Swim Vietnam provides the teaching each year for CEF's Water Safety Day

CEF is most grateful to Swim Vietnam each summer for providing us with the needed professional swimming teachers. In having professionals to do the teaching we know CEF students are getting the best water safety theory, floating and swimming lessons available.

 Water safety theory with Swim Vietnam

 Water safety theory with Swim Vietnam

  Water Safety theory

 Giving out a laminated sheet of information

Games are played in the water to create familiarity with the water and learn the strength of the waves - Tug of war

 The Swim Vietnam teachers who helped this year

 Floating lesson

Time up in the mountains near the Laos border

The trip into the mountains to interview new students and to update students in our scholarship program went well. The countryside was stunning as usual and the weather was kind as it was cooler than in Hoi An and there was a gentle breeze most of the time.

Students who lived too far away for us to visit came to their school for their interviews. Some of them live a few hours away with a few only being able to walk the last kilometres through the mountains to their homes.

Most homes are basic structures made of a mixture of materials, with only some of the wooden structures having cement or cement and tiled floors.  

Most families share their stories openly making it easy to see who needs help in most situations. Some parents although uneducated want their children to complete high school. Sometimes it is hard to decide who to help as some students are unfocused and unclear about what to concentrate on to do well at school and about what to do after graduation although it is just a year away. Unfortunately the system here requires them to be focused for their last three years of schooling. Some parents don't want their children in school and there is a battle going on between them. In those last two situations unfortunately there are few we can support.   

CEF's 2017 Water Safety Day was possible due to Go Philanthropic's support

We are most grateful to Go Philanthropic and one specific Go Philanthropic donor for their wonderful support making our 2017 Water Safety Day possible.

The time at the beach was a mixture of  learning the life-saving theory about the dangers of water, how to be safe around it, including how to save yourself in the water and how to safely save others. There were fun games on the beach and in the water, lunch at the beach and then relaxation by the waters edge afterwards with yoghurts. We finished the day with a movie which was very touching and humorous about a child and her mentally ill mother. It was about caring for others, being thoughtful and not selfish.

The children had a wonderful time and everyone was very grateful for this opportunity and they look forward to the event next year.

This weekend CEF are doing new interviews and re-assessments of girls near the Laos border

Up in this area of Quang Nam near the Laos border there is a lot of poverty as there is no industry and few work opportunities. 

 This weekend four of CEF's staff are up in the mountains re-interviewing girls we have been helping one of two years and also interviewing new families asking for help for their girls education.

Homes are usually wood with tins roofs, with most having a compact dirt floor. Families are large with girls marrying younger than is legally allowed. This is what is normal.

As most grandparents and parents haven't been to school their children are vulnerable and many children end up working hard at a very young age and some go off to work in the illegal mines.

Children leave to do work they have been told about in a big city with a good income and are never heard of again. Trafficking of children from this area is so easy to do and we want this to change.

We want to protect them by making sure more finish high school, but also provide workshops for the girls to teach them about trafficking, health and hygiene, and help them develop social skills.

At present we have 32 of the girls up here in our scholarship program and run yearly workshops for them and the other girls in high school in this area.