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essential HELP: a weblog
international and community development in Vietnam

Archive for the ‘Projects’ Category

Education Brief: Why Build A School in Vietnam?

Wednesday, June 6th, 2012

Building schools where needed

According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Vietnam has made major progress in education in recent years. Official figures estimate that enrollment rates in primary education have reached near universal levels, such that more children are receiving an education now than ever before.

But in our view, any one child out of school is still one child too many.

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Program Update: Hello from the Thien An Kids!

Wednesday, June 6th, 2012

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, VNHELP also partners with the Thien An Institute in Can Tho to help orphans, street kids and children with difficult family circumstances. Like at Dieu Giac, each of these children are connected to a kind-hearted sponsor in the U.S. or a different country from abroad. They send letters, correspondence, photos and sometimes even get a chance to meet in person. Thank you again to our VNHELPer, Dang Le, who brought back a packet of photos for us which we’ve scanned to share with you all. And of course, thank you to the wonderful philanthropists and sponsors who are making a difference in these children’s lives. The slide show below is just a small selection of some of the children who are currently being helped through the program.

[slideshow]

Program Update: Say Hello to the Dieu Giac Kids

Tuesday, June 5th, 2012

Since 2006, VNHELP has partnered with the Dieu Giac Orphanage in HCMC (Saigon) to provide a warm, nourishing environment to orphans and street children in Vietnam. Through our Sponsor A Child Program, we connect a compassionate donor from the U.S. to a child in need of support in Vietnam. Some of these children are orphans, some are street kids and some are admitted on a special basis when their families are unable to continue giving them proper care. We sponsor over a hundred children annually at both Dieu Giac and our additional partner, the Thien An Institute. One of our very dedicated VNHELPers, Dang Le, just returned from a personal trip to Vietnam andwas gracious enough to bring back a few photos of the kids currently sponsored through VNHELP for us. Say hello to some of the children below.

[slideshow]

Project Update: Getting to Know Son La and the Benefits of Education

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

It’s hard not to be awestruck by the natural beauty of Son La province. Bordered by Laos to the South and Yen Bai, Lao Cai and Lao Chau provinces to the north, Son La is Vietnam’s 5th largest province.  The weather is temperate and roughly 80% of its land is mountainous, making it a hiker’s paradise.

Sweeping valleys

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A New School in Vietnam’s Son La Province

Friday, May 4th, 2012

Clack, clamp, scrape. Clack, clamp, scrape. The sound of a shovel dragging up against the dirt. On a warm April afternoon, a team of men are at working leveling the hilly grounds of Son La  province. They move with methodical precision, making sure the land is pat and the bricks are laid out tightly atop each other.

Here, a school will be built.

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