New year food parcels for the poorest in our programs

Tet is coming soon and we will be giving food parcels to the poorest of the families in our education programs.

A gift of some basic foods and some treats at this special time of year for the families means a lot. Tet is Vietnamese New Year, the end of winter, and the start of spring and a new year.

They believe each year should start fresh with new clothes, no debts and gift of meals and food for friends and the extended family, but the poor families can't manage to do this, let alone eat well on a daily basis.

We would like to help them. If you feel you can contribute to this New Year gift for them please go to this link.

http://makingadifference.gofundraise.com.au/page/CEF

With huge thanks,
Linda

Christmas in Vietnam by Graeme

I stayed in Central Viet Nam for a couple of weeks recently and went on several visits to the families of children CEF supports in the countryside of Quang Nam province and up into the hills towards the border with Laos. It’s delightful. Terraced rice fields, lush vegetation and hospitable people. But not a lot of work;which is why Diem’s family moved to Hoi An. Their move was made possible because mum’s granny was living in Hoi An. So they moved in with her until a small house just down the street became available, which is where we met them just before Christmas.

It was raining when we arrived and were warmly welcomed by the whole family. Liverpool Rotary, Sydney sponsors Diem and Rotarian Ted Mylnarz came with us.

Because the family is still registered in Dai Loc district where they used to live, they are not able to receive any help from local authorities. Diem’s father had just made the long return trip to have an x-ray and had found out that he has compressed vertebrae. He was told to come back soon for more x-rays. He can no longer work as a motorbike taxi or labourer so it falls to his wife to be the breadwinner. This all sounds pretty gloomy but the whole family are so delightful to be with you’d never know what they are facing. One of CEF’s assistants Hieu translates for us as we look at the x-ray that father has taken off a nail on the wall. He’s in pain from the sciatica and I wonder what he’ll do. Surgery seems like the best option but it’s way beyond his means.

I have fun with the children videoing them and it’s with some reluctance that we leave for our next visit.

As we drive off I learn that CEF’s driver Bill has spotted an inauspicious placing of trees in the front garden and has told Diem’s mother she should move them to avoid any further problems for the family. Somehow this seems quite plausible.

Home visits to the children in Binh Tu

CEF started in this farming community with just a small group of children who were in need of help to stay in school; now there are 16 children in this education program. As we have been able to relieve the burden by funding the children's education it has meant that they have been able to feed themselves better which shows as they are not scrawny like they were when we first started helping them.

The standard of most of their results has increased too; the main exception being those we started helping later as they missed out on some of their basic education in the early years.

Smiles are more common these days, and they express their gratitude more often for this simple support.

The CEF team now includes an amazing driver

CEF is most fortunate to have a driver with a big heart. All visits to the children used to take place by motorbike, but our area of work has grown and the the numbers of children we help has increased, so we have taken to using a car sometimes (especially in the rainy season). We have found an amazing driver, who is both a very careful driver, as well as being a good man with a huge heart.

Every so often his family clear out their clothes and he brings them along to give to the families. On a recent visit one of our girls was fortunate to be the same size as his wife, and so she was given some lovely clothes in very good condition. She was rather overwhelmed by this generosity, as well as very pleased.

Home visits in Duy Xuyen

Today I was thinking about changes in the lives of some of the children in our Duy Xuyen education program.

When we first started helping some of these Duy Xuyen children six years ago they only had what we would consider temporary homes; homes made from various materials such as wood planks, bamboo, plant fibres, aluminium sheeting, plastic sheeting and they all had mud floors. Because some of them are registered as very poor with the local government, those families have been given grants to build small new homes. Not really enough funding to do so, but a good start with a bank loan or loan from relatives or help from another charity to build little homes.

It was good to reflect on the fact that their lives are easier now; they have stable homes and educational support for their children. They are still poor, but have their children in school, and have homes that are fairly waterproof, making their lives easier and less stressful; although most of them now have home loans.

More books for the mobile library

Graeme bought some traditional stories for younger children and interesting books for the older children today. Thank you Graeme for adding to our growing collection of books for the children.

Nga

Along a muddy lane on the edge of Hoi An is Nga’s house. It looks over a flat expanse of rice fields stretching into the hazy distance. Stooped figures move calf-deep in the mud. It’s the time of year to prepare the paddies for planting.

Nga’s family do not own land but their front garden is lush with vegetables:sweet potatoes cover the ground and green beans climb up the trellis around the garden and along the path leading to the front door.

She’s growing up in an unusual family for Viet Nam: Nga’s mum is the breadwinner and her father stays at home looking after the kids and the house. And it feels a nice place to be despite its chaotic construction of wood and coconut matting, rough earth floor and rusty tin roof.

It’s Christmas day and we’re visiting Nga with Ted Mylnarz. He’s representing Liverpool Rotary who are paying for the schooling of Nga and nine other children in central Viet Nam.

That day we visited four more families all with very different circumstances but with one thing in common: they all know that one of their children will finish school.

(Photos and blog by Graeme Burn, CEF Manager, Australia)

Is anyone upgrading their electronic equipment or have some free time and can help on a long term basis?

Children's Education Foundation is a small NGO helping poor girls in Vietnam receive an education.

We need some help and you might be able to help us.

Making a difference doesn't need to involve doing anything dramatic, such as giving up ones family or present lifestyle; there are small ways people can help charities, and that makes a difference. A charity doesn't function without help from quite a few people it is hard to do our work without many forms of assistance.

Children's Education Foundation has a few needs and maybe some of you are upgrading equipment and could help us out at the same time. Are you happy to donate your older equipment to CEF?

Maybe some of you can give a little time on an ongoing basis without having to travel overseas?

We don't need new equipment, but we would find some equipment useful:
2 portable laptops in good condition
1 iPad in good condition

Also we are looking for some long-term, part-time volunteers to help us. We need:
A web developer
Someone to maintain the website
Someone with marketing experience
Someone with NGO experience in sponsor communication to help with our sponsor communication
A fund raising manager and fundraising team
A bookkeeper

If you think you can help in any way, please do email me, Linda:
c.e.f.vietnam@gmail.com

Why not now? Why not make a difference now?

Why not now? Why not make a difference now?

So many people I meet say they will do something to help others when they retire, or when their children leave home.

There are so many things people can do to make a difference to the lives of others right now, and they don't need to be rich to make a difference either.

Just decide what is meaningful for you, and you will be able to speak to others with passion and will find the strength and clarity to act and make a difference. You will find if you decide to act now, that decision will immediately make a difference and will continue to make a difference.

We are looking for 3 long term volunteers in Australia

Children's Education Foundation is only a small non-profit organization helping poor girls in Vietnam to receive an education, but we do need some help! If you would like to help us and can make a long term commitment we would love to talk with you.

An experienced book keeper - We need a long term volunteer:
This person would preferably be in Sydney to be able to easily meet with the Australian CEF manager to work on accounts. A monthly meeting would be required. Experience with Salesforce is preferable.

An experienced website person - We need a long term volunteer:
Someone who would be happy to do a major upgrade to the website every couple of years and to add newsletters, photos or new information up to 4 times a year. Communication can be by email.

A sponsor communications person - We need a long term volunteer:
We need someone who already has experience with sponsor communication for a charity. They preferably need to be in Sydney so the Australian manager can meet with them and so I can meet with them when in Australia.

Please email me if you think you can help with one of these CEF needs with your name, where in Australia or Sydney you live, a contact number and how you feel you could help us.

Thank you!