CEF's fundraising event yesterday went well

Pam who is one of our board members, organized a small event at her home yesterday for CEF. It was very successful. We are most grateful to her family for opening up their home for this event, and to all her friends and family who helped to support it.

I did a presentation about CEF and there were some questions. There were a variety of ways to raise funds on the day and before. Several people had been selling raffle tickets to raise funds for Tet Food Parcels. These food parcels are for the very poorest of CEF's children who can't afford to celebrate at Tet (Vietnamese New Year).

Some of the funds raised will be used for the education of children we have interviewed who are in need of sponsorship. Pam had plants for sale too which helped to raise funds. Pam also makes creative, interesting and beautiful mosaics. Some of Pam's friends had ordered some and others she had for sale too were sold. The profits from them went to CEF.

Drew one of Pam's son's very kindly donated a second hand laptop and a mobile phone to CEF as well. The computer we will pass onto one of our tertiary students and the phone to a parent of one of our CEF student who has no phone and no other means for us to contact them.

We are very grateful for such wonderful support.

Photo above is of myself, Graeme, Pam and her family. Photos below are some of the wonderful mosaics Pam has made, which have been sold, or are for sale.

CEF wish list for 2017

As with all NGO's there is always a wish list. As it is the time of year when many consider giving to charities we want to share some of our wishes that would help our families, but also help all of us here who work to make our work at CEF possible.

For our families:
Sponsorships:
US$225 spoonsorships of primary school children
US$280 sponsorships of secondary school children
US$335 sponsorships of high school children
US$400-$800 a year for university education. Most courses are 4 years. The costs vary dramatically as it depends on what they are studying and where.

US$200 for a year, for food support for one of our very poor families who are struggling to feed their families. We have 10 families in need of this support at present.

US$100 for two book boxes. We have a Literacy Encouragement Program and have a library at our office, take books to some of our children and have book boxes in some easily accessible places for the children in communities to come to read, or borrow books. Ideally we would love to receive US$200 to be able to create 4 boxes of books. the books are a mixture of pictorial educational books and materials useful for their studies as well as traditional stories and books by famous Vietnamese authors. We do not provide any comics, political or religious materials. We educate the children on how to care for books.

US$250 for the materials for a small bathroom with toilet. Each family will do the building of their own toilet / bathroom. We have many families who have no bathroom or toilet what so ever and just use the back yard for washing themselves and going to the toilet. Using the back yard is unhygienic, smelly, messy and embarrassing for the young girls we work. We have many families in need of a toilet in a small bathroom and will prioritize them as funds are donated.

US$100 donations towards our Water Safety Day. Drowning is a major cause of death of children in Vietnam. Each summer we teach our CEF children all about water safety. We have games in the water and on the beach and they all learn how to float and swim. We have both professional trainers and volunteer support. The day ends with a treat of a trip to the cinema to see a movie. The total cost will be around US$1300.

For CEF:
US$650 for a staff computer. One staff has an old slow computer, so we need to purchase a good new Vietnamese computer.

US$100 for excellent reference books for CEF staff to use. For example one of our needs is a doctor's Vietnamese - English Medical dictionary as we have many families with serous medical problems and no online or simple dictionaries can help us to translate their problems. Another is a medical book on gynaecological problems, and also a highly informative book (medical probably) on female health and hygiene.

US$1000 a year for CEF training to ensure our staff develop and grow as individuals and increase their skills.

Frequent flyer points please for my travel to Australia and America for fundraising.

Donations are always gratefully received and are not wasted. Please contact us at cef.vn.usa@gmail.com or at c.e.f.vietnam@gmail.com.

Thanks you,
Linda

Linda Burn
Founding Director and In-Country Manager - Vietnam

Games for children ~ Guest blog by CEF's Ms Kim Chi

Children now rely on modern technology such as TV, internet, video games, ipads and cell phones for the majority of their play. It is a known fact that it limits their creativity and imagination, as well as limiting the necessary sensory and motor development.

Besides studying and helping their family with household chores, we are happy to say there still are some traditional games which our CEF children play in their spare time.

These are some photos we took on a home visit day of CEF children playing Vietnamese marbles. This game is very popular, but also interesting and attracts both boys and girls in rural areas of Viet Nam. It’s rare to see children in cities playing this game as they like to use modern technology to entertain themselves. The marbles don’t cost much, don’t need modern technology or parental supervision. It contributes to making children more creative and sociable because they have to play in a group.

Childhood will be more lively and memorable and filled with smiles if we preserve traditional games like this one.