Stories of #GoodChange
Welcoming 30 years of Good Neighbours
March 28th marked the 30th anniversary of Good Neighbours - and what a journey it's been.
Good Neighbours first started in 1991 in South Korea, with one goal in mind: to make a world where people live together in harmony and without hunger. Read on to find out more about us and what we’ve been doing for the past 30 years.
Some of the first projects dedicated to assisting handicapped children, orphanages, poverty-stricken widows, rural community development as well as providing aid for tuberculosis patients. Work continued on for a year, and Good Neighbours eventually started helping its neighbours soon after in 1992.
Bangladesh was the first overseas branch to be established – and the first official international ‘neighbour’ joining the Good Neighbours family. What’s more, despite having our origins in Asia we quickly spread our wings and flew to the African continent to help, with the Somalian and Rwandan bases also opening in 1993 to address the refugee crisis and provide post-genocide aid.
The Good Neighbours cause and dedication to humanitarian aid was officially recognised by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC) in 1996. They granted Good Neighbours the highest honour that could be given to an international humanitarian non-government organisation – the general consultative status.
It’s safe to say that a lot has happened since 30 years ago, with the Good Neighbours international network spanning to 45 countries across six continents. That includes the support countries – meaning the branches that work to raise funds to send to the field countries in Africa and Asia – including us, Good Neighbours Australia!
Right now, all 45 of the Good Neighbours entities are working hard to achieve the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs). The SDGs are a list of 17 goals and 169 targets that aim to transform the modern humanitarian landscape into a better one by 2030. It covers a broad range of activities, including improving water and health accessibility as well as eliminating hunger – which are integral to our core mission of ending poverty. You can read more about our international efforts on the SDGs in our latest report.
Good Neighbours’ 30th anniversary isn’t just a day of celebration. It’s also a time of reflection, and a constant reminder that there are always humanitarian causes to support. We’ve been here for 30 years already, and we will certainly work hard to empower people and transform communities for many more.
