Children's Education Foundation - Vietnam welcomes its new board member Michele Spirn

Welcome Michele!

We are thrilled to welcome to our board Michele Spirn who I first met in Vietnam about 6 years ago.  Michel has much to offer Children's Education Foundation - Vietnam's board. She is a truly passionate and caring woman as well as having many skills and great expertise as she has had a varied career as a public relations professional, author and university professor, and more. She brings with her many years of NGO experience, as well as skills and creative useful ideas that she wishes to help implement.  Michele shares our passion for education of girls in developing countries and the importance of literacy. She is already greatly appreciated by our board! 

Photo of Michele and Stephen Michele donating many wonderful children's books to our 

'Mobile Library for Literacy'. 

On my last visit to the US Michele and Stephen donated many books to our 'Mobile Library for Literacy' program, including some Michele had written. She is the children's author of 'The Know Nothings' as well as other lovely books. All the books they gave us are beautifully illustrated and are aimed at young children; perfect for the children in Vietnam to read and enjoy! 
  
I feel honored to be able to work with her, to be able to have CEF benefit from all her NGO expertise and professional skills, but also I am very happy to have such a caring supportive friend to work with.

It is nearly one year since we started our 'Mobile Library for Literacy'

Last summer we prepared for our Mobile Library for Literacy' and received our first book donations. Before school started we went shopping and purchased more. Over the last two school terms when we visited children we took suitable books for them to choose and borrow until our next visit. By the end of the school year those who were hesitant to borrow in the beginning were keen and most were asking for more than one book.

We are thrilled this has been such a successful literacy program. We have all the children in our sponsorship programs (except the tiny ones who don't read yet) reading and enjoying books now. It has been very sweet to see their excitement and joy just from the simple acts of going through books and discovering there are several that interest them, and that they can actually borrow them!

We  are pleased how the children have cared for the books too. They have taken the instructions seriously and have cared for the books with great respect.

This all would not have been possible if it wasn't for donations from Australia, Canada and the US. We are very grateful for that meaningful support!

Our next stage in supporting the children to become even more literate over this coming school year is to purchase three hundred more books allowing all the children and also their siblings to borrow several books each time we visit. The easy delivery of many books to each community will be possible due to a motorbike with a very large storage capacity.

I am excited about this next stage and I am sure the children will be too!

A few pictures of what we see on our trips to visit the CEF children