Oon Jai Foundation

Oon Jai is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that takes the sustainable, local empowerment approach to humanitarian aid. Basically, instead of just going to a country and handing kids shoes or installing a water pump, Oon Jai first builds a relationship with the community, understands the community’s needs, and works with the community to address those needs.

That obviously takes a much longer time, and people are less willing to donate to a cause where they don’t see malnourished kids getting fed, etc. But trust us, this approach is 1000x better. Why? Because this way, the local people are inspired to be the change rather than depending on foreigners coming and making the changes for them. It’s been a huge success for us so far, even though we just started. The community of people that are now involved with Oon Jai is growing every week because people feel like they’ve found their purpose with us.

Right now, we have 3 projects underway in Laos, and we’re expanding to Ecuador soon:

PROJECT 1: OON JAI ORGANIC FARM: Because the Chinese are monopolizing the land, spraying pesticides everywhere, and basically using Lao people for slave labor, we started an organic training farm to teach farmers how they can separate from these big corporate farms and make their own. Our approach is the Lao approach with the average Lao person’s budget in mind, but with organic methods.

PROJECT 2: OON JAI ENGLISH: The English language is crucial all over the world, even in a small communist country like Laos. If you don’t know English, you won’t be able to find a decent job. That means that the kids who are rich enough to study at an English school get all the opportunities, while the poor kids will be stuck in their cycle of poverty. So we started an English school in the countryside where kids can learn for free, break out of their cycle, and have more opportunities.

PROJECT 3: OON JAI HOSPITAL: The reason why we’re starting a hospital is because literally all the hospitals in Laos are terrible. Imagine taking your sick friend or family member to a hospital where there are mosquitos and blood everywhere and people sleeping on the ground. We have a friend who got her leg amputated because the doctor “thought” she had cancer. Turns out she didn’t have cancer, but her life is forever changed because of that. Again, the class difference is huge. The rich people go to Thailand when they’re sick, where the hospitals are beautiful and luxurious. The poor people say that they’d rather die than go to a hospital in Laos. Right now, Oon Jai Foundation is working with the government to find land to build a hospital. This will be our most expensive project thus far.

It's a lot of work, but all of the work is crucial. Join our efforts to empower the people, build them up, and allow their love and potential to shine.

www.oonjai.org/donate