Educational sponsors needed for these 6 girls and 1 boy to ensure they get an education this year - please consider helping one

From my perspective I see poverty increasing in Vietnam, partly due to the inflation of living costs and salaries not increasing sufficiently.

The poor families we know, work more hours and days, to the degree they can't work any more, and even are working when ill. They just can't earn enough.

The requests CEF is receiving for educational support for children is increasing, with us receiving many in the last few months.

The children's situations vary hugely; here are some examples:
One mother left her children and dad dead recently leaving them orphans and under the care of relatives who can't afford their education.

Two children have lost one parent due to AIDS and the other is dying; they now live with grandparents who really can't afford their education.

One dad died recently and mum who is a garbage collector can't afford her three children's education.

One dad died recently leaving mum with three children and his parents to care for; she can't easily work as dad's parents are elderly and in poor health.

One child committed suicide due to knowing her parents could not afford her education, but as she was exceptionally bright they had borrowed heavily to keep her in school, but got to a stage they could not borrow any more funds. It was too much for her. There are other children in this family whose education can't be afforded.

Another dad died leaving mum with three children to educate; she can't afford all their educational costs.

One family borrowed to start a small business, but it failed and now have lost their home, as they can't earn enough to pay off the debt. They can't afford their children's education.

There are many more stories and many more children we would love sponsored but I would love to start with these 7.

Below are some children we would love sponsored in the next few weeks so we can guarantee they have an education this year.

As soon as possible we need an especially caring sponsor for two girls whose sister committed suicide

The sponsor or sponsors needed for these two girls need to be willing to put an effort into supporting these two girls long term.

Their sister committed suicide recently. One is so traumatized she can hardly speak. The other seems to be coping well and is a bouncy little girl; but who knows really. The parents aren't coping.

The sponsor or sponsors need to be willing to commit long term to their education and the relationship.

The eldest is in grade 11 this year; her sponsorship is $300 for the year, it will be $300 next year also.

The younger girl is in grade 5 this year and her sponsorship for the year is $200. Next year it will be $250 for the that year and the following one.

The sponsor (s) need to be willing to write a letter about every 3-4 months; they will be translated. Letters can be about anything you want as long as it is appropriate (your family, your pets, your work, your environment, the autumn, the spring, etc.) but it needs to express care and support each time. Questions about the suicide must not be asked. If they want to tell you about it that is fine, but please don't ask.

It is important that it will not be expected that the girls to write back. We hope they will but will not push it at all. The point is they need as much loving care as can be shown to them as possible, now and long term.

We will provide yearly school results, and an update on each girl, and photos as with all sponsorships.

I know the right sponsor are out there! If you feel you can do this then please write to us and we can provide more details:

If in the States or Canada please write to cef.vn.usa@gmailcom
If in Australia or New Zealand or Europe please use this email address: c.e.f.vietnam@gmail.com

Thank you so much,
Linda

Linda Burn
Founding Director and In Country Manager

Hoi An home visits to children in our education sponsorship program - by Hieu

It was a hot and muggy Saturday when we did home visits to 25 children in Hoi An. As all of the children do not live close to each other it took a while to get to each child’s home. We had to start early so that all children could be visited and lend books from our mobile library.

As scheduled, we were at Hien’s house at 11am to visit and have an update about Hien’s progress at school as well as her granny and her mother’s health situation.  The visit went very well and Hien proudly showed us her school results and her merit certificates.

We felt so happy that Hien’s mother’s condition was a bit better compared to her condition on our last visit.  Thanks to the medical support from CEF, the pain from her chronic stomach-ache and ovarian cancer was much relieved. 

What made us surprised and touched was the kindness and sincerity of Hien’s family.  As our visit to them was near lunchtime, they were afraid that we would be hungry, so they had silently prepared lunch for 3 of us.

Even though we were offered lunch with Hien’s family we had to say ‘”sorry” and follow our plan to see some more children. The heartfelt goodness of Hien’s family made our long day’s work feel lighter as our hearts were warmed.

Girls in need of sponsors on 'International Day of the Girl Child', 11 October

Would you like to sponsor a girl for the remainder of her education, one year at a time?

Today is 'International Day of the Girl Child' and we happen to have completed many interviews of children in need of educational support recently. Each girl needs help for her to receive an education.

We have girls with ill parents, girls with parents who just can't earn enough to educate their girls, girls with parents but they are no longer taking care of them, girls with one parent, girls from large poor families; basically we have many girls who need a sponsor. We have girls far away in isolated areas and some closer to our office, some easy to see and some not; but they all need help. 15 of our girls in need of sponsors can be seen below.

Sponsorships vary from $200-$300 a year
Please let us know if you would love to sponsor a girl to be educated:
cef.vn.usa@gmail.com (for Americans and Canadians) or
c.e.f.vietnam@gmail.com (for Australians or New Zealanders)