| Our Mission
Partners Asia forges relationships with local leaders who work to serve the needs of “invisible” populations—refugees, migrants, ethnic minorities, LGBTQI,—living primarily along the Thailand-Myanmar border.
We elevate the work of these local groups and support them as they grow. We do not “help” our partners. Instead, we listen to what they say they need, and follow their lead. We partner.
And we bridge the gap between local organizations and global funding.
| Local = Smart
Local leaders know the best about what’s needed on the ground. They are the closest to the issues. They know the history of how things happen. And they have the relationships to get things done.
By supporting their work, we invest in projects that have a much better chance of creating real and lasting change.
Our role is to listen to what our partners are saying and build-up their initiatives though funding, technical support, and introductions to a wider network of colleagues.
We accompany our partners, and we show deep respect for their expertise and leadership.
| Trust
For 20 years, we have championed a model of philanthropy that turns-the-tables on traditional power dynamics.
This is by design. We want to make sure that marginalized groups have the confidence, skills, and influence they need to survive and thrive. And the power to do it.
This means that our work is more than dollars. We build-up local initiatives, weave coalitions of like-minded local organizations, and educate others on how to shift their philanthropic practices towards more equal and inclusive partnerships.
By taking an approach that goes beyond just projects and funding, we play the long game. And we build a platform for solidarity and real power.
To see our Theory of Change, click here. To see an Overview of our focus, click here.
The importance of HOPE in times of struggle
“Hope is a state of mind, not of the world. Either we have hope within us or we don’t; it is a dimension of the soul, and it’s not essentially dependent on some particular observation of the world or estimate of the situation. Hope is not prognostication. It is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart; it transcends the world that is immediately experienced and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons. Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously heading for success, but rather the ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed. The more propitious the situation in which we demonstrate hope, the deeper the hope is. Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.”
By: Vaclav Havel
