Thank you for your support of CEF

Thank you to all of you who support CEF in some way.

There are so many ways to support charities and some examples of the support we receive is some share our Facebook posts of interest with their friends, some share the forthcoming events we have, others give non-specific donations or sponsor or take on scholarships and others volunteer at events we have. We also have a small handful of volunteers who help with editing, newsletters and website work. Then we have some friends who find new or very good second hand computers for our university students, or give us new clothing for the girls or almost new. Sometimes via Facebook we ask for contributions for bathrooms, bikes, clothing or Tet food parcels and we are always amazed at the generous donations to help with these needs. Recently the local community gave many token for our raffle and auction to raise funds for scholarships. The result of this is six scholarships for Gie Trieng girls near the Vietnam-Laos border. Then we have our advisors and board members, whose support is invaluable. 

However you help, we really appreciate that support! Thank you to all of you who help in some way! 

Linda, 

Linda Burn

Founding Director and In-Country Manager - Vietnam, Children's Education Foundation

Roller coaster emotions ~ Guest blog by CEF's Thuy Dinh

One of CEF's excellent students

In the two months I have been working for CEF and having been on many home visit days to our students I have found these days to be a bit emotional for me, and cause mixed bitter sweet emotions.

I was impressed by the children who got excellent school results. When they are passionate about their study plans and their future we get great pleasure and we are really glad to help them.

But another child, I found myself disappointed with and sad due to her situation. Her results have continued to slide downwards and we had to talk strictly to her about them and the need to have good study techniques, do exams more carefully and spend more time on her studies. We had to remind her that letting her results slip so much makes it very hard to pick them up much and do well without a lot of work and help from extra tuition teachers.

When we arrived and I looking into her house, I felt sad when I saw her father lying on the bed and only able to move his left side as a result of brain injury from a bad fall.  He can hear everyone talking but he cannot speak or write. He smiles a lot and it was lovely to see his smile.  I hope next time he can write something for us, as we asked his daughter to teach him to write, and we also hope to have good news from her about her results which she seems to understand need to be much improved.  

Art work by CEF's young students

Many of CEF's young students haven't writing skills and aren't able to write letters

to their sponsors, but they enjoy doing drawings for them. 

A CEF student who is studying Japanese at university

She is studying Japanese at university and did really well in term one considering this is her first year. She is a refreshing surprise as most year one students are challenged to deal with all their studies and the huge change in their lives. She is looking at what is required to graduate, and how she can accomplish that with excellent results.

As there are 240 students doing her course, she knows she has to have excellent final results to get a good job.

Humans of Children's Education Foundation ~ Translated by CEF's Thuy Tran

I live in a poor mountainous area of Quang Nam and study at a high school downtown.  I go to school with my friends by bicycle twice a day, in the morning for the main classes, and in the afternoon for the compulsory tuition sessions. It usually takes me thirty minutes from home to school if I ride as fast as I can, or forty-five minutes if I ride more slowly. By talking to my friends on the way, I feel the trip to school is much shorter. I also enjoy going to school by bike as I have a chance to do exercise and it’s good for my health. Since my brother went to university two years ago, he left his bike for me to use. I really like it as is both cool and in good condition. It hasn’t broken down at all since I started using it, so I haven’t been late for school.

Sometimes uneducated parents can't understand the importance of an education ~ Guest blog by CEF's Ms Ngoc

The majority of the families CEF is helping are doing very well and supporting their children's education a lot but there’s a girl I am really worried about.  Every time I see her, her results are worse. I am sure her parents are doing the best they know how to as they both had just three or four years of primary education so it’s not surprising that when it comes to Phuong’s schooling, they don’t realize how important it is to help her improve her results. What they could do is let her go to extra tuition classes and also not ask her to do so much around the house and to care for her younger siblings.

Every time I visit them, I try to help them to see how vital it is for P to do well in school and be able to eventually finish high school.  I am worried that she will follow the example of her older sister who dropped out of school at 15.

Feelings and Thoughts on Child Sexual Abuse ~ Guest blog by CEF's Kim Chi

I was distressed each time I read stories of girls who were victims of child sexual abuse, and I think it impacted me a lot as I have two daughters. Therefore I wondered if we could do anything for CEF’s girls and the families to raise awareness and teach them how to protect themselves.

I wrote an email to Linda as she was overseas at that time and she replied we should do a talk for our CEF children asap. After discussing together, we decided to do talks on this topic on CEF’s payment days because this was the best opportunity, as all of the CEF children and parents / grandparents attend.

So far I am pleased with the talks I made on a sensitive subject. It not only helps the children and parents to be well informed about child sexual abuse, but also makes the parents think and care for their children even when they are busy.

I gained experience and knowledge and will be able to teach my daughters when they are older and also share this knowledge with my community. Hopefully, our efforts to educate will help reduce this issue in Viet Nam.

Stephen CEF-Vietnam's manager in the USA has been visiting

Stephen has been visiting Vietnam as he does each year to catch up with our work here on the ground, meet up with staff and attend some home visits to see the situations of the children and families we choose to give an education sponsorship to.

 Marjorie who is a long term friend of Stephen's with a great deal of writing and editing experience came over at the same time. She visited many of the CEF families and will take on editing work for us and also some sponsor communication.

While Stephen is here he also continues his work as he has a busy law practice in New York. He does have time to relax, so goes back each year feeling more rested and relaxed, but also more connected to our work here in Vietnam.

Welcome to Marjorie ~ Guest blog by Stephen, CEF-Vietnam's USA manager

On my annual trip to Hoi An this year I was accompanied by my old friend, and CEF-Vietnam’s new friend, Marjorie Shaffer, making her first visit to Vietnam.  Marjorie, a retired journalist and current author, is volunteering to help with editing CEF letters and home visit reports and will take on the role of some sponsor communication too. She is in Vietnam to meet many of the children with whom she’ll be working. She’s also here to research cinnamon farming for her next book (her first came out a couple of years ago; it’s called Pepper).

It was interesting for me to see Marjorie’s reactions to meeting the children and their families when she accompanied CEF staffers Thuy and Vy on home visits, and made me think about my own similar experiences when I started making such visits. She was thrilled and uplifted to meet happy children who are doing well in school and whose families are grateful for the support from CEF that enables the children to look forward to a better future.  But there also is sadness in seeing the extreme poverty many children experience, as well as heartbreak when children must be told they’re not working hard enough on their studies to continue to receive support.  Sometimes it’s very difficult to be in the charity world.

In addition to her home visits, Marjorie has been enjoying the cultural and culinary delights of Vietnam, including exploring Hue with me and Danang with Linda and me. (I love Hue and always welcome an opportunity to visit.) She is now off to Hanoi, where she will sightsee for a couple of days before heading off on a tour to cinnamon farms and a homestay outside the city. 

Welcome to CEF-Vietnam, Marjorie!