholders to increase capacity and build skills at the local level. The ultimate goal of these organizations is to provide communities with the knowledge and power to lead and maintain their own development initiatives Village Focus International is that every village/community, as the fundamental building block of society, has the capacity, understanding and legal right to participate fully in the effort to improve their quality of live. - The right to a basic level of health care amnd education services;. - Community participation in local and national policy-making; - Gender equality in planning and decision-making; - Sustainable Natural Resource Management as an integral part of community and national development; - Land tenure, co-management and user rights over land and its resources; and - A transparent and just legal system with equal access and protection.

Background

VFI works with rural commuities in SE Asia where the needs are the highest and the assistance is the lowest. VFI is also registered in Cambodia as an International NGO with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since July 2003

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