huehelp's blog

Last March, Hue Help welcomed one volunteer from America. Her name is Barbara Kernochan. Seemingly we volunteers and the children at the orphanage are used to calling her with the informal name “Barbara”. As usual, she is responsible for teaching the children English and we volunteers also contribute a small part to helping her with translation work. Due to many years of experience working as an Alternative Education and Work Center Coordinator and Outreach Consultant in Venice Skills Center (California), Mrs Barbara seems to get acquainted with teaching with ease.

Last Sunday, Hue Help organised a trip for two children’s shelters in Hue – the Home of Affection, at Chi Lang street – to the Than Tan Spa resort, around 30km North of Hue. We’ve carried this trip out for the past three years for the Home of Affection kids, and thanks to the support of Hilary Adamson and Tamra Ewing, we were able to bring along Chi Lang shelter also. A total of 42 children, plus staff from DoLISA, the shelters, as well as Hue Help volunteers and staff made up the group.

There hasn’t been much activity on our blog recently, but that’s just because we’ve been so busy carrying out a Youth Expedition Project (YEP) in the rural area of Huong Xuan with students and teachers from Ngee Ann Polytechnic (Singapore).

The economic downturn has dominated the headlines for a long time now, and the impact is being felt by businesses, individuals and the third sector across the globe.

For Hue Help, there is also an impact. One pound is now worth only 24-25,000VND, compared to 32,000VND last year. Combine that with rising costs in Vietnam, as well as the loss of some key donors, we are in for a tough year. Our unpaid management are working tirelessly to find additional funding sources to prevent the impact of the crisis being felt by the people our programs work with. But we do need more help.

Nearly two thirds of children in Home of Affection (Yiet Kieu St) achieved good study results this term.

After more than a year of funding for the children in the Home of Affection we are happy to announce nearly 2 / 3 of the children achieved excellent and fair results in the first term of the school year 2008 - 2009. These results are thanks to the house mothers, the management board in the orphanage and especially the enthusiastic efforts of the teachers who tutor for the children, such as teacher Cúc for the primary children, and the mathematics teacher Lanh for the children in secondary school.

At the beginning school year 2008-2009, the studying situation of children was very alarming as nearly half of the children had bad results in the first test. Confronted with the above situation, Hue Help collaborated with the housemothers and the orphanage management board, and thanks to a grant from Education Services (Cambridge, UK) we were able to hire a primary level teacher to work at the orphanage, and provide external tuition for the secondary and high school pupils.

As the main sponsor organisation for the orphanage, we will work closely with the teachers to encourage the children to strive to achieve good results at the end of school year 2008-2009. We would like to thank everyone who has supported us in helping to improve the education of the children at the Home of Affection!

Khanh Truong

On the 19th, January 2009 (24/12 lunar calendar), the Home of Affection orphanage organised a farewell party before the children go home to enjoy Tet holiday at their relatives. Attending the party were DOLISA’s Director and teachers, and housemothers in the orphanage. On the side of Hue Help, there was the participation of Mr Graham Buckley (Director) Mr Khanh Truong (Representative in Vietnam). Besides enjoying delicious foods cooked by the housemothers, the children also were offered new clothes from DOLISA, and Hue Help also gave the children lucky money as a New Years Day present.

The children left the orphanage on the 20th January and will return on the 30th January. There are 5 children who have no relatives (Ngoc, Le, Huy, Anh and Thi) will stay with orphanage staff. We will be sure to pay them a visit over the Tet celebrations!

- Khanh Truong

After only one year since the day that Hue Help has started to officially support the children in Home of Affection Orphanage, on the 10th of January the orphanage organised a groundbreaking ceremony, where the first stone of a new house for the children at Huong So Ward was set.

Mr Hau, the Vice Director of the orphanage, prayed for the construction to be carried out well, and for the education and quality of life of the children to be high in the new building.

The new building will comprise 2 floors with bedrooms, classrooms, a dinning room, a library and another functional rooms to serve the education and the entertainment of the children. The building is due to be complete by the end of 2009.

- Khanh Truong, Representative of Hue Help in Vietnam.

It is nearly a year since Hue Help started its medical care program, serving for more than 4,200 poor children and elderly people in remote areas of the Thua Thien Hue province.

This success is to thanks to the help of our enthusiastic team of volunteers, including one pharmacist and nine doctors. The doctors all have obtained high qualifications in their fields, have worked for many years in Hue Central Hospital, and are now retired. For example Dr. Lap is the former Vice Chief of the paediatrics Dept in Hue Central Hospital, and Doctor Tung was chief of Thua Thien Hue's Officer Hospital. Most of the team trained in the North of Viet Nam before 1975 and participated in treatment teams for Vietnamese soldiers in the War; so they are not only colleagues and teammates, but also old friends together. Therefore, each medical care trip is an opportunity for them to see each other and to work together to help poor people in the remote areas of the province.

On behalf of Hue Help, on the occasion of New Year 2009, I would like to wish all our doctors good health, prosperity and happiness for the coming year.

- Khanh Truong

Learn more about our mobile clinic by visiting the project page here

We've managed to put together a few clips of the Home of Affection kids singing at La Residence Hotel on Christmas Eve!

We have also opened a YouTube channel, so there will be many more clips to come.

We hope you enjoy it!

An Interesting Christmas Night!

Perhaps this is the first time that the children in the Home of Affection Orphanage will remember a night full of Christmas fun after Santa Claus (Graham and Khanh), paid a surprise visit on Christmas night. Hue Help prepared elaborate gifts for the kids, appropriate to their ages of course!

In addition, a load of games and activities were organised for the children by Hue Help volunteers, and new sets of blankets and pillows were provided to keep the children warm as the temperature continues to fall.

- Khanh Truong