Purpose
The charter aims at clarifying the guiding principles of Thien Chi, to help its members and staff to achieve the goals of the organization and in good coherence. It may also be used for partner organizations to better understand the goals, strategies and limitations of Thien Chi. The charter has been designed by the board, and only the board decides how the charter is applied.
Key principles for Thien Chi
- Thien Chi is a non profit organization (NGO) which aims to support development programs, based on the following 3 key principles:
- Development rather than charity: programs and actions are meant to be sustainable, i.e. they can continue after Thien Chi withdraws its financial & technical support. However many social programs cannot become financially sustainable: education, health etc. In this case Thien Chi prefers low costs actions, which make a transfer to local authorities or local organizations easier.
- With and for the poorest: Thien Chi prefers to work in the poorest areas and for the poorest. Therefore Thien Chi concentrates on the rural areas where most of the poor live. However there are constraints which prevent to choose the poorest regions when administrative controls by the local authorities do not allow the Thien Chi team to operate freely in the field or when Thien Chi does not receive permission easily enough for its funders to pay short visits. Thien Chi limits its area of operation within a reasonable radius, to avoid spending too much time and funds on traveling.
- Participatory approach: Thien Chi believes that the beneficiaries and everyone in the program areas should be entitled to fully participate in the programs. As a rule Thien Chi does not embark into programs where local participation in terms of time, support, ideas, finances, is poor.
- Thien Chi only operates in strict conformity with the laws and regulations of Vietnam. As such it does not accept any form of corruption.
- Thien Chi believes it is important to develop a strong team of young, motivated and competent development workers, which will also be an asset for the development of the country.
- Thien Chi endeavors to develop constructive relations with other development organizations, inside and outside Vietnam. Rather than competition, cooperation the goal as no one organization can ever pretend to suffice for the development of a region, even small.
- Guidelines – Ethical Principles in Fundraising
- Child Protection policy