Fourteen-year-old Hai from Vietnam used to feel embarrassed around his friends and teachers because of his eyelid.
Hai was born with congenital drooping in one eye. He was often teased and called ‘cross-eyed’. His parents promised that when he was older, they would do their best to get his eyes tested and treated.
But Hai comes from a disadvantaged community in Hoa Binh Province where access to healthcare can be difficult for many families.
Through a health project supported by ChildFund Vietnam, Hai was able to get his eyes tested. The doctor said that Hai had myopia, a condition in which he could only see objects near him clearly, and congenital eyelid drooping. Both conditions could be treated but Hai would have to go to the capital city, Hanoi, for surgery, which would be expensive.
ChildFund Vietnam’s health project runs preventative health screenings for children in rural areas and helps them access the treatment they need. So far, the project has been implemented in 15 primary and secondary schools in Kim Boi and Tan Lac districts.
ChildFund Vietnam health project officer, Hien, has been working closely with Hai and his family. She went through the benefits of surgery, prepared the paperwork, what they could expect and put his parents at ease with the process. She emphasised that the treatment could significantly improve Hai’s life. He could become more confident and be better able to focus on his studies.
Hien organised for the project to pay for the medical examination and surgery, along with travel and accommodation expenses for Hai and his parents in Hanoi.
The eye surgery was successful. “I used to feel embarrassed when talking to my friends and teachers because of my eyelid was dropped,” Hai says. “Now I no longer have congenital drooping eyelid and I am not afraid to talk with my friends any more.”
Hai is one of 31 children to have received treatment for an eye condition and is one of 4,758 students to have had an eye examination since ChildFund’s project started in 2020. ChildFund continues to work closely with his family to make sure Hai is recovering from his surgery, wearing his prescription glasses and is having regular check-ups to monitor his eyesight.
Hai is now a more confident student and is excited for the future. He is focusing in class, spends more time time reading books, and has returned to playing football.
“I feel more confident when reading in front of the class or making a speech,” he says. “Now, I can do whatever I want.”
Asia-Pacific is home to more than 4.5 billion people. Around half are female. Despite global initiatives and government policies to promote gender equality, women and girls in the region still face significant challenges.
Over 40 per cent of women in Southeast Asia and 60 per cent of women in the Western Pacific have experienced gender-based violence and women make up less than 20% of national parliament seats in the region.
Using sport as a platform ChildFund Sport for Development program, Pass It Back, challenges gender stereotypes and equips young girls and women with important leadership and life skills to reach their full potential.
- It creates an environment that includes equal participation
Pass It Back is committed to achieving 50% female participation at all levels of the program and fostering an environment where both male and female participants can thrive.
To date, 55% of players are girls and 64% of coaches are women.
“I really like Pass It Back because it focuses on gender equality and includes the participation of girls and women,” said Febriana, one of the first female coaches in Timor-Leste. “What I would like to change in Timor-Leste is to give opportunities for girls and women so they can develop themselves and become leaders.”
Tu, a male coach from Vietnam, also shared his thoughts: “Women and girls in Vietnam sometimes have fewer opportunities to play sport, but through Pass It Back, both girls and boys can play rugby and learn life skills about gender equality and treating others without gender discrimination. I really appreciate this.”
2. It promotes female leadership through sport
Huyen is a coach group leader. She is responsible for managing other coaches in her community. Huyen said: “Before joining the project, I was just a farmer who stayed at home to take care of children and do my family duties. I would never have had such opportunities if I hadn’t participated.”
In the Pass It Back program, 17 out of 26 coach group leaders are female. Young women are supported and encouraged to develop and practice their leadership skills and to take leadership roles in their communities. This can mean organising competitions, leading teams at international tournaments, taking the role of trainers or assistant trainers during coach training or participating in international youth workshops.
“Before joining Pass It Back I thought women could only stay home taking care of household chores, but the program made me change and helped me realise I can also be a leader, just like men,” said Cuong, a female coach from Vietnam, who is now managing other coaches in her area.
3. It supports young people to learn about gender equality in their community.
Learning about gender expectations and norms is just one part of the Pass It Back program. This provides young people with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to challenge traditional gender roles and expectations in a respectful way.
“Before I learned more about gender, men told me that women couldn’t do anything, that they couldn’t be a leader, that they can only be a mother and take care of the children and do the chores at home, and I believed them. This discouraged me from studying hard because I thought that even if I worked hard, I couldn’t get a job anyway and would just end up taking care of my children as people said.
“However, now I’ve learnt that these beliefs are social expectations, and I don’t have to follow them,” said Larmoua, a female coach in Laos.
Khuyen, a male coach in Vietnam, added: “I now believe there is no limit to what men and women can and can’t do and that they deserve equal opportunities to do whatever they want.”
This project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).
