Knowledge is the key to a brighter future but impoverished children in northern Vietnam are often excluded from a world of information as their families simply cannot afford school textbooks. Every child has the right to a basic education and ChildFund in Vietnam is dedicated to building children’s knowledge and providing them with access to decent learning materials.
Through the Donations with a Difference gift program, fully-stocked libraries with book cases, science books, story books, text books, newspapers and even chairs and tables have been established in Children’s Clubs. These valuable resources have enabled children to access a wealth of information and have the chance to read books they have only ever dreamed of.
I’ve just arrived back from 12 days of fun, food and adventure in Vietnam, where a group of us participated in the Vietnam Trek for Toddlers. We’d been fundraising, training and getting to know each other over the past few months and after feeling like the trip would never come, it was suddenly time to get on the plane!
All up, 18 Australians and four local guides participated in this challenge (which was far more challenging than any of us expected – trekking in the mud and rain was intense!) and we got the chance to visit Go Thau village and meet some of the gorgeous kiddies who will benefit from the new preschool that has been the focus of our fundraising efforts.
You can see in the photo below our group standing in front of the current school (which is an old buffalo shed) so you can see what these children have been coping with. It has low walls, thin straw mats on concrete floors for the kids to sit on and all they have to play with is play-doh – that is, until we arrived with toys!
We discovered that ChildFund Australia is not just constructing the preschool building but is also providing a kitchen, running water, toilets and ongoing training for existing and new teachers. And it’s not just the kids who benefit. The children learn and then go home and educate their parents – it has such a positive impact on communities.
