3 of the points that are important to Children's Education Foundation

Talking with one of the mothers of two girls we sponsor

She is very caring and looks after several of the girls in our sponsorship program who are all child nuns

With one of the little nuns we sponsor

One of our part-time staff members hanging out with some of the children we sponsor

One of our part-time staff members went shopping and bargaining for all these household items for one of the single mothers who has just built a small home with help from the local government for her and her daughter

I would like to share three aspects I consider integral to Children's Education Foundation. They all overlap to some degree.

 

1. Loving kindness

2. Treating all equally and respectfully

3. Quality versus quantity

Loving kindness

It sounds rather esoteric, but there is no better way to put it than 'loving kindess'; care or caring doesn't quite express it

It is in the nature of caring staff to manifest loving kindness; they manifest it in meetings and when we get together with the children or children and any family

It naturally manifests when responding appropriately to the situation of any child, parent or carer  

One of the main reasons I still visit all children is because I want them to know I personally care about them

The needs of each child are not quite the same and to know that requires time with each child

To express that to a potential sponsor, or sponsor, requires that I know and understand the child and their needs; in doing that we hope our sponsor will care too

One other way we express this is by doing whatever we can to keep children who have lost one or both parents with the remaining relative or with a family member and being as supportive as possible of that person so that they can continue to care for the child

Treating all equally and respectfully

Some of the parents and carers are uneducated, or only went to school for a few years, some are badly mannered as no one ever taught them manners and some unfortunately are very sick and have a very unpleasant odor; no matter what they all deserve some help and the same care 

Some children are angry or hurt and haven't got the best of attitudes, but we just ignore their attitude and do the best to treat them the same as the sweet and lovable children, as they deserve to be treated the same

Giving a number or code to a child feels disrespectful; I don't believe in giving the children we help either numbers or codes

I admit it gets challenging when there are 6 girls called Hang; but then we add their adjacent name when we refer to them

We even have three girls called Thuy Hang, so they become Thuy Hang in Binh Phuc, Thuy Hang in college 

Quality versus quantity

We need to be able to continue to have enough time with the children, to know them and any family living with them, as well as their and their family's needs; that is not possible if we have too many children

It's not a matter of employing more staff, as it is I who also needs to have enough time with the children

With all the administration work needed I can't spend quality time with the children if we help large numbers of children