International Literacy Day 2015

It's International Literacy Day; a day to acknowledge the importance of literacy!

We at CEF love choosing, buying and then preparing books for the children. We then share the books with the CEF children and other children in their communities. Parents can borrow them too.

In Da Nang we take books to our students homes when we visit them. In Quang Nam students come to the office and borrow books, or they and the other children in their communities can borrow from the boxes of books we leave in the local pagodas in areas where we work, or in the homes of some of the CEF children. One child takes responsibility in the community to educate the other children about book care, sign the books out, and make sure they are returned.

How much this program grows depends on the donations we receive that are specifically for literacy. We are very pleased that more and more children have access to good quality, educational books on a large range of subjects.

We were given many comics which we  then gave to the children at  Hoi An Children's Home 

 One of our tertiary students with some books she borrowed from the CEF office library

 Another tertiary student with books she borrowed from the library at our office

 Books from a recent book shopping trip

 Some of our CEF students reading books they borrowed

 One of our secondary students with books she borrowed

Another of our secondary school students with books she borrowed

CEF students write about their summer holiday

The following diverse snippets of letters are from CEF children to their sponsors talking about their summer holidays which have just come to an end. All letters were translated from Vietnamese to English by CEF staff.                                                                                                                          

A CEF primary school child wrote:     ...This summer besides joining in on math extra tuition classes I also joined in on many of the activities of my 'Community Youth Union' each Sunday afternoon. We did singing and dancing and played many traditional games. And something which made me so happy was that I received the 'Encouragement Award' of the singing and dancing competition in our community. I enjoyed this summer very much......

One of our secondary school students wrote:     ....During this summer my mother took me to the beach early every morning. We did exercises and swam there. The most exciting event for me this summer was CEF’s 'Water Safety and Beach Outing Day'. I not only was able to swim and play games at the beach, but also was able to go to the cinema with other CEF students. It was a great day!.......

Another secondary school student who lives with her grandmother and cousin wrote:   .....My grandmother’s legs are usually painful when the weather changes so I and my cousin often try to act the buffoon to make her happy and we give her massages. In this last school year, both I and my cousin got good results at school. I am very happy about this and I know that it makes my grandmother happy and proud of us. 
I and my cousin also love reading books, especially Fairy Tale story books. In this summer holiday, when my aunt-in-law had free time, she often took me to the CEF office to borrow many Fairy Tales story books to take home for reading. We really enjoy them very much.......

One of our university students wrote:    .....I had a delightful summer holiday, so let me tell you about it. I started my summer holiday with a month long part time job at a coffee shop near my college in Hue. I worked as a waitress and I only had to work in the morning. I was very happy that I could earn a little bit of money this vacation.                                                                               Then, I visited my brother and his family on Cham Island. This is the first time I went there and I really liked it, not only for the beautiful sightseeing but also because of the kind local people.      We heard that our first stepmother who lives in Ho Chi Minh city was seriously ill, therefore I went to visit her for about a half month. She suffered from spinal problems and she can’t move. Every day I talked with her, and played with and taught her grandchildren. My stepsister took me to visit several places in Ho Chi Minh city too. I did enjoy the visit with her very much. However, I don’t like Ho Chi Minh city much as it is a noisy city. I prefer to live in our peaceful homeland, Hoi An. My step sibling took care and looked after me very well. They made me so happy. After all, my sister in law took me to visit her home in Gia Lai province, a mountainous area in the center of Vietnam. There the atmosphere was so fresh, and the people were so friendly. It was really the most special summer holiday that I have ever had. It is also the last summer vacation in my school life because I will graduate at the end of this academic year........                 

Thuy's thoughts about why she wants to help others ~ Guest blog by CEF staff Thuy

When I was a child I wanted to help people because I thought the fairy would come to see me and give me a wish. When I grew up a little bit I knew that the fairy just appeared in my grandmother’s stories and in fairy books and comics, but I was still very happy to help people in that time because I felt that I was strong, brave and intelligent.

Well, it doesn’t mean that I was a really good girl when I was a child. Sometimes my parents asked me to do a good thing, but I didn’t really want to do it. And because I scared that my mother would not be fine with me if I didn’t do it, I had to do it, but with an uncomfortable feeling. However, when the others said “Oh, you are a good girl!” or “You are so kind!”, I felt much better and happier. Now, I still feel ashamed when I think about it. But do you think that if you help people regularly it will become a habit, but you don’t realize it, because has become a habit? I think so.

Thuy with one of the CEF students who lives with her grandmother

Now, I feel helping others is not only helping those people, but also helping myself. It helps me to see, to know and to learn much more about life and people. Some of what I have learned is that life may not be fair to you, but you can change it, and that education is very important to people, and that everyone has different attitudes to difficulties.

I also love to see the smiles of the disadvantaged people, the children and their parents, when they receive support. And I feel extremely content and happy when I know that their lives are getting better. Especially I feel like I am a useful person when I can do something for these people, even it is just a little thing.

Thuy talking with one of the CEF family's

Thuy working with some of the CEF students at our 'Lifeskills Workshop'

“Why I was drawn to helping others”, well, it is simply because it is life and life is meant to be shared.

Thuy

Thuy taking photos of a new family that was introduced to CEF

Thuy applying sunscreen to one of our  CEF students at our 'Water Safety Day'

Thuy playing with puppies at a CEF child's home

Ngoc reflects on why she was drawn to helping others ~ Guest blog by CEF staff Ngoc

It is really interesting that I am working for an NGO in order to help others at present. I had never thought that I would do this job. I dreamt of being a teacher when I was a child. Then I wanted to be a tour guide when I was in high school and university. Just before graduating from university I was still keen on working in hospitality. Then I changed my mind and decided to work for CEF. Before working full time for CEF I worked part time for a year, and that allowed me to have a chance to find the right work which I love a lot.

Ngoc with one of the babies on a home visit

 Ngoc taking down home visit notes in the courtyard of one of the family's

Ngoc cycling with a  local girl to find one of the homes we hadn't yet visited and didn't know

To be honest, it is really hard to say why I am drawn to helping others although I took part in charity work as a volunteer even before working for CEF. Perhaps it is because it is really a meaningful job that all people want to have an opportunity to do.

Ngoc interviewing a family that had been referred to CEF by the Vietnam Women's Union

Ngoc with one of the girls in the mountains. Small desks had been presented to them by CEF staff for them to use on their beds in their boarding school. 

Ngoc with one of our younger students. This little girl is quite a character although academically challenged as both parents are blind and therefore they can't help her with her homework. 

When visiting a poor family that CEF helps I am able to see their great opportunities when receiving CEF’s support. Without help from CEF a girl may not be able to have any further education. I think “What is going to happen to them next?” And contemplate “How is their future going to be without being educated?” I think helping them to have literacy is really significant allowing them to orient their future into a better one, and escape from poverty as well as have the knowledge and ability to be good people.

Moreover, what do we feel when helping a disadvantaged person and they manage to overcome their obstacles? Obviously, we feel delighted at their success both materially and spiritually. I already experienced this feeling so it is partly the motivation for me to contribute to help others.

Hopefully, more and more people will support CEF so we can continue our great job.

Ngoc

CEF's good news today is that two sisters have just been sponsored

CEF is happy to share the news that these two girls now have sponsors who are committed to their education and will support them all the way through school. 

Their mother needs this support for her daughters as she has poor health, works hard as a garbage collector, but is still unable to earn enough for their education on her income. Sadly their father is mentally ill to the degree that he needs to live in an institution. 

So this is good news for mum and the girls; a relief for mum and joy for the girls as they love school.

Big thanks to their new sponsors for caring enough to help both these girls. 

A group of ladies called 'Nam Knights' have donated allowing us to give three scholarships

 A group of ladies who call themselves 'Nam Knights', because they help in Vietnam, have donated to CEF. This has enabled three girls from a mountainous area in Quang Nam, near the Vietnam-Laos border, to complete their last year of school. We are thrilled this has been made possible allowing the girls the satisfaction of completing their education, but also making them more employable.
Border communities in any developing country are vulnerable to the ruthless due to the poverty and desperation in these areas. These girls will be stay in a boarding facility at school while they complete their last year, and then afterwards will be able to look for employment as high school graduates. This is a wonderful gift for these girls. Thank you 'Nam Knights'!
 

Pam introduces herself and talks about meeting her sponsor children ~ Guest blog by Pam (one of CEF's board members in Australia)

Hello, my name is Pam Moreton-Caldwell and I work in Mental Health Services at Morisset, near Newcastle, NSW. I also live in Morisset with my husband Wayne and my youngest son Drew. My oldest son Kris lives nearby.

I am a member of the Australian Board of Directors of Children’s Education Foundation and I have been involved with CEF for almost 4 years now.  I thought others might like to hear about my experiences as a sponsor of two young girls through CEF and as a member of the Australian CEF Board.

While holidaying in Hoi An in 2012 Wayne, Drew and I were introduced to Linda Burn via a mutual friend. Linda told her story to us about how she founded CEF and about the difficulties young children, girls in particular, had gaining an education in Vietnam, especially those in the hard to reach areas. An education is something we take for granted here in Australia.

We were so taken with Linda's dedication to her work and the plight of some of the young children of Quang Nam Province that we decided to sponsor not just one, but two young girls, one in high school and one in primary school. This was one of the best decisions we have ever made.

As we were already in Hoi An Linda arranged for us to meet with our sponsor girls and their family members during our stay. What an impact that meeting had on us all, especially me!  ‘V’, the youngest was so tiny and sweet when we met her with her dad by her side who was so obviously unwell. And ‘K’, our eldest, who we also met, was with her sister ‘T’, and both of them were so very thin.

This visit made the plight of young girls in Vietnam so very real for us. Meeting these young children and knowing that we would be partly responsible for their future gave a us a sense of purpose somehow, that when we came back home to Australia we stayed in touch with Linda via email and Facebook, and continued to offer our support where possible for ‘V’ and ‘K’ and their families.

Pam shares about further visits to her sponsor children ~ Guest blog by Pam (one of CEF's board members in Australia)

Our next experience with CEF was a visit back to Hoi An the following year. This time we had friends and family come with us as my husband Wayne and I were having our commitment ceremony in Hoi An. On this visit Graeme gave a talk to our group of friends and we had a further visit with our girls.  What a fantastic experience!

We brought some practical gifts; books, stationary and wet weather gear for them. We all enjoyed lunch with Linda, Graeme and Quan and the girls and we got to know them a little better through Quan interpreting for them and us . Once again we returned to Australia with this sense of achievement and pride in giving our support to such a worthy purpose.

Quan explaining about some of the gifts from Pam and her family, 

and Lien putting in 'V' new hair clips

I won’t forget the joy on ‘K’ face when she gave us her wedding gift of a Vietnamese mung bean cake and a gorgeous bowl full of little origami cranes.

             Pam and little 'V' amazed at all the work 'K' had put into making the cranes 
                                                       
My next visit to Hoi An I was on my own. I was given the opportunity to visit our sponsor girls’ homes. This was a very humbling experience. I remember visiting ‘V’ with her dad who was very ill at the time.

                            'V's dad was very happy to meet Pam again

Pam and 'V' doing some beading together

We also visited ‘K’, her mother and sister in their home. They offered us a meal they could ill afford, made in their makeshift kitchen. The welcome was so memorable.

                                     Pam at 'K's' home with 'K's mum 

I saw firsthand the mats ‘K’ helped her mother make to earn a living. And soon after this visit to them I experienced a typhoon and wondered however they would survive.

One of the beautiful mats that 'K' and her mother made for Pam

I came home after this visit a changed person.  I think I was kind of leaving fragments of my heart in Hoi An with every visit, but on this visit I felt I was also leaving a part of my soul.

Pam talks about her role as a fundraiser for CEF ~ Guest blog by Pam (one of CEF's board in Australia)

Linda and Graeme approached me after my third visit and asked if I would be willing to join their Board of Directors (in Australia). Very humbled and secretly thrilled to bits.  Happily I accepted! I now help with fund raising for CEF.

Pam

I have some very helpful friends and family who support me selling chocolates in my work place and also in my husband’s workplace. So far I think the tally raised is around the $3000 in the last year. I do my best to spread the word and have had some significant donations. I have just got my first person on board to sponsor a child and hope to get many more. I feel good about this.

 Pam with chocolates she and friends sell to raise funds for CEF

I am now trying a new technique, ‘crowd funding’, to see whether I am able to raise funds this way.

I also create mosaic artworks which are for sale and hope to have a stall in the near future.  I have sold 2 small mosaics and a painting and have orders for mosaics in the pipe line. That should allow me to make $580 profit and give that donation to CEF. I just need the time to make them and it’s just as well I enjoy mosaicking!!!!

Two of the stunning mosaics Pam has made

Mosaic Pam is working on at present

 Fairly recently I was able to return to Hoi An again, talk to Linda about fundraising and was able to visit our girls. This year we are supporting ‘K’ through university. Sadly little ‘V’ lost her father recently. I made a promise to him that we would take care of ‘V's’ education and see her through school and we will do our utmost to honor this.

 Pam made a beautiful lotus mosaic for 'K'

 Pam also gave her old laptop to her 

And 'K' embroidered a clock for Pam, that actually works!

Thank you for reading all my blogs, and best wishes to all,
Pam

Photos from CEF's education sponsorship program in the north-east of Vietnam during rice harvesting season

These photos help to give you a feeling for the farming community in the north-east of Vietnam where CEF has an education sponsorship program. I was just doing updates for some of the sponsors who have children in this community, and while looking through the photos I thought about how I love going here.

During the rice harvesting season everywhere there is rice and these photos are of the rice that is in the process of being checked and prepared for packing into sacks. This sorting mainly happens in the living room or at the entryway to the home, and out of the sun.