PROPOSAL

Building resilience for Ethnic Islamic Minority in Vietnam

Phase One

1. An overview about ethnic Islamic minority in Vietnam

The ethnic Islamic minority group in Vietnam (also known as Cham ethnic
minority group) has lived on the central coast of Vietnam for a long time, creating a
brilliant culture with a profound influence from South Asian culture. The Cham
people built the Champa kingdom as early as the 17th century.
Currently, there are two major groups of ethnic Islamic minority living in
Vietnam, one is in Ninh Thuan Province and Binh Thuan Province, while the other
settles in Chau Doc City, the capital of An Giang Province. As of the 2019 census
data, the total population of Cham ethnic people is 178,948, including 87,838 men and
91,110 women. 83.8% of the population live in rural areas.
Educational level: The results of sociological studies showed that out of 1500
respondents, 800 people have primary education, accounting for 53,3%; 718 people
have secondary education, accounting for 41,2%; only 5.5% (82 people) have
vocational or higher education (see table below). .

Compared to the overall rates of educational level of Vietnamese people

provided by UNICEF, it is much lower. Hence, the ethnic Islamic community in
Vietnam is also facing a lot of difficulties in getting an average to high paid job to
make ends meet.
2. Proposition to build the resilience for the ethnic Islamic minority
Having perceived the issues that the ethnic Islamic minority in Vietnam is
facing, the Commonwealth Iconic Federation representative office in Vietnam hereby
presents the series of solution to build the resilience for the ethnic Islamic minority in
Vietnam, with five pillars:
 1. Creating community space to preserve community cultural value and
enhance community solidarity;
2. Establishing the community-elected board of administration
3. Providing educational support and scholarships for students from the
age of 6 to 18, with a vision to extend to undergraduate and graduate
education;
4. Providing advisory, administrative and financial support for SMEs
owned by members of the community
This proposal will give a brief presentation about phase one of the plan to build
the resilience for the ethnic Islamic minority in Vietnam, which includes the first and
the second pillar mentioned above.

PHASE ONE

1. Creating community space to preserve community cultural value and

enhance community solidarity
The ethnic Islamic minority in Vietnam lives in settlement villages which tend
to be in some very remote areas. In those villages, unlike many other ethnic groups in
Vietnam, there are no community houses or spaces that serve as a hub for community
gathering or as a space that preserve the traditional and/or religious values.
The Commonwealth Iconic Federation representative office in Vietnam
proposes to build 2 (two) community houses in two provinces that have the highest
population of Islam in Vietnam, which are Ninh Thuan Province and An Giang
province.

Ninh Thuan province An Giang province

 The community houses will serve as:
- The office of the community-elected administration to gather census
information for future support program and allocate on-site, on-time
support wherever needed;
- An indoor and outdoor gathering space for the community;
- A culture space that not only preserves the heritage of the community
and also promotes the religious aspect of the community;
- Shelter for the community in case of natural hazard
Therefore, the construction of the community houses will have the following
criteria:
- Location: in the village where the community is located, preferably on
high ground to serve as a shelter
- Area: land plot required at least 600m2, with the community to be at
least 300m2
- Facilities:
- 1 Hall
- 1 Administrative office (shared working space)
- 2 Wash rooms
- 1 Kitchen
- 1 Fully-equipped classroom
- 1 Computer room
- 1 Library
- 1 Communal garden
- 1 Playground
- 1 Storage
- Equipment: The community house will be equipped with
- Solar power system
- Lighting system
- Internet system
- Speaker system
- Design and detailed sketch of the community house: to be updated.
- Estimated fee for the construction of a community house (including
surveying, feasibility study, land plot acquisition, government permit
application, supervising, construction): USD$500,000 (five hundred
thousand US dollars), with detailed list of pricing to be updated.
2. Establishing the community-elected board of administration
The board of administration elected by the community and sanctioned by the
local government will serve as the community representative to collect community
census data and work closely with the Commonwealth Iconic Federation
representative office in Vietnam for future aid programs.
 The board of administration will also be in charge of the maintenance of the
community house, as well as hosting weekly, monthly and yearly programs for the
community.
The proposed organizational chart for the community house is as followed:
- Community Representative: 1 person
- Assistant Community Representative: 1 persons
- Education Facilitator: 1 person
- Cultural Facilitator: 1 person
- Facility Coordinator: 1 person
The board of administration operates on a voluntary basis with consensus from
the community, with each board serving on the basis of a two-year term. The board
will adhere to the bylaw of the community drafted by the Commonwealth Iconic
Federation representative office in Vietnam and recognized by the local government.
Therefore, the board of administration is vital for successful operation of the
community house and its programs so that the community house can achieve its first
pillar, which is “creating community space to preserve community cultural value and
enhance community solidarity”.
Even though the board member serves on a voluntary basis, a monthly stipend
will be allocated to the members based on their role. It is as follows:
Role Monthly stipend (USD) Total annually (USD)

Community Representative 180 2.160,00

Assistant Community Representative 150 1.800,00

Education Facilitator 110 1.320,00

Cultural Facilitator 110 1.320,00

Facility Coordinator 80 960,00

Total 630 7560

Each year, the board of administration will draft an action plan for a fiscal year
to be submitted to the Commonwealth Iconic Federation representative office in
Vietnam to receive annual funding for amenities, activities and aid programs.