Well the New Year is now well under way and it’s already shaping up to be a
busy one for ACCV. Rose and I have just returned from a rather
impromptu trip to Hanoi. We went primarily to deal with permit
applications and other administrative matters, but it soon became so much
more....
We enjoyed a lovely Christmas visit with the Pham children, they are doing
really well, Thanh and Hieu are happy at school and Thuong is really
enjoying her IT course. They are nicely settled and thanks to Ms Lan, Brian
& Dat they well taken care of.
With each trip we look forward to seeing Quan and wonder about the latest
updates. This young man is happily re-building his life, and it’s lovely
to see. Along with work and social life he is now very enthusiastically pursuing
an education. We were able to visit him at school, that was an interesting
experience....
The school is housed in the absolute heart of Hanoi, during the week it is a
regular high school and on weekends they accept blind students. It is the
only way for them to obtain an education and as evidenced by Dat it can
certainly lead to university entrance. What we didn’t realise was the absolute
challenge that faces both students and teachers (aside from surviving the
traffic!)
In the first class we walked into we recognised ‘Ching’ one of the girls who
did the massage course alongside Quan last year. We had a nice chat and she
proudly told us that like Quan, she is also working full time and studying
on weekends. We met three other students from the course, and each
of them talked about their new life which included working full time in different
centres, and attending school to further their education. It was a lovely
bonus to see firsthand how their lives have been completely turned
around.
With Dat as
interpreter, we had a pleasant chat with the students, even with
incredible challenges facing them, they really want an education. I
noticed that some of the students had A4 black Braille boards, similar to
those we provided for Quan and the other students, while others had very small, plastic versions (almost like something
out of a happy meal) when I enquired as to why they didn’t have the black ones
the response was a very clear ‘no money’. I then asked a young
girl if I could have a look at the ‘exercise book’ she was using to record
the teachers words.
My heart sank
as I realised it was in fact bits of old calendars, ripped
into pieces and taped together to fashion a notebook. I
turned to the teacher and asked if I could have a look at a text book – it
was a year 10 chemistry class. I was totally unprepared for the
response “we don’t have any textbooks’.
There are 68
blind students, and not one text book!
So there we
are – the plan for ACCV 2009 – education & resources for blind students!
(Just a
minor detail of funding! )
Talking of
education, we are very close to beginning our first English language class. It
is very exciting, with new team member Juliette we have been working very
hard at putting together an English language course that is at least equivalent
to a high quality course available at any language school. The volunteer
teachers are all Cambridge CELTA trained, each class will have at least 2 Vietnamese translators/teachers aides
A little side bonus – Quan is a student in the very
first course!
Rose and I have just returned from a great trip to Hanoi, our best so
far! I would like to introduce you to the new members of our team. Our good
friend Brian, who lives in Hanoi and has helped us out on a number of occasions
will now assist us as a full ACCV member. You may remember Dat from when I
introduced the three blind siblings to you. Dat was using his very limited
resources to help the children, as these resources became exhausted he
approached ACCV for help. We worked together to establish a home and a life in
Hanoi for the children and he has now joined ACCV. And of course the lovely ms
Nguyet Anh is always on hand to help out. We are very fortunate to have them on
board.
The children are doing very well and they are now settled into their new little
home, and indeed it is little – it’s basically a room, but it’s home to them
and they love it. A very caring lady, Ms Lan, who has raised her own family and
has now retired from work, very kindly moved in with the children and she helps
them on a daily basis.
They were delighted by our visit and they asked me to pass along their
thanks to you all. Little Hieu and Trang are now attending school five days a
week while Thuong is doing an IT course as she begins her journey to become a
qualified IT teacher for blind people. She talked about the relief
of not having to worry about where they’ll live or how they’ll survive. We
reassured her that ACCV has made a long term commitment to them and they can
focus on getting an education and enjoying their lives.
And it really is a long term commitment so if anyone is interested
in ongoing sponsorship for these children please let me know. Even a small
amount can make such a difference.
It was wonderful to catch up with Quan. He is now a confident
young man who is earning enough money to support his family. It was with great
pride that he cooked for us and showed us a second hand wheelchair he has
purchased for his father. His life and his mother’s life have been completely
transformed – THANK YOU!!
Have a look at the grin on his face here....... and just think back.
Hello everyone,
Well the New Year is now well under way and it’s
already shaping up to be a busy one for ACCV. Rose and I have just
returned from a rather impromptu trip to Hanoi. We went primarily to deal
with permit applications and other administrative matters, but it soon became
so much more....
Once again Rose did her cooking thing at Blue Dragon www.bdcf.org A
truly wonderful organisation, the kids are a delight and the work done by the
adults there is inspirational to say the least. Dat came along too as he will
represent ACCV at the Blue Dragon stay-in-school program that we like to
support. He had a great time there, and he certainly enjoyed the cookies the
girls produced! The Blue Dragon staff have kindly extended the hand of
friendship and offered Dat some mentoring as he goes about his ACCV
work – it was a good day.
We had a lot
of fun catching up with the children of Friendship Home, a day at an amusement
park brought squeals of delight (or in some cases just squeals) all around. The
children had never been to the park before so it was really good for their little
souls, just plain old fun!
We have a
few more children we are now helping, each of them come with an amazing story.
Like Quan, they are just looking for an opportunity to turn their lives around,
and that’s what we aim to do, just give them the opportunity that we all
deserve.
So many
great stories and photos to share with you all .... Maybe it’s time ACCV got a
blog!
Kind regards
Alison
June 2008
Introducing ........ Dat & the kids
Hello Everyone,
I would like to introduce you to four delightful people Rose and I met when we were in Hanoi in April. Thuong aged 18, Thang aged 14and Hieu aged 10,all from the same family and all of them blind. We also met their friend and mentor, Mr Dat, aged 24, also from a very poor background and also blind. Dat is a dynamic character who is extremely bright and focused, he is in his final year of university. His other major focus is to help these children to get an education and improve their quality of life, none of them have been to school…..yet.
We met with Dat and the children a couple of times in April and we had great fun getting to know them. On one of our visits we gave the children MP3 players. Being so poor they had never received such a gift, they didn’t know what to expect as Rose attached the earphones, the way their faces lit up as the music registered ………well, the photos speak for themselves!
The children come from an area in Central Vietnam that is particularly poor, and as Dat explained to me “The knowledge about handicapped people here is limited, they can’t go to school and join the community”. There are in fact no options available to these children while they remain in their rural province, so Dat has brought them to Hanoi! They are currently attending a live in Braille course that will also give them the basic skills required to attend school. Thuong is too old for school now but sheis a bright girl and is very keen to attend a course that will qualify her to teach disabled people computer skills.
The problem is that the Braille course and accommodation will finish in three weeks time – so the children will then be homeless with no prospects at all- which is where ACCV comes in.We will cover all expenses for the children to live in Hanoi, rent, food, utilities, clothing and of course we will pay for their education.
Once again Jim has kindly interrupted his busy schedule to represent ACCV and to assist us in finding a solution for kids in need. He met with Mr Dat and the children to discuss the situation and options available for helping them.After the meeting Jim said:
“The immediate concern was the fact that they would be homeless in three weeks. I assured the children that ACCV would take care of their basic needs as they pursued their studies, that they no longer had anything to worry about. The older sister, Thuong, thanked ACCV in a strong and confident voice. The younger sister, Hieu, sang a folk song about how happiness is achieved from helping your neighbour.
Now the challenge for us is to raise the funds to establish a home and a life for these children. We have the immediate expense of a 6-12 month lease on a house and educational fees for them to begin school when it resumes at the beginning of September.
If you would like to make a donation please mark it ‘ Mr Dat’ and I can guarantee every single dollar will go directly to the funds for these children. If you can also pass this email along to as many people as you can. I am sure that if we get the message out there we can really make life easier for these kids!
Kind regards,
Alison
April Trip News
Hello Everyone,
Rose and I have just returned from another trip to Hanoi. Things are going very well at the Association for the Blind and as previously mentioned we would like to go ahead with another course in Braille and Massage. The students have all done well and seven of the ten students are now working!
Seeing Quan was an absolute delight, Jim mentioned the drastic transformation that has taken place and I must agree! As you may remember when we first met him he was a very quiet, lonely young man who had sat in his very basic rural family home since he was ten years old and an untreated disease left him without his sight and unable to go to school.
Well we barely recognise him now!!
Quans natural effervescent personality has very much come to the fore! He was delighted to see us and cordially invited us to lunch as he is now an accomplished cook! (He is pretty good too I have to say) He was proudly chatting away about his job and was very keen to give Rose a massage – which she thoroughly enjoyed! He was telling us all about his day to day living and how he enjoys working, he proudly showed off his new shoes (purchased with his very own money!) and as we teased him about planning a wedding around our visits he became quite serious and said;
‘Thank you so much, I am really happy with my new life!’........ I guess this is what it is all about!
Jim and I took Quan back up to Hoa Binh to visit his hometown and his mother, who is extremely happy and grateful at the new independent life her son is now enjoying. We took a rice cooker and a fan up to her so she may enjoy a little more comfort in her day to day existence. It was a lovely visit and so nice to see the ripple effect of helping these kids.
An interesting turn of events was the inclusion of a delightful little girl Trang. She is only seven years old and she is going to join in the next course for the first two months, she will learn the Braille and re-discovery portion of the course which will then equip her to attend the local school and begin her education. We are hopeful that we can increase this option and make it available to help the many young blind children in Hanoi who presently have no educational options available to them.
We had a lot of fun catching up with the children of Friendship Home. They are doing very well at their English classes and all working hard! We restocked their supplies and took them out for a day at the zoo, fun for all!
Kind regards,
Alison
Graduation News!
Hello Everyone,
Quan is now a fully qualified massage therapist!
Along with the other nine students he has actually graduated. There was an official closing ceremony and fortunately Jim and Nam were on hand to enjoy and photograph this special occasion for us. This really is quite an amazing achievement for a group of young people who had very limited prospects just a short time ago! Quan’s story really makes you aware that we just don’t know what’s around the corner in life, when you think of where he was just eight months ago, in that tiny shack up in the mountains. Just look at him now!
It is with such delight that I can tell you that Quan has been offered a job in Hanoi, he now travels around independently and he also has a girlfriend!!
This is a boy who actually said to us in June, “I want the life!” ….. well he certainly has one now!
Running this course has proven to be a wonderful success, and the Hanoi Blind Association such a pleasure to deal with, that we would really like to fund another course. There is already a waiting l list of those who missed out the first time around. It is really not difficult to give a helping hand to these young blind people who are desperately in need.
Your generosity has made such an enormous difference, amazing to think that just a few hundred dollars can completely turn a young life around. I hope we will continue to have your support as we move ahead with establishing another program.
In the December ACCV newsletter I mentioned that we had managed to finance two Braille Machines for the centre. They have arrived in Hanoi from Germany, been very gratefully received and already put to good use.
I will again return to Hanoi at Easter, I look forward to catching up with Quan and his family, and following up on the other students, some of whom already have jobs. I will of course be spending time with the beautiful children of Friendship Home.
It is now Vietnamese New Year and the children have all gone to visit relatives for the break, each of them armed with supplies we have donated. Jim and Nam very kindly braved the brutal Hanoi winter weather and took them on a huge supermarket expedition and supervised the purchase of 180kg of rice, 40 litres of oil and large quantities ofshampoo, toothpaste and soap!
Smiles all around!..... They were so delighted.
I wish you all the very best in the year of the Rat!
Well it has been an amazing first year for ACCV. We have managed to achieve quite a few things, thanks to your very kind support.
We began the year with a few small fundraisers for the repairs and supplies for the kitchen ofFriendship Children’s Home. The supplies are still being used and appreciated.
In March we managed to raise the $2,000 required to furnish the classroom for the children Friendship Home. They now have a wonderful set up and they are coming along in leaps and bounds with their English classes.
In June, young Nam and I made contact with the Hanoi Association for the Blind. We managed to get approval for a six month course for Quan and nine other young blind people so they could study and gain the qualifications required to give them a chance at a decent future. Your incredible support helped us to achieve the $6,300 goal to finance the course and living expenses.This course has been such a success we would really like to do it again and give a helping hand to a few more young blind people who are desperately in need.
We also brightened up the playground for the children of Friendship Home with a basketball hoop and swing set (and a day at the circus!!)
In September we spent approximately $1,300.00 on text books to help a large number of underprivileged children stay in school.
In October we visited the blind students and celebrated their wonderful progress. They are all doing so well and are now reading Braille and presently studying the massage component of their course. Jim is currently organising an English teacher and translator to teach the students enough English to enable them to work with tourists.
We have also managed to fund a number of smaller projects including individual courses, ongoing stationary supplies, nutrition classes etc.
In December we managed to raise enough money to purchase two Braille machines for the Blind Association so that they can readily produce reading material for the students and the wider blind community to enjoy.
So all up it has been a big year, next year is looking to be just as busy, but we will update you on those projects later. This newsletter is simply to send big “Thank you so much for your continued support” and to let you know it is very much appreciated.
Wishing you all the very best for a wonderful Christmas and a healthy and
Rose I had a wonderful trip to Hanoi in October and I would like to update you on the news, particularly in regards to Quan and the other blind students. They are doing so well, we were left in no doubt whatsoever that your kind donations are being very well utilised!
We spent a day with the Association for the blind just after our arrival in Hanoi, we enjoyed a morning at the school, meeting up with Quan and the other students. It is a fabulous setting for them, they have developed lovely friendships and there is a definite feeling of camaraderie amongst them all. The teaching and support staff are on hand at all times and the students have made huge strides in so many areas.
It was so lovely to see the development of the students, particularly Quan.It was interesting to recall my June visit to his home town to discuss the possibility of him attending this course. One of his very clear comments was ‘I want to read’ well he did. His teachers comment on how bright he is and he has taken to Braille reading like a duck to water! He carries a pile of A4 Braille papers around with him and at any given opportunity he likes to catch up on the news!!
We then spent a very interesting afternoon visiting the families of very young (2-6yrs) blind children. It is very sad to see such limited intervention for these children and the desperate plight of their parents. Hopefully as ACCV grows we can offer some sort of assistance to these people.
On Sunday October 21st we took Quan back up to Hoa Binh to visit his family. It was truly a wonderful day, everyone in his small village was so delighted to see him and they all revelled in his progress. We were very warmly welcomed and fed a local feast that we know took a lot of their resources!
His mother was quite astounded at how he had changed since he had left for Hanoi, she was beaming with pride as he discussed his future plans to set up in Hoa Binh and practise massage as a profession. As we were leaving she gave me a hug and then totally broke down! Telling us her greatest fears in life were what would happen to Quan as she aged, he had no prospects at all and now he has a life and “he is such a confidence!“ While it was anincredible moment between two mothers towhom fate had handed such different cards, it was an absolute moment of clarity that the funds ACCV have collected to fund the course for these blind students is actually changing lives!
We also became very aware of the wonderful work the Association for the Blind in Hanoi are doing and how appreciative they are of our help. We are currently running a fundraiser to purchase two Braille machines for the school so they can print off books for the students and other blind youngsters to read. We are hoping to raise $1500 to cover the cost of both machines and shipment, the dinner at Sassafrasin particular (thanks Melanie and Natasha!) and of course any donations are always most gratefully received.
We were fortunate enough to spend quite a lot of time with the children at Friendship Home this visit so there are lots of wonderful photos of them too! ( www.accv.net.au )
I hope you are all keeping well, wishing you the very best for a happy and safe Xmas and New Year.
Wonderful news! Quan is now a resident of Hanoi and a full time student! The beaming grin on his face in the photo below, as he emerges from his rural home, says it all!
On August 7th an opening ceremony was held at the centre for Quan and the other young blind students fortunate enough to gain a place in this life altering residential program (sadly there were many other impoverished blind teenagers who were also desperate for the opportunity – maybe next year!!). Jim was on hand to take the photos and he reports that the students were all beaming as they received their individual Braille kits. Students and their teachers immediately got down to the serious task of learning to read!!
We have raised just over half the funds required for the students to complete the six month program.
When Rose and Ireturn to Hanoi at the end of September, we will catch up with Quan and spend some time with the other students.Hopefully we will have raised the remaining $2,500.00 by then.
We will of course also be catching up with the children of Friendship Home Orphanage. We are planning on purchasing an outdoor swing set for them this visit.
Once again we would like to thank you all for your support, the difference your donations make to the children we are working with in Hanoi is quite incredible. You are changing lives!
I have just returned from a fleeting trip to Hanoi, and I would like to introduce you to a lovely young man, called Quan;
Quan is 17 years old and up until grade five he was an excellent student who enjoyed school, reading, and life in general. Unfortunately, an undiagnosed and untreated condition severely affected his health and as a result he has slowly gone blind.
Quan lives in a very remote area about three hours drive from Hanoi. The opportunities are very limited even for the able bodied, as you can imagine they came to a grinding halt for Quan as his disabilities grew. It soon became impossible for him to attend school, (special education teachers or facilities for the handicapped are a pipe dream!)As a very sad result he has spent the last seven years sitting, exposed to the elements in a very basic hut that he calls home. Remember, this boy was an excellent student with a very active mind, we can only imagine how long his days are!
Quans father suffered a massive stroke a few years ago, his mother carries on alone as she cares for both father and son. Their situation is very
One of my first meetings in Hanoi was with the vice-chairman of theAssociation for the blind. There are no schools or facilities in Hao Binh were Quan lives and the Association caters only to the long list of blind people who reside in Hanoi. After discussing Quans situation and our desire to help a solution has been reached. The association will make an exception for Quan, if we can fund a class for ten students, the other nine will be local blind residents of Hanoi who would never have the opportunity so it really is a win-win situation! (Just a minor detail of funding!)
Quan will attend school in Hanoi for six months, the association will assist with providing a host family for him. He will learn all the basics for caring for himself, he will learn Braille and he will be trained in therapeutic massage, given a full qualification and job placement!
Our recent trip to Vietnam and the exercise to furnish theclassroom of Friendship Children’s Home with basic school supplies was very successful. Your kind donations have made a huge difference!
We began this fund raiser from a point of basic disbelief that the teachers Jim & Alice (highly qualified English language teachers who donate their time to the children) were teaching English to approximately 20 children with absolutely no supplies at all! We set out to raise $2,000.00 to fund a total supply of text books, workbooks and other necessities for a fun classroom environment!
Thanks to your generosity we achieved our goal and with shopping list in hand we hit the stationary suppliers of Hanoi (it was great fun!).
We purchased:
-Twenty copies of each series from one through to six of the
-language text ‘Get Set Go!’ with accompanying workbooks.
-Twenty copies each of the activity books ‘Super Tots’
We simply believed these children were entitled to the textbooks and other supplies that their counterparts enjoy in other schools.
What we didn’t anticipate was the absolute joy the supplies would bring to the children (and the teachers!). It was like a Christmas morning full of wonder when we arrived with the supplies!
We also purchased a large stationary cupboard with glass doors on the top half. After the cupboard was very neatly, fully stocked and closed, little Tu (aged 7) sat on the floor beside it, hands on knees, just looking, like you would at a fully stocked Christmas tree!
The children have since had a few lessons in their newly stocked classroom. The teachers report and enormous difference in the levels of excitement, enthusiasm and concentration. At the end of each lesson the children all carefully re-stock their cupboard with the precious supplies neatly stored and ready for the next class!
In the Friendship Home classroom the materials now match the high standard of the teachers. It is one small aspect of the children’s lives where they can actually be considered privileged!
We’ll be working on some others – I’ll keep you posted!!
