Child sponsorship update from Hai Phong, Vietnam

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

Dear Friends,

Winter seems to knocks at the door of every house and at the moment. We are sure that you are busy to prepare for a nice Christmas and welcome New Year. As usual, we would like to send you and your family the best wishes for Christmas and New Year from the SOS Children’s Village of Hai Phong. We would like to take this opportunity to send some information about our village for the outgoing year.

A warm family for orphaned children
At present, 150 children are living in the families and Youth house, 78 adolescents are living, studying and working outside that only comes back to the village on New Year and summer holiday. If we see in the general, the number of children does not increase in comparison with the last year but it had a big change in 2008. We admitted 19 children from 5 to 12 years old this summer and the same number of children and adolescents moved out the village: some children came back to live with their relations, some others got married and others passed the semi-independent time - they are able to stand on their own feet and integrate well on outside society.

Not long ago, they were the youngest children in their families, to be loved and cared for with the thoughtfulness by mothers and older brothers and sisters, now those children become the biggest brothers and sisters with the heavy duty: help the younger ones, the newcomers to integrate in the new family. From calling them to do morning exercise every morning, helping mother to prepare breakfast for them, sometimes helping them to do homework in the evening. They help their mother much in maintaining the order of family that has been building for over 12 years. Responsibility and sentimentally, the adolescents who have moved out for study and work as well as the semi and independent adolescents often come back home to help mother, to teach the younger ones and to build the close relations between the former generation to the newcomers.

Study for a better life
Luckily, from the first children who finished upper secondary school in 2003 to now, although some of them had to learn very hard but at the end all children who learnt to the upper secondary school passed the finals. It was the same this year, 16 children got baccalaureates to mark successfully 12 years at school, 5 of them have passed the entrance examinations to study in the colleges and universities, the rest are learning for job, they integrate well in their schools with the help of the formers.

The adolescents who study in universities, colleges and high schools are trying their best to get good result; they understand that it is more convenient for them to find an employment and to have a stable life in the future if they study well. Thank to their good result, five of them are allowed to study in the higher grade. However, we feel unsecured to some adolescents who are learning in the professional schools, special to male adolescents because they are not steady from the negative factors, it effects to their study result as well as their life.

In 2008 - 2009 academic, 144 children are from the first to the 12th form. The first term is going to end but the result is humbler than the last years. Many children did not go to school until they came with us so nearly all of them were the bad learners; it is the same with children who come with us this year. Some of them are late one or two years, we have to make out a schedule helping for each child. With the tutor of volunteer students, many of them make progresses on their study but some others are still learning hard. Some ones must learn in the first class in 2 years but they only read short sentences and do not work well with four basic operations within 100. Some others seem to be more active and lack of patience than their elder brothers and sisters. One factor that also effects on their study result is the innovation of Vietnamese education program. The program is heavier than the capacity of pupils and students, while the capacity of our mothers is limited, not all mothers are able to help children in learning, even in the primary program. They have to depend on educators and volunteer students for support so each evening, one or two educators with 20 students come to families helping children with their homework.

Activities to enrich children’s knowledge

Besides the regular activities have been taking place in our village for over 12 years to involve nearly all children in our village, of course our children also took part in the activities at their schools and the local activities were held by the City Youth union, the World vision Fund and the volunteer groups. An active is worth to be recorded of all adolescents who are studying and working outside the village, this year. It is the foundation of the SOS Haiphong Adolescent Association with the utmost try of educator. Although the adolescents are in different parts of the country such as Hanoi, Ha Tay, Ho Chi Minh, Sa Pa, Dien Bien… they unite in encouraging, sharing with each other about the study, the work, the life and the future plan as well as the happiness and the sadness of everyday life. The Association also helps children having opportunity to be interested in village community – where they have lived in their childhood; the Association is useful for their life.

The Association has an advisory board - they are village educators, has a management board - they are grown up adolescents who take responsible to regulate the common activities of the Association such as giving the active plan, the needed content to build and develop the Association, contact with other members. Each region has a group leader; the leader is responsible to unite the members of his region and manages the common work. Now it is the beginning, everything is ahead and it needs the try of every member, and special the try of the advisory board and the management board, we high appreciate of its foundation. With the support and guidance of the Village Director broad, we do hope the Association will active effectively and develop day after day.

Heaven of his life
He was a mother-orphaned child from the childhood. He lived with his grandmother, they leaned on each other. Whenever seeing other children went out with their mother, he felt close on tear and he dreamed of love of the mother. The thirst for the love of mother had followed him for nearly 10 years to become true. To think back he felt it had a certain miracle to help him have the thing that he thirsted for.

On a beautiful morning, it could say it was the most beautiful morning of his life. He was releasing his heart on the hammock. Suddenly, a car parked in front of the gate of his house, and some persons came to talk with his grandmother. He did not know what they said; he only knew he would have a mother soon. And some days later, he was gotten in a car with brimful of happiness to the place that up to now he considered as ‘the heaven of his life’.

When he got off from car, his first impression was the honest smile of a medium aged woman (that time he did not know she would be his SOS mother). A familiar feeling appeared in his heart when knowing she was his mother. He was leaded by her warm hand on the way to the house; he felt her love from that hand. The image of the mother with her child manifested in his mind, his eyes were wet with tears, the happy tears of his life. Since then, he lived in the love and the protection of his mother, the dolor of the loss his mother was compensated.

The child in the above story now becomes a strong, tall young man who will graduate from the professional school soon. In the time he lived and studied in the village, he did not have any outstanding characters or drawing and chess prizes, he had never got scholarship at school but many children in the village should learn from his filial love to his SOS mother. Wherever he stayed in the village or has moved out to study for over 2 years, he has a strong attachment to his mother and SOS family; he finds the peaceful feeling whenever he comes back his SOS family. He often helps his mother and younger ones with the love and the responsibility of a big brother in the family.

Grown up children at Hai Phong, Vietnam

After the first embarrassing time, they integrate well on the new environment. Thank to the well unite with each other so the latters seem to be more convenient than the formers because they were helped by the formers. The adolescents that learnt in tourist and service careers all find the stable working place right after graduating from school. Up to now, all of them are in work; however, some ones must work in the job that is quite different from what they had learnt from their professional schools.

In some recent years, every year we celebrate wedding for some adolescents. Mothers are very happy and proud when their children take their lover to introduce with them. The life is busier but happier whenever one child gets married. Then the new members come in to the world, the mothers become maternal grandmothers, and going to be paternal grandmothers. Nothing is happier than to see our children grown up, have stable job and life with their new families.

Mothers and aunts
Have been being SOS mother for more than 12 years, the health of mothers is not full of vim like the last years, they are all superior and inferior of 50 years old. It sounds they are not so old but with everyday work of a SOS mother who manages and cares for over 10 children, they sometimes feel tired. Therefore, the village special pays attention to the activities that improve their health as well as their skill in living and caring for children at various of age and the skill to contact, to talk with special children and adolescents.

After 6 months having the guide of a yoga teacher, the yoga class is stable; the mothers are able to practice by themselves now. From September to December, 11 mothers participated in the syllabus for SOS mothers and aunts held by the training center of SOS Children’s Villages of Vietnam. The syllabus issues on cares, educations for adolescents and children such as unusual expressions on psychology when children have various diseases, moral and sexual educations, methods of psychological assessments. They all enjoyed much. Beside the knowledge that they got from the training course, they also exchanged experiences with other mothers from twelve SOS Villages in the whole Vietnam.

Thanks for your support in continuous years, many children have a stable family, many adolescents have a stable job and better future. At the end of this letter, we would like to express our deep gratitude to you for that and wish you and your beloved ones a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Peaceful New Year!

Yours sincerely,

Đ ỗ Tắc Bé
Director
SOS Children’s Village Hai Phong