East Meets West creates sustainable and catalytic solutions to difficult development problems. Our mission statement is to transform the health, education and communities of disadvantaged people in Asia by building partnerships, developing opportunities and creating sustainable solutions.

East Meets West was born from one woman's dream of helping to heal the wounds of war between the United States and Vietnam. In 1988, LeLy Hayslip, whose life story was chronicled in two books she wrote and in Oliver Stone's film, Heaven and Earth, returned to her village of Ky La in central Vietnam and started East Meets West. From the cornerstones of LeLy's early projects - Mothers Love Pediatric Clinic and Peace Village Medical Center - East Meets West has grown to be a highly respected organization implementing large-scale projects. Although LeLy is no longer with East Meets West, the people of Vietnam will always be grateful for her vision and gifts.

 

Program Areas

Our core programs are in the areas of learning, healing and health. Our programs reflect our commitment to removing the barriers that prevent people from enjoying life's fullest opportunities. Our primary mission is to serve the poor and the disadvantaged in Asia. 

 

Program Locations

• Headquarters: Oakland, CA, USA
• Vietnam: Da Nang, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ngai
• Cambodia, India, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Timor Leste

 

Funding

Support for our work comes from agencies such as the World Bank, USAID and Irish Aid; private foundations such as Atlantic Philanthropies, the Ford Foundation and the Lemelson Foundation; corporations such as Masimo, Boeing and Coca-Cola; and thousands of individuals.

 

Results At-A-Glance

Since 1988, East Meets West has served millions of people in Asia, from providing rural villagers with clean water, to saving newborns by modernizing neonatal wards, to constructing large medical and educational facilities that serve tens of thousands of people every day.

 

East Meets West has invested over $105 million in Asia. 

 

Program & Results	What It Costs
Breath of Life 55,000 babies a year are saved or treated with EMW's neonatal technology and training.	$2,800 provides a hospital with a phototherapy machine, a three-year warranty and training.
Clean Water & Sanitation 370,000 people have access to clean water through and EMW-supported village water system.	$40 provides a connection to clean, piped water for the poorest of the poor.
Dental Program 103,000 children have been given free, modern dental care.	$10 provides a child free modern dental care for one year.
Operation Healthy Heart 3,000 children have been given lifesaving heart surgery.	$2,000 provides a critically ill child with lifesaving heart surgery.
SPELL Program 11,000 children from the poorest families have a comprehensive SPELL scholarship to prevent school drop-out.	$120 provides one impoverished child with a year’s scholarship for secondary school.
SN-PWD 1,100 disabled children have received physical therapy, corrective surgery and educational scholarships.	$300 provides one disabled person with corrective surgery and a prosthetic device.
Village of Hope The center houses 134 children, including orphaned and hearing- and speech-impaired.	$600 provides care for a year for one child living at the Village of Hope.