The Second Birthday Project

To promote the Second Birthday Project, we made a video clip of what it’s all about. Watch the video and find out!

By. Alex Sangwook Ahn

NGOs and NPOs

During the summer while working as an intern at Open Hands, I wrote a report regarding the difference between NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) and NPOs (Non-Profit Organizations). They are similar in that they exist for the main purpose of making the world a better place. The term NGO and the business type were created in 1945, with the inception of the United Nations. As you can infer by its name, the organization is not a part of the government, but they still help to provide humanitarian aid and advocate for social change. They may also operate in the same areas as government agencies. NGOs can exist at the local, national, or international level. The Salvation Army and American Red Cross are NGOs that are headquartered in the United States but they provide services across the world and the United Nations and Amnesty International are international NGOs. NGOs help benefit society in many sectors and practices such as

• Managing emerging health crises (ie. coronavirus, HIV/AIDS, etc)

• Promoting health education (ie. waste disposal and good hygiene)

• Developing social institutions (ie. schools and roads)

• Securing women’s equality (ie. boosting literacy and offering counseling)

• Dealing with community issues (ie. crime, prostitution, etc)

A Non-Profit Organization refers to a business that does not distribute its profits to owners or shareholders. The profits get reinvested into the business to manage expenses, meet its social goals, and pay staff. NPOs have the mission to help a specific cause or community and they may operate on a small scale like within a community, or a broader scale. NPOs exist to serve a variety of causes and issues. For example, they may:

• Support scientific research

• Provide literacy and educational programs

• Prevent animal cruelty

• Aid in stopping child abuse

• Promote sports programs

NGOs receive funding much like NPOs such as private donations, loans, grants, membership dues, and the sales of services to stay in business. NPOs can also receive funding in those ways in addition to corporate contributions, investments, government contracts or grants, and tax revenues. NGOs and NPOs have a lot in common, aiming to serve the public and promoting positive social change, the main difference being that NGOs operate internationally. Through the support of volunteers and donations, they exist and work to reach their goal of helping to change the world for the better.

By. Alex Sangwook Ahn

Certificate of Appreciation

In September, we were thrilled to hear the good news that the consistent work that we have been doing together with Open Hands to help underprivileged villages in the Philippines earned an official recognition, and finally today we received our Certificate of Appreciation. They thanked us for the donation of personal computers and support of the wi-fi internet connection which enables the children of the village to broaden their horizon in their learning experience and help the teachers to provide a better quality of education. In addition, they thanked our efforts in promoting the “Second Birthday Project” (Late Birth Registration) and providing funds to help the unregistered children to become legally registered and to receive the proper education that they are entitled to. 

Our club will continue to support the Second Birthday Project so that more children can earn their rights and pursue their dreams. 

By Alex Sangwook Ahn