The amount of Chinese investment in Indonesia has grown greatly in the past 10 years since the signing of the Free Trade Agreements between China and ASEAN leaders. In South Sulawesi, Indonesia, many Chinese-funded projects have started up. Top level universities in China now welcome foreign students and some offer scholarships. With the growing number of job openings, business opportunities and advanced study options it is apparent that learning the Chinese language can be an advantage in one’s effort to achieve success in life and ensure a prosperous future.

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SEEDs members in Bangkok continue to invest in local leaders and local initiatives that develop sports programs for young people. Recently a futsal league was held in partnership with a six-member local work team. Six neighborhoods competed in two age brackets, U12 and U15.

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Eye problems are a very common problem in the Riau villages where SEEDS workers are working alongside national nurses. Men and women work long hours in the field and their eyes are not protected against the sun. Roads are usually very dusty and the water is not very clean. These are all risks for potential eye irritation or damage. By giving health education we explain the risks of using dirty water and working in the full sun with eyes unprotected.

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It’s not an easy job to distil five years of research about poverty in fishing communities into a ‘coffee table’ booklet! But that’s precisely what a SEEDS worker is trying to do. Although there has been considerable success publishing the research in high quality scientific journals, which gives the work credibility, most local decision makers and practitioners who are at the coal face of poverty reduction simply don’t have the time or the inclination to read such publications.

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Since the start of the AEC (Asian Economic Community) at the end of 2015 the students at the English Resource Centre in Pekanbaru, run by SEEDS employees, feel increased pressure to improve their English speaking skills.

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STEM education aims to use interdisciplinary studies to solve real-world problems through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The ministry of education in Thailand is campaigning for STEM education to increase students’ competitiveness in these fields because of the demand for STEM-related jobs (www.stemedthailand.org).

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A team of workers from Indonesian charity Yayasan Pendar Pagi partner with SEEDs members to run a community centre in one of the most densely populated areas of Jakarta. Regular programs include various educational and recreational activities for children, a savings group for people living informally by the railway, and a medical advice service.

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SEEDs partner charity Yayasan Pendar Pagi (YPP) works to support street children in Pekanbaru, Indonesia. One of these children is Robin. He is 10 years old and comes from a family of 12 children. His mother has been married twice but both husbands have left her and the children so they moved to Pekanbaru in 2013 from the neighbouring province of West Sumatra to find work. Even in the city Robin’s mother has found it impossible to fully provide for all her children alone. This desperate situation forced the children onto the streets to beg.

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Local SEEDS representatives were recently invited by the Islamic State University Sultan Syarif Kasim II (UIN-SUSKA) in Pekanbaru to attend a formal event for the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between the two parties. This new strategic partnership comes with the placement of a SEEDS member in the Faculty of Psychology as part of a new program to support the improvement of Academic English at the university.

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For several months Riau has been covered by haze caused by forest fires on Sumatra (especially from the Southern provinces), with little rain and challenges to extinguish the fires. The level of pollution has reached hazardous levels, with resulting health effects such as breathing problems, coughing, blocked noses and irritated eyes. Schools have been closed for over a month now. Children need to stay at home and are advised not to play outside.

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