increases profit. “The only reason that makes me want to do this job is my love for the farmers,” Hoang said. “I went through [poverty] during my childhood, but I was fortunate to escape it. I want to help so that other families can escape poverty also.” Harvesting income Americans alone drink 400 million cups of coffee per day, making the U.S. the world’s leading consumer of coffee, much of which is produced in developing countries. Vietnam is now second only to Brazil in tons of coffee exported nationally, according to the Foreign Agricultural Service—an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is the largest producer of the Robusta coffee bean, which accounts for roughly one-third of the coffee produced in the world. Driving through Pleiku, it’s clear that most families in the town and the surrounding Gai Li Province have a coffee
The Salvation Army in Vietnam The Salvation Army has no current presence in Vietnam, but did engage in social and community development in the country over two periods of time. The Army first worked in Vietnam from 1968 to 1971 providing medical, educational and evangelical services to American troops and local people affected by the war in refugee camps and orphanages in the Saigon area. It withdrew in 1971 when the funding contract with the United States Agency for International Development ended. In 1998, the Army investigated possible reentry into Vietnam. After meetings with government officials and two exploratory visits, The Salvation Army planned to begin full-time work in Vietnam in January 1999, specifically to help complete a furniture factory and provide employment training. Then International Secretary Commissioner Fred Ruth signed a memorandum of agreement between The Salvation Army and Vietnam’s Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. The Army agreed to provide poverty alleviation projects, community development, training in primary health care, HIV/AIDS awareness, agriculture and animal husbandry, literacy programs and vocational skills and employment.
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farm—whether it is acres of land or, commonly, a small patch outside the house. For many, the coffee represents a way to earn a minimal income. One acre of land can grow about 1,500 coffee plants, which live up to 30 years but must initially develop for three years before harvesting. The initial cost for seedling and three years of care is roughly $750 per acre, according to Hoang. Brokers often loan money to the farmers at 5 percent monthly interest (60 percent per year), with a requirement to sell the harvest to the broker at extremely low rates. Annual upkeep for pruning, insecticide, weeding, watering, fertilizer, and labor costs about $1,300 per acre. According to Hoang, the net income for local farmers is $1,350 per acre— barely above the cost of its operation. In partnership with The Salvation Army, the net income for a farmer in Hoang’s network—who is able to sell harvested coffee beans at a fair market price—is $2,120 per acre, representing a 57 percent profit increase.
The agreement focused on social and community development as the Vietnamese government forbade evangelizing. The Army could not use its international trust money for projects in Vietnam, because the money must be used toward the advancement of the Christian religion. A second withdrawal In the second stint of the Army in Vietnam, money became an issue. The International Management Council (IMC) at International Headquarters reviewed operations and expressed concern; the board of trustees had not approved the use of international funds and the project’s initial grant was nearly expended. IMC requested a proposal for adequate funding or a plan for withdrawal. The team working in Vietnam thought the decision was unprecedented and the work was sustainable through project administration funds; the board disagreed. At another meeting in December 1999, the board decided it was best to withdraw and wait for religious law in Vietnam to change. Army operations in Vietnam wound down until all projects—providing musical instruments and Braille books for the Hai Phong School for the Blind, medicine and equipment for the Hai Phong hospital, a
DOING THE MOST GOOD
cow bank in Son Lawere—were complete or handed over to another agency. Then chief of staff, General John Larsson (Ret.), announced the Army’s withdrawal in February 2000. Discussions of new work A controversial ordinance regarding religious freedom in Vietnam passed in November 2004. Discussions arose about resuming Army work in Vietnam if funding was available, but nothing has begun to date. In 2006, the U.S. removed Vietnam from its list of countries it considers to violate religious freedom. The Straits Times, a Singapore newspaper, reported that Vietnam had unveiled a new liberal policy on religion—allowing Vietnamese, foreign visitors and residents the legal right to practice their faith without hindrance from the state. However, the Human Rights Watch World Report 2011, released in January, reports that the Vietnam government “intensified its repression of activists and dissidents during 2010, and cracked down harshly on freedom of expression, association and assembly.”
n From a Salvation Army International Headquarters report.