Payment day and workshops for our scholarship students in Phuoc Son distict

In term 1 we make scholarship payments to our students in Phuoc Son district, not far from the Vietnam-Laos. These students are mainly from poor ethnic communities and are considered the best female students in their school. 

Scholarship funds enable them to pay education costs they could not otherwise cover, purchase study materials and eat breakfast. We also provide extra tuition for our ethnic students in grade 11. When there is more funding we will provide extra tuition for our grade 12 students too.   

After payments a session took place on careers guidance and explained how to choose a suitable subject for their ability, and how to do research they needed to see the careers that come within their abilities and in which they have an interest.  

Over the next day we ran small workshops in female health, hygiene, family planning, unwanted pregnancy, and sexual diseases for all the girls in this high school. It is easier to deal with questions when working in small groups. We also divide the ethnic girls and non-ethnic girls as they then are all more open and communicative. 

As it is normal to marry and bare children at a young age in many ethnic communities we feel it is important to cover these subjects so they don't have unwanted pregnancies and can complete their studies and develop a career before marriage. 

CEF Scholarships students 

CEF Scholarship students wearing jumpers CHIA donated to CEF

Students in career guidance session

Thuy Tran teaching and guiding on the subject of choosing a suitable careers 

Some students with an excellent book on female health

One of the small groups who studied female health, hygiene, family planning 

and sexual diseases over the weekend

A CEF student is now sponsored for her last two years of her high school education

Having a sponsorship to do her last two years of high school is really important, so we are very grateful to her new sponsors for this meaningful help. She has no parents, and lives with her aunt and granny who have almost no income due to granny being old and her aunt having a serious back injury.

She wants to complete high school and as she loves English her hope is to train to be a receptionist after high school.

Vietnam's beauty helps to nourish the spirit

I am mainly writing about the challenges our CEF families and children are facing and help that is needed. but I wanted to share another aspect of their lives. Our students all come from poor families, but they live in beautiful or interesting environments. I believe this beauty of their surroundings helps them. The greenery, the mountains, the hills, rice fields, rivers, streams, lakes, bridges and the historical buildings are beautiful or interesting and help nourish their spirit, which is a huge help when struggling to make ends meet.  I believe this nourishment helps give them the strength to not give up.