If you are an Amazon user, please use Amazon Smile and help CEF

Amazon has created Amazon Smile to enable purchasers to contribute painlessly to their favorite charity –  for example Children’s Education Foundation – Vietnam. We will receive .5% from all purchases through the Amazon Smile website, which is identical in all respects - including prices. There's no downside to helping out your favorite charity!

The easiest way for people to sign up to donate to CEF is by going to the following link and then signing in using their normal Amazon username and password.
http://smile.amazon.com/ch/27-0552998

Once you sign in that way, your computer should remember for future purchases and go there automatically. Very painless. (If it doesn't automatically go to that site, just type in 'smile.amazon.com.’)

Alternatively, people can go to smile.amazon.com and type in "Children's Education Foundation - Vietnam" in the charity search box and then "Select" it as the charity they would like to help fund. Thereafter, when they make purchases through 'smile.amazon.com' we will receive .5% of their purchase price from Amazon.

Thank you for helping CEF-Vietnam, and please let me know if there are any glitches in the system. Also - please pass this along to your family and friends who may be interested in helping our charity or at least some other worthy cause.

My first home visit day to some of the CEF children ~ Guest blog by CEF's Ms Vy, CEF's new staff member

Recently I did my first home-visit trip since I started working for CEF. 

I visited 12 CEF children and 1 new child. Each family has their own poor circumstances. However, they are all aware that the more education their children receive, the better and brighter future they will have. It was the most wonderful thing that made me happy and not tired in spite of the hot weather. 

 I, myself, find that the home-visits are a significantly important aspect in my job. This is the best way to establish a good relationship with the children and their families, as well as to understand them better so that I can give the most appropriate educational support to them. 

In addition, home-visit trips motivate me more in this great job.

(Staff photos of 4 of the families visited on this home visit trip)

A small fundraising event for CEF in New York

CEF is a small organization and still our events are small, but meaningful. They are an opportunity to share the importance of our work and to answer questions for donors, sponsors, and those recently introduced to CEF.

Che, Vietnamese sweet snack food, usually eaten mid afternoon, was available for people to experience. And delicious sorbets and spicy tofu  was prepared by Greg and was thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated!

We appreciated the presence and participation of all board members and guests and it was exciting to be have more CEF children supported due to this event!

 Linda doing a PowerPoint presentation

 

 Slide of  our US manager in Vietnam with three staff, all in NY t-shirts

 Some of our guests

 Some guests

Che (Vietnamese sweet snack food) and spiced tofu with rice and pickles for our event

It looked like she wouldn't be able to continue her education due to a variety of reasons

When you have no father, mum can't look after you, you live in the small crowded home of your uncle's family, when uncle no longer can afford to feed you or pay any education costs, it's not looking like you're going to have the opportunity to complete your schooling or have a smooth journey ahead.

She felt very low about her situation and burst into tears when uncle said he couldn't afford for her to continue her schooling. So when we at CEF found a sponsor for her I was delighted, as I knew how much this will mean to her and give her the chance to have a much better future.

So a big thank you 'M' for sponsoring this young lady who still has many hurdles ahead of her, but at least one major one less!

Sponsoring always makes a difference

Now 'T' is sponsored thanks to a caring couple.

She is a shy, but sweet, caring little girl. She enjoys going to school very much because her teachers are very kind and she has many friends there. 

Her teachers and friends don’t know that she has HIV because her mother worries if they know that they will discriminate against her, which is usually the case to the degree that some children with HIV dread going to school. We know this at CEF because we have another little girl in our program who has this issue. Because 'T' loves school and doesn't have to worry about discrimination she works hard and does well and has a wonderful time with her teachers and friends. 

Like most children after going to school, she spends about 2 hours on homework. In her free time, she likes drawing and reading fairy tales. She also helps her mother to do some household chores, such as sweeping the floor, preparing the bowls before the meal, and washing them afterwards. 'T' dreams of being a doctor as she wants to cure many people.

She is like most children, she just happens to have HIV. She is also blessed to be on good medications, be healthy and be sponsored enabling her to have an education. 

Drawing by 'T'

CEF's support comes in many forms

Recently a friend of ours wrote a disturbing book, based on the reality of child and sex trafficking in Vietnam and Cambodia. The reality of this subject is hard to grasp for all of us, but understanding it more than we all do is even more disturbing, but that is what is needed for us all in our own small ways to do something to make a difference.

My friend Bruce Logan who wrote and recently published 'Searching for Lien'  added a note inside of his pre-release copies explaining that the book is free, but if they think it has merit they could donate to CEF (if they want to contribute to the prevention side of combating trafficking) or to one other NGO (Blue Dragon) if they want to contribute to the rescue side.

This unexpected support for our work at CEF has been greatly appreciated and it is wonderful to know people are contributing because they care about this issue.

Below is more information about 'finding Lien' including a few reviews and where to purchase it.

Ordering:
Finding Lien can be ordered through www.amazon.com
Here's a link for ordering:
https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Lien-R-Bruce-Logan/dp/161296690X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468245150&sr=8-1&keywords=Finding+Lien

Or it can be ordered through the publisher, Black Rose Writing. Here's that link:
http://www.blackrosewriting.com/suspensethriller/finding-lien?rq=finding%20lien

Media Release:
Bruce's media release on 'Finding Lien'
Finding Lien is a debut novel by R. Bruce Logan. Bursting onto the crowded, suspense genre market, Finding Lien is a powerful and compelling read, with a strong social message. Wrapped in the package of a good yarn, this book is a startling look at the ugly business of child sex trafficking.

About the Book: Lien, an innocent village girl in Vietnam, is missing. Her father Ngoc is desperate and with the help of a young Australian volunteer, overcomes his years of reluctance and writes a letter to his father, a retired American army officer. Ngoc’s letter shocks Peter Trutch. Torn between his sense of honor towards this unknown son and his contentedly pleasant life in Seattle with his devoted wife Catherine, he hurls himself into his past and back to a country and memories that he had left behind forty years earlier. Lien has been sold to a brothel in Cambodia and, in his search for her, Trutch confronts not only his past but a seedy, corrupt world where bad cops, pimps and the destitute, clash with courageous international prevention workers and a few honest officials. Along with Trutch, the reader will be outraged at the worldwide plague of sex trafficking. This is Logan’s second book. His earlier book is a memoir Back to Vietnam: Tours of the Heart, written with his wife Elaine Head, about his experience as an US Army officer in Vietnam during the war and the couple’s return to SE Asia to do humanitarian work. Published by: Black Rose Writing ISBN: 978-1- 61296-690- 8 Categories: suspense/thriller Price: $16.95 US Available: Amazon; Barnes and Noble; iBooks and more For more information: www.rbrucelogan.com brucelogan.bli@gmail.com

A few reviews follow on this excellent book:
“A compelling read-suspenseful and powerful” Murray Reiss, Poet, author of The Life Cycle of Butterflies in the Wild.

"The extent of human slavery in the 21 st century is an abomination. The fact that many of these slaves are children is a tragedy of great magnitude. Here in Vietnam we frequently hear about young girls and women being sold as sex slaves and in our work at Children’s Education Foundation we come face to face with the conditions of poverty and ignorance which fuel the trade. Bruce Logan’s book is an all-too-real work of fiction that takes the reader through the harrowing theft of one young girl and her loss of innocence. Being sold by an uncle unfortunately is not unusual in Southeast Asia and the treacherous chase to rescue these victims does indeed require the skills and fortitude of individuals, law enforcement agencies, NGO’s and embassies. Hopefully Finding Lien, will shed more light onto this pervasive but hidden scourge while offering the reader a gripping, often gritty read with characters that are both scurrilous and saintly … a disturbing and emotional ride through a cruel reality.” Linda Hutchinson-Burn, Founding Director of Children’s Education Foundation, Vietnam

“Bruce Logan writes an emotional and heart rending story of human cruelty with grace and clarity. A powerful, intensely evocative novel, which will keep you reading into the small hours.” Lynda Crawford, Author of Uncomfortably Numb

“This book reads like a documentary when the protagonist, Pete Trutch, is hunting down his lost granddaughter in Cambodia. You quickly forget that you’re reading fiction because the writing style feels like non-fiction. And that’s a good thing because the problem Logan is exposing with his story is a very real one. I felt like I was with an investigative journalist from 60 Minutes. So maybe docu-drama is a better descriptor for this book. Whatever. The story reads true and the truth evokes disgust at the problem that exists over there. Last time I checked, disgust was an emotion. There is another side to the novel and that is revealed in the relationship that Pete Trutch has with his wife. Imagine finding out that your spouse of many years had fathered a love child while serving in the military overseas. Catherine Trutch has to come to terms with what Pete did and the way she does it makes the book as far as I’m concerned. Lots of emotion gets evoked when those two are talking about their future together as you can well imagine.” Greg Ast, Author of Carey’s Trade

“A deeply moving book that explores one of the most important, ugliest social issues of our time”. Lydia Dean, Author, Philanthropist and founder of GoPhilanthropic

Dental Care in Da Nang for CEF children

CEF's Ms Vy below wrote about our Dental Care Day, an important day to help get the children and families more conscious about care of their teeth. This day is both educational and deals with the dental problems they have. With having this wonderful service for treatment and education, as well as dental care and nutrition information we give each family, we hope that over the years the children will have many less dental issues.

'Every summer holiday we have CEF’s annual support program called Dental Care Day for children in our education program. On this day, they can receive free dental care at East Meet West Dental Center. This year, our Dental Care Day was held for girls from Hoi An and Da Nang this week. All of them had fillings done to their teeth, 3 had badly decayed teeth removed and many had teeth cleaning. All girls in primary school had many badly decayed teeth and many of them had very dirty teeth because they didn’t brush their teeth before going to bed or they did but in the wrong way. Most of the high school girls have one or two decayed teeth and one of them has seriously decayed teeth that need root canal treatment. Here, besides receiving dental treatment, they also had good advice from the dentists about how to look after their teeth. One of the most important advice they received was how to brush your teeth the right way and twice a day.

Many thanks to East Meet West Dental Center for making it possible for CEF children to receive Dental Care!'

 

Reflections on making a difference ~ Guest blog by a CEF board member - Brian

There is an old cliché along the lines “every little bit helps”.   And I believe that to be a truism it can be applied to things we can do to assist the development of living standards for those in countries less fortunate than our own.

Few of us have the resources to be able to make a massive impact on “changing the world for the better”.   However, it does not take a lot to “make a difference” for an individual in parts of the world where sheer survival can be a daily struggle.

Many words have been written on the benefits that flow from education.  It is demonstrated that not only does improved education enhance the economic prospects of a nation, but also, and particularly in the case of girls, it has an enormous impact on social and political development.
 
To quote UNICEF:  “There is vast evidence suggesting that countries with better gender equality and less gender disparity in primary and secondary education are more likely to have higher economic growth. Some countries lose more than $1 billion a year by failing to educate girls to the same level as boys.
An educated female population increases a country's productivity and fuels economic growth.
More educated women tend to be healthier, work and earn more income, have fewer children, and provide better health care and education to their children. Girls' education literally saves millions of lives.”

During the course of my many visits for Linda to the village of Phuc Le in northern Vietnam over the past ten years, I have been blessed to be able to observe the emergence of a whole new generation of young women.  Shy young girls of nine years have, as a result of being supported over ten years of schooling, developed into articulate, confident young women; ready to pursue higher studies or take their place in the work force in jobs their mothers could not have dreamed of.

                               
CEF’s Graeme, who accompanied me on my most recent visit, took to exploring the level of education attained by the various generations of women represented in each family; in many cases three.   As could be expected, most of our girls’ mothers had not progressed beyond primary school levels, and many of the grandmothers had never had any schooling.  Their lives have generally involved years of hard work growing rice to feed the large families they have borne.

It is most gratifying to realise that due to the efforts of those who support Linda and the CEF team, the next generation of these families can aspire to a better all round lifestyle.  And the obvious delight of the mothers and grandmothers at the improved future that awaits their daughters / granddaughters is quite wonderful to see.

So, congratulations to all you out there who are “making a difference”


Brian

About one of the ethnic girls from Phuc Son ~ Guest blog by CEF's Ms Thuy

Ms Thuy wrote about one of the very poor girls CEF interviewed recently who needs a scholarship. Please contact us if you would like to take on a scholarship which is US$150 for this academic year 2016-2017: c.e.f.vietnam@gmail.com

She is of the Gie Trieng people and her family is very poor. Her parents are farmers and have 7 children, the eldest is 22 years old and the youngest is 3 years old.

As with many Gie Trieng girls in her community, her eldest sister is a victim of early marriage. She gave birth to her first when she was only 14 years old. Her sisters youngest daughter is the same age as her youngest sister. Her brother quit school when he was in grade 10 and now works as a farmer. The other younger siblings are in grade 8, grade 5 and grade 3 and the youngest stays at home.

All family members live in a very small house with a tiny bed room for the parents, and a living room which is also the bedroom for all the children. There is separate kitchen. Although she is living in a poor family and her parents can’t help her with her studies, she still gets good results which not many ethnic minority students do. Her dream is to be a physics teacher or a local government official.