'Cai Thien' Took Root

Through such efforts of CNIP, some mothers started taking leadership. They now act as a liaison among mothers who could not receive information about maternal and child health or did not understand the importance of these information, the community health center, and village health workers. FIDR supported this movement and created a system in which mothers were able to get the information they need.

In fact, CNIP was planned according to the life improvement approach implemented in Japan’s rural areas after the Pacific War. People devise in the daily life and teach each other. From there, a structure of practice was created. This is what FIDR has worked for the six years. It is the most important key for gaining a permanent result to incorporate small changes into the daily life.

In Vietnamese, there is a word “Cai Thien.” This means Kaizen in Japanese and improvement in English. CNIP successfully improved the understanding of husbands and mothers-in-law on mothers, cooperation with neighbors, and nutritional condition of children. What was needed to improve the situation was not material supports nor superficial knowledge, but the awareness of people that they could change the living environment with their small efforts and the way of a family to improve their lifestyle permanently. As Cai Thien, Japan’s Kaizen has been steadily taken root and spread in Kon Tum province.