Today team
member Hieu and I visited 3 beautiful young girls and their families to
assess their suitability for sponsorship. The CEF assessment process is
very thorough and provides so much insight into each child's unique
situation. It is also heart wrenching when one sees "up close and
personal" the living conditions of some of these families.
The first girl-Trinh - is in 8th grade and is very, very smart (ranked second in her class). Her mom, who often is ill with asthma, earns a meager living by selling sand and making the famous Hoi An lanterns. Trinh is fatherless. Their home is one room plus a very basic kitchen...no bathroom, no bedroom.
The second
girl, Hien, is a real charmer...always smiling and dancing. Her father
left when Hien was born and she lives with her granny and mom (who has
cancer). Again, their home is very basic and practically sliding into
the creek behind them. At night they are afraid to sleep because of the
snakes that come into the house from the creek bed. Hien is very
artistic and gets high marks in English, science and Vietnamese.
The
last girl we visited, Anh, already has a sister supported by CEF. Anh's
mom works as a cleaner and her father is a fisherman. They live
in a hut which lets many of the elements in.
These
visits provided me with a new appreciation for the work CEF does and
for the very difficult situations of many of these children. I see what a
difference our support can make...
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