25 Must-Follow NGOs in Asia
Article
The NGO sector in Asia and its use of online technology varies greatly from region to region. India has hundreds of thousands of NGOs likely to come online for the first time over the next five years. Internet access is growing throughout the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and as smartphones sales soar across the continent, the NGO sector in Asia will advance quickly in their use of online technology. The 25 NGOs listed below are a small sampling of NGOs across this vast continent that are using the internet for social good.
1) Afghan Mobile Mini Circus for Children ▪ afghanmmcc.org
Kabul, Afghanistan
The Afghan Mobile Mini Circus for Children has performed for more than 2.7 million children throughout Afghanistan. Founded in 2002 when less than one million Afghan children attended school, MMCC has since build and educational center in Kabul, offers mobile educational programs, and recently launched a nationwide Juggle for Peace Championship.
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2) Animals Asia ▪ animalsasia.org
Hong Kong
Animals Asia works to end the bear bile trade in China and Vietnam where over 11,000 bears are kept on bile farms. To date, the NGO has rescued over 500 bears and is caring for them at its award-winning bear sanctuaries. The NGO also works to end the trade in dogs and cats for food and for an end to abusive animal practices in zoos and safari parks throughout Asia.
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3) The Asian Pacific Resource & Research Centre for Women ▪ arrow.org.my
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
ARROW works for a just and equitable world where every woman enjoys her full sexual and reproductive health and rights. With a focus on Asia Pacific, ARROW provides information about maternal and sexual health and contraception and advocates and monitors governments and their implementation of laws concerning sexual and women’s rights.
4) Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation ▪ orangutan.or.id
Bogor, Indonesia
The Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation is an Indonesian non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of the Bornean orangutan and its habitat. The BOS Foundation is currently taking care of almost 750 orangutans with the support of 400 highly devoted staff.
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5) BRAC ▪ brac.net
Dhaka, Bangladesh
BRAC is the world’s largest development organization. Dedicated to empowering people living in poverty, the NGO operates across 11 countries where it touches the lives of 1 in every 55 people. From microfinance to disaster management, BRAC programs have impacted more than 138 million people since its founding in 1972.
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6) Dubai Cares ▪ dubaicares.ae
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Dubai Cares works to provide children in developing countries with access to quality education. The NGO has built and renovated over 2,100 classrooms and schools, trained over 42,000 teachers, distributed over 2.2 million books written in local languages, and provides nutritious food every day to 505,000 children in schools.
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7) ECPAT International ▪ ecpat.org
Bangkok, Thailand
ECPAT is a network of local civil society organisations and NGOs that are working together to end the sexual exploitation of children around the world. Through advocacy and research, they pressure governments and national justice systems to heavily prosecute sex traffickers in order to end the sex trade of children.
8) Educate Girls ▪ educategirls.ngo
Mumbai, India
Educate Girls works in 12,000+ schools across 8,000+ villages in India in order to increase enrollment rates for girls. In India, there are more than three million girls out school and through community leadership and classroom improvement programs, Educate Girls aims close the education gap so that girls can gain employment and help lift their families out of poverty.
9) Friends of the Earth Japan ▪ foejapan.org
Tokyo, Japan
Friends of the Earth Japan is an international NGO that is working to educate the Japanese public about the issues of climate change, deforestation, nuclear energy, sustainability and recycling, and the importance of sending aid to developing nations.
10) HelpAge Asia Pacific ▪ ageingasia.org
Chiang Mai, Thailand
HelpAge Asia Pacific works to help older people to claim their rights, challenge discrimination, and overcome poverty. From advocating for social pensions to championing access to quality healthcare, the NGO is proactively addressing issues related to population ageing. In Asia Pacific, the number of older people is expected to triple by 2050 to 1,265 million.
11) Leket Israel ▪ leket.org
Ra'anana, Israel
Leket Israel is the largest food bank in Israel. The NGO sources, collects and redistributes fresh, quality food which would otherwise be considered waste from farms, hotels, military bases, and catering halls. Leket works with 195 NGOs throughout the country to provide nutritious food to over 175,000 Israelis weekly.
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12) Nepal Youth Foundation ▪ nepalyouthfoundation.org
Kathmandu, Nepal
The Nepal Youth Foundation operates two children’s homes for orphans and has proved education, vocational training, and medical care to tens of thousands of children. The NGO manages a campaign to end the practice of Kamlari, a centuries-old system of indentured servitude embedded in the culture of rural Nepal, that has rescued 12,000 girls from slavery.
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13) One Sky ▪ onesky.ngo
Hong Kong
OneSky implements affordable, replicable programs that help caregivers provide better care to children living in China’s government-run orphanages. The NGO also works in 30 Early Childhood Development Centers in rural China and provides support to China’s economic orphans – children whose parents had to leave them behind in order to work in distant cities.
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14) Pakistan Animal Welfare Society ▪ pawspakistan.org
Karachi, Pakistan
The Pakistan Animal Welfare Society is a web-based NGO that coordinates help for animals in need through social media by putting people in touch with each other. They also use social media to help find homes for rescued animals and for educating Pakistani society about animal welfare issues.
15) Palestinian Medical Relief Society ▪ pmrs.ps
Ramallah, Palestine
Palestinian Medical Relief Society was founded in 1979 by a group of Palestinian doctors and health professionals. As one of the largest health NGOs in Palestine, PMRS provides quality health services to the most vulnerable members of Palestinian society: women, children, the disabled, and the poor in rural villages, refugee camps, and urban centers.
16) Plan Asia ▪ plan-international.org/asia
Bangkok, Thailand
With a presence in Asia since 1948, Plan International works to advance children’s rights and equality for girls. They provide access to education, fight child marriage and the child sex trafficking, implement clean water and sanitation programs, and manage economic development programs for families in poverty.
17) Slum Soccer ▪ slumsoccer.org
Nagpur, India
Slum Soccer offers much needed sporting opportunities and personal development programs to disadvantaged young people across India. With a focus on slum communities where unemployment, substance abuse, malnutrition, and sexual and domestic abuse take a daily toll, the NGO embraces soccer as means to character development and self-sufficiency.
18) Snow Leopard Trust ▪ snowleopard.ngo
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
The Snow Leopard Trust is an NGO working to save the endangered snow leopard that are under threat of extinction due to habitat loss and poaching. The organization partners with NGOs in five countries where only an estimated 3,500-7,000 snow leopards remain in the wild, namely China, India, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia.
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19) Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan ▪ soros.kz
Almaty, Kazakhstan
The Soros Foundation–Kazakhstan (SFK) is a NGO that works to promote democracy and civil society development in the Republic of Kazakhstan. With a focus on human rights, journalism ethics, and youth development, the Foundation SFK has granted more than $70 million to promote civil-society initiatives in Kazakhstan since 1995.
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20) Syria Campaign ▪ thesyriacampaign.org
Syria
The Syria Campaign is a global advocacy group launched in 2014 with the mission to mobilize people around the world to advocate to protect Syrian civilians and accelerate progress towards a peaceful and democratic future for Syria. By using the Internet effectively and creating reports, infographics, and videos, the NGO has shifted the public narrative on Syria.Follow ▶ Facebook ▪ Twitter ▪ Instagram ▪ YouTube
21) Teach for the Philippines ▪ teachforthephilippines.org
Makati, Philippines
Teach for the Philippines works to provide all Filipino children with an excellent education. The NGOs recruits some of the country’s most promising young leaders to teach for two years in public schools throughout the Philippines. Through their experiences in the classroom, Teach for the Philippines aims to transform these young leaders into lifelong advocates for education.
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22) UNDP Việt Nam ▪ vn.undp.org
Hanoi, Việt Nam
The United Nations Development Program in Việt Nam works with the government to build on the socio-economic development successes of the past two decades and meet the emerging challenges Việt Nam today faces as a new lower middle-income country. Through policy, UNDP Việt Nam works to help the country achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
23) WildAid ▪ wildaid.org
Beijing, China
WildAid works to end illegal wildlife trade and strives to create a global society where people no longer buy wildlife products such as shark fin, elephant ivory, and rhino horn. Rather than focusing on protecting animals from poaching, WildAid works to reduce the consumption of wildlife products and each week their message reaches 1 billion people worldwide.
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24) Wildlife SOS ▪ wildlifesos.org
New Delhi, India
Wildlife SOS is primarily known for helping end the 400-year-old practice of dancing bears in India, but in recent years the NGO has expanded its work to also combat poaching and rescuing elephants from circuses and the tourist industry.
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25) WWF Korea ▪ wwfkorea.or.kr
Seoul, South Korea
The mission of World Wildlife Fund Korea is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth. With a global focus on climate change and the conservation of wildlife and wildlands, WWF Korea also works to educate Korean society on sustainability and how to reduce their ecological footprint.
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This list was curated by Heather Mansfield, Principal Blogger at Nonprofit Tech for Good, author of the Global NGO Online Technology Report, and promoter of NGOs, nonprofits, and charities worldwide at @NonprofitOrgs.