Child sponsorship update from Ca Mau, Vietnam

Update for child sponsors from the SOS Children's Village Ca Mau, Vietnam from Winter 2008.

Dear Friends,

The Christmas is coming, the holiday season reminds us many joys, our success is one of them and one of the joys of the holiday season is the opportunity to say How much I appreciate your support! We would like to wish you A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

There have been many fluctuations on over the world last time, we have to confront with the inflation which has influence on our daily living. However, our government always gives out possible solutions to help us overcome economic difficulties caused by the global financial crisis. SOS Children’s Village Ca Mau always obeys the economic principles of spending, and there has been nothing serious happened.

Now we would like to inform you about some news of the SOS children’s village Ca Mau in during the outgoing year.

A Home for many children
14 house families are a warm home for 130 children in the village. We have admitted 7 new children in this time of year, like other children, the first days they came with us were the challenging days to their SOS mothers. They often looked timorous and weak, influenced from their former living conditions. Thank to the love and the patience of the SOS mothers with help of SOS brothers and sisters, the newly admitted children have integrated to their new families step by step and have got on well with new life and new environment in the SOS Children’s Village Ca Mau.

We always assure that our children are provided the best care and love, we still have some vacancies when grown up children leave village for getting higher education and working so we still keep searching other cases to offer unlucky children a family.

Youth house
We are glad to tell you that he number of children in the Youth house is 54 including 30 boys who are studying and working out side. Since the year 2003, poor boys aged 15, who had excellent study from surrounding areas of Camau, have been admitted to the youth house as part of community support programme (it’s also called SOS scholarship). these are always good examples both studying and personality. At present, 2 poor boys are residing in the youth house.

In order to maintain their healthy mental life, boys are always encouraged to play sport and gymnastics games like: table tennis, football, badminton, weight-lifting… They also held friendship games and competion with other surrounding schools and outside boys.

Academic performance

The new school year 2008-2009 started in the early September, we have 100 children going to the SOS School in this year, many children have made progress and efforts at school. But some can not catch up the lessons well, we combine with SOS school teachers to open extra-classes for bad performance students to get the basic knowledge. With the aim of helping the children to be more confident and to have good studying methods.

Nine children who graduated from high school in last June, They now are admitted into university and colleges. Their schools are located in two big cities in the south of Vietnam Ho Chi Minh and Can Tho where there have best conditions for studying.

Activities and club
Mid Autumn is a festival of all Vietnamese children from the past and this becomes more special to day. Children are given many cakes, sweets and lanterns on this day. This year festival fell on Sunday September 14th, we also organized a significant celebration for them. We gave them a party with many fruits and cakes and guided them to play some folk games under the light of the full-moon night. Children were a very nice and interested nice.

Boys are practicing football every afternoon in current time, they going to take the football competition that will take place in late December in Ha Noi. This is a very special event occurring with the SOS Children's Villages in the country when they have an opportunity to meet and play football together. It will become an annual football competition with the sponsor of Viet Nam football federation and Children’s Press, we hope.

It’s a successful year of music group, they had many impressive items in the music contest named ‘Flamboyant Singing’ of the city in last summer and won several prizes. The music and art clubs are maintained on Sundays when they have free time.

Mothers and Aunts
There are 14 mothers in 14 family houses and 4 aunts in our village. They have been working together for 12 years. With the enthusiasm of voluntary women, mother and aunts have done their best to lead and manage their family, take care of their children, and bring them both in spiritual and material life. Their greatest expectation is that their kids study well; becomes good and obedient children.

In their free time, they often do gardening, they like to take care of vegetable, fruit trees and flower. Green gardens help family houses have more food in daily meals.

This year, mothers and aunts attended an advanced training course at SOS training center in Hanoi capital, they were trained again children psychology development, skills of caring children… after many years of playing mother role, they were very eager to participated in this course, not only being lectured by professor, but only they had a chance to meet other mothers who came from 12 SOS villages, they could exchange experiences together.

Turning over a new leaf

Every one often reminds him and people consider him as a boy who has great efforts in life. He was born in a very poor family in the rural village in the north of Viet Nam. When he was four, there was a heart-breaking happening in his life, his mother died of illness, his father left him and his younger brother for old grandma and his uncle. They were poor too, they had no land for cultivation and they had to live as nomadic people. It’s was a chance when they decided to settle in Ca Mau where brought him a chance for a warm home.

His brother and he were admitted into the SOS Children’s Village Ca Mau, this event made a turning-point in his life, a nine year old boy. He had a complex about his origin and condition, at first. But he was provided the best care and love, he had a warm family with mother and other brothers and sisters. He was so happy, the great happiness that he had never felt before. He revealed himself strongly, he showed his ability in his learning, he always made all efforts in his life. He might early spend unlucky things in life so he was so experienced. He seemed aware of his position, he understood that only being good training would bring him a bright future and escape poverty. The more he got higher class, the more successful he was. In fact, he was always the best student in his class in years at senior high school.

His tireless efforts were acknowledged when he passed the entrance examination of university in 2007, his studying branch is business administration, he has a big dream to become a business man. He now is the second year student, he not only gets achievements in his studying but also he takes part in all activities, he is one of outstanding students at his school now.

This is one of successful stories we would like to share with you. Again, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude towards your precious support during time. In this joyful season, warm thoughts and happy smiles are our wishes for you and your family.

Yours sincerely,

Trương Văn Nhiệm
Director
SOS Children’s Village Ca Mau