Everyday life can be challenging for a family with disabilities, especially for those living in developing communities overseas. This was certainly the case for Hung, a farmer living with his family in Cao Bang Province. Hung found himself struggling to understand his eight-year-old daughter, Hao, and meet her needs as a young child with Down syndrome.
“I didn’t know what to do,” he recalls. “She doesn’t know how to speak, and when she speaks it’s not clear, sometimes only a few words.”
Hung faced new, unexpected challenges raising a daughter with a disability. He needed to adjust to a whole new way of life and learn how to help support Hao’s development.
ChildFund Australia is working with local communities to help support parents of children living with disabilities. Through the ChildFund-supported project ‘My Right to Education’, families are building support networks for a more accepting environment and culture. This includes promoting a more inclusive learning environment in schools and the community, and openly discussing the additional needs of children with disabilities.
“Before, Hao could only name one friend from the same commune, but now she speaks to her teacher and has more friends.”
“We can now speak with commune officials and teachers so that our children aren’t denied the right to participate. They are able to learn and achieve at school,” says Hung. “Hao has received a lot of guidance from teachers and the the project team.”
Hung says that his daughter’s social skills have improved as a result. “Before, Hao could only name one friend from the same commune, but now she speaks to her teacher and has more friends.”
Through the project’s training sessions, Hung and his wife have also learnt how to guide Hao to keep personal hygiene and carry out daily activities. “Hao now listens to us,” says Hung, adding he is proud of her achievements. “She knows how to brush teeth, get dressed, and comb hair all by herself.”
“I’ve changed my habits too,” says Hung. I’m more patient now, and spend time playing with my children outside!”
Hao (centre) and her father, Hung (left) with their new chickens.
This year, Hung registered to raise chickens to improve his children’s nutrition and his family’s finances. With only a few fields to cultivate, there are days when the family does not have enough to eat. As part of the ChildFund project, participating families can choose to buy chickens at a subsidised rate. Families receive chicken feed for the first 20 days, as well as guidance on how to raise chickens.
“I bought 100 chickens. I plan to raise them for food, and I can also sell them to buy school supplies for my children.”
Hung’s decision to register was, in part, guided by his daughter’s personal taste. “Because Hao likes to eat chicken, I bought 100 chickens. I plan to raise them for food, and I can also sell them to buy school supplies for my children.”
Hung shared that, thanks to the support and guidance of project team members, his chickens are growing healthily.
“I installed heat lamps for the chickens and gave them medicine to prevent diseases. I also boiled guava leaf water to give the chickens to drink. Hao also helps me feed the chickens and plays with them. She hopes the chickens grow up fast!”
Looking ahead, Hung hopes more parents of children with disabilities, as well as the wider community, will take the time to understand and accept their child’s needs so they can provide the right support. Hung says he and his wife, Lua, dream for Hao is simple: “We hope she is healthy and won’t be criticised or shunned by others.”
Today, on World Teachers’ Day, we’re celebrating two passionate educators dedicated to raising awareness about online safety and helping students navigate the digital world.
At first glance, you might think Ms. Phương and Ms. Lia have little in common. They are separated geographically (Vietnam and Indonesia, respectively) and have grown up with different languages and cultures. However, they have common ground. Not only are they both teachers dedicated to supporting students’ growth and development, but today, they are recognised as leaders in online safety education.
Ms. Phương and Ms. Lia knew as educators and role models in their communities, they could help empower students to navigate the digital landscape responsibly. Recognising the need to better connect with, manage, and teach their students in our increasingly technological world, they decided to attend ChildFund’s online safety training program, Swipe Safe.
Here’s what happened.
In Vietnam, an opportunity to make a difference
Ms. Phương, a young and dynamic teacher, joined Hợp Giang Secondary School, the largest in Cao Bằng province, with over 1,600 students, in 2020. Two years later, she found herself as the team leader for Swipe Safe, which had been introduced in secondary schools across Cao Bằng to help raise awareness about online safety and provide practical knowledge on how students, with the support of their teachers and families, can protect themselves from online risks like cyberbullying and inappropriate content.
Despite not knowing much about online safety herself, Ms Phương was excited to take up the challenge of upskilling and integrating a completely new curriculum and topic into her teaching toolkit. It was an opportunity to make a difference.
Ms. Phương’s digital journey began with Swipe Safe training workshops. Over two days, she learnt how to identify and use technology confidently, creatively and critically to meet the demands and challenges of living, learning and working in our digital world. With her professionalism, love of learning and dedication to her job, it surprised no one that Ms. Phương excelled in the training sessions.
She wasted no time integrating her new learnings into her classes, using various resources, including animated films and sample lessons provided by ChildFund, to help educate her students on the importance of online safety. Her innovative methods made her the first teacher in Cao Bằng province to implement the Swipe Safe program across all secondary schools.
Ms. Phương teaches students about online safety in primary school in Cao Bằng province.
Ms. Phương’s commitment to online safety extends beyond the classroom. She has effectively translated her sense of responsibility and openness to learning to students, parents and local authorities. This includes leading online safety teaching sessions for representatives from nine secondary schools, organised by the Cao Bằng Department of Education. Following their success, she was selected to conduct online safety training for teachers across the province.
Beyond her teaching duties, Ms. Phương acts as a counsellor for her school’s Young Bamboo group, which focuses on organising online safety activities for students. Under her guidance, students successfully integrated online safety messages into extracurricular activities, gaining valuable teamwork and public speaking skills. One notable event, held in collaboration with the People’s Police Academy, attracted over 1,000 attendees.
D., a year 8 student at Hợp Giang, shared her experience as a Young Bamboo leader, highlighting Ms. Phương’s support in planning and executing online safety activities.
“At the beginning of the school year, I was very worried because my friends and I didn’t know where to start when speaking about internet safety to more than 1,600 students,” says D.
“Ms. Phương helped our group a lot, from teaching us how to plan activities to organising those activities and integrating them into extracurricular events such as flag-raising ceremonies or group work in class. She also taught us teamwork and presentation skills. As a result, we have done very well in the communication campaigns about internet safety, which our group is responsible for.”
With the support and guidance of dedicated teachers like Ms. Phương’, Hợp Giang Secondary School has integrated online safety education into 500 lessons for 1,200 students in the last year alone. The school has also held four online safety workshops for 300 parents, students, and 69 teachers in the broader community.
In Indonesia, embracing change to bridge the gap between generations
Mrs. Lia has seen a lot of change as a high school Guidance Counsellor and teacher in Semarang, Indonesia. But no more so than navigating technology, which has reshaped the educational landscape and how teachers and students interact.
“The use of technology is unavoidable in education. Exams and assignments are now online. Educators must adapt whether we like it or not,” says Mrs. Lia.
Mrs. Lia vividly described the changing dynamics in education, emphasising the shift from traditional challenges of dealing with misbehaving or disengaged students to the contemporary struggle of addressing technology addiction, specifically related to gadgets and the internet. She highlighted the perceived gap between educators and students, attributing it to the slower adaptation of teachers to emerging technologies.
Mrs. Lia is now a proud “Swipe Safe facilitator” and leader for online safety education in Semarang City.
Despite her school taking proactive measures to address these issues, Mrs. Lia found the steps taken (the school implemented restrictions on mobile phone use during learning hours, with students required to store their phones in designated lockers) were limited and centred solely on restricting students’ access to gadgets and the internet. Teaching students’ self-protective behaviour, she believed, would be far more impactful than merely limiting their internet access. After all, she knew that there were many benefits of having access to online learning materials
So, Mrs. Lia began researching new ways to address the challenges her school and students faced. Her quest led her to ChildFund’s Swipe Safe program.
In 2023, she participated in Swipe Safe online safety training, which gave her a deeper understanding of internet-related risks for children, including issues like online grooming and cyberbullying. It was a revelation that prompted Mrs. Lia to realise the close proximity of online safety risks to the lives of the children she mentored. She quickly began integrating the Swipe Safe learning material into her classroom, utilising visual aids like video and PowerPoint to create engaging and relatable content.
The enthusiasm of students has been remarkable. Mrs. Lia says her students have found topics highly relevant to their daily lives and voluntarily share their online experiences, bringing real-world relevance to the discussions. She hopes to continue to help students address issues related to internet safety for themselves and their friends – life skills for the digital age.
Empowering educators for lasting impact
While they don’t share a classroom, Ms. Phương and Ms. Lia both share an unwavering dedication to education. Their stories testify to the importance of providing teachers with the training and resources to help nurture children’s development and life skills so they become responsible citizens – online and offline.
