Business Start-up Program
Coir spinning machines
This is our third time around giving coconut husk fiber spinning machines to poor families. It is a very popular program because our recipients can begin earning money immediately. It also allows us to help people who do not live on a road that has enough foot/bicycle/motorbike traffic to support a small business.
Spinning machines being delivered by boat
A new business begins
The 2008 model has been rolled out. Our first venture, summer 2006, we had machines built of all metal. In the spring of 2007, because of the rapid increase in the price of metal, we ordered part metal/part wood machines. These did not prove as sturdy as we would like. We have now found a new shop to make them in another town and we have them delivered by boat. The new model is all wood, very sturdy, smooth spinning and getting good reviews from the users. And, as a bonus, they cost us less than the older ones.
We had 35 built and distributed 6 in Tan Phu Tay and 29 in Phuoc My Trung, along with the usual 100 kilos of raw material to each family to get them started. Our cost per family: $61.00.
Noodle soup shop
New noodle soup shop
We were introduced to Nguyen Van E and Nguyen The Be, both in their 50’s, by Miss Hong, our bookseller and scout. They live in a compassion house, similar to the ones we build, which was built by funds solicited in Saigon by a monk at the local pagoda. Their 28 year old son has cancer. They formerly were getting by on their own but had to sell all of their assets for medical care for their son. They are experienced at running a noodle shop but had no money to get one started.
The local dentist offered them space fronting the main street of Phuoc My Trung and we bought them two display cases, two large pots, plastic tables and chairs, bowls, spoons, chopsticks, table accessories and condiments, and gave them money to buy meat, noodles and veggies for their first day of business. They were open at 4:00am the next day and the business was an immediate success. They average about $5.00 profit a day. Our total cost to set them up in business was $243.00
Cows
We gave cows to 10 families, one in Vinh Hoa and three each in Tan Phu Tay, Phu Son and Phuoc My Trung. Our average cost per cow was $293, down from $344 last spring.
Heart Surgery for Kids
Update: Xuan Trang, our heart kid from March, 2007, has been adopted by a French family and is now living in France.
We paid for heart surgery for two children on this trip, both with ventricular septal defect. Although their diagnosis was not as serious as some of our other children, both of them had some post surgical difficulties.
Ahn Thu with her mom after surgery
Chung Thi Anh Thu is a two year old girl from Soc Trang. Following surgery on January 5
th she spent two days in ICU and then went to a regular room. About a week later she was back in ICU for two more days with a fever. She then had a good recovery and is doing well at home.
Quang with Miss Yen after surgery
We met Ngo Duy Quang, a six month old boy, in an orphanage in Vung Tau where he had been abandoned. He had a skin infection and they were trying to clear it up before surgery. It was not clearing up at the orphanage, where it is common, so he was put in the hospital to get it cleared up. Surgery was January 5
th and his recovery was even more difficult than Anh Thu’s. He spent three days in ICU and then went to a regular room. A few days later he developed chest congestion and difficulty breathing and went back to ICU. His weight had gone from seven kilos down to four kilos. He slowly recovered and was returned to the orphanage on January 25
th. A woman from France is now completing documents to adopt him and it is expected that he will go to France with his new family in May.
Quang at the orphanage before surgery
Educational Assistance
Luan receiving his exercise books
Nursery school
The director and one of the teachers at the nursery school in Vinh Hoa asked us to help them buy supplies for the 43 children in their care. Nursery schools are an important part of rural Vietnamese society, allowing both parents to work when there is no family member to care for young children. We bought colored markers and modeling clay for each child. Our cost: $32.00.
School supplies
We purchased and distributed sets of 10 exercise books to 2,117 students in 22 schools – 14 elementary schools, 7 middle schools and 1 high school. As usual, these students were recommended to us by their teachers and principals, and each was personally handed a gift wrapped package of exercise books.
Happy with new clothes
School clothes
We are often asked to buy school clothes – white top, blue pants or skirt – for these children. Some have one set of school clothes, many of them wear whatever they have. Because we were very well funded on this trip, we were able to buy school clothes for 943 children in 15 schools. The kids appreciated getting the exercise books, but the clothes got a lot more smiles.
Housing
Even thought the cost of building supplies continues to go up and we have increased the amount we pay our contractors to $125 per house, we were able to build eight houses, two in Tan Thanh Tay, two in Phu Son, two in Thanh Ngai, one in Tan Phu Tay and one in Hoa Loc, all in Ben Tre province in the Mekong Delta.
Welcome home Tam, Hung Cu, and their daughter
Tan Thanh Tay is a new town for us, and we turned down the first two suggestions of the Peoples Committee. After giving them a clearer understanding of what we were looking for, we were introduced to two families that met our guidelines and we built houses for both of them.
Tam, 38 and Hong Cu, 39 have a two year old daughter. They have very little in the way of material goods and barely make a living tending their neighbor’s orange tree saplings. They were very pleased with their new house.
Roi's old house
Roi is a 30 year old single mom with a four year old son. Their house was one of the worst we’ve seen, with many openings in the roof and walls, giving them very little protection from the rain. Roi does garden work for about $1.25 to $2.00 per day when available. She often takes her son to work with her, sometimes her neighbors watch him. Their new house gives them a safe and dry place to live and sleep.
Assistance to the Blind
They have finally been given land by the A Loui district peoples committee and we plan to help them build a center for the blind in A Loui in the future.
Water and electricity have been connected in Nam Dong and we gave them $2,841 for additional construction.
Clean Water
Clean water, Vietnam-style
We are continuing to use the 200 liter clay jars for clean (rain) water storage for the dry season. They are readily available or can be ordered on fairly short notice, people are accustomed to using them and like them, and they are cheap ($5.00 apiece).
We bought 150 jars and distributed three each to 50 families, 20 in Hoa Loc and 30 in Phuoc My Trung. All families were referred to us by the Peoples Committees in the two towns.
Special Projects
Ly learning to read and write
Update: Last March we built a compassion house for a family of five, all illiterate, and arranged for a tutor to teach the 15 and 16 year old girls, both named Ly, to read and write (see the May 23, 2007 dispatch). The older girl, now 17, got pregnant, married and stopped taking lessons. The younger Ly, now 16, got embarrassed being alone with her tutor, a young man recently graduated from college, and was about to quit as well, so the tutor’s mother took over instruction. Progress is slow, but she is learning to read and write.
Mrs. Ty is 70 years old, and we built a compassion house for her in 2005. When we visited her we found that she was sleeping on the floor and her roof needed repair. We fixed the roof and bought her a bed, mosquito net, blanket and pillow. $184.
Mr. E’s 28 year old son (see business start-up report) has cancer. We gave them $62 for transportation to and a doctor visit in Saigon.
Duyen enroute to Saigon for examination
Duyen is a 13 year old girl in Tan Phu Tay. While distributing school supplies, board member Phuong noticed that Duyen had a large growth on her cheek. On inquiry we found that she had a similar growth and one eye removed when she was an infant, and that her remaining eye was unstable. We took her to Saigon and had her examined by an ophthalmologist and a neurosurgeon. They decided that surgery to remove the growth was too dangerous, and on their recommendation we bought her eyeglasses and medicine to help stabilize her remaining eye. She now finds it easier to read and do her schoolwork. $159.
Cuong is a 16 year old girl that was introduced to us last year by Miss Yen, our heart surgery coordinator. At that time she was living with her mother and her grandfather on the outskirts of Saigon and had just quit school because her family could not afford to pay for it. Her mother is a tailor but frequently can’t work because of headaches caused by a head injury. Since then her grandfather has died and Cuong and her mom have moved to Can Tho, the biggest city in the Mekong Delta. Yen helped Cuong get into school and she is now the top student in her class. We hope to be able to continue to help Cuong through high school and university. We gave Yen $187 to pay for Cuong’s school expenses and to help her with clothing and food.
Thanh Thanh starts school
Mrs. Seo, 87, lives alone with her developmentally disabled 60 year old son. We bought them two beds, two mosquito nets and two reed mats. $47.
Thanh Thanh is a seven year old Khmer (ethnic Cambodian) girl, also introduced to us by Miss Yen, living in Soc Trang. She had never been to school. Her dad speaks a little Vietnamese but her mom only speaks Khmer. Her dad asked us to help her go to school so she could write a letter and read the newspaper. With our help, she started school last year and is now in grade 1. We gave Yen $125 to help Thanh Thanh for the 2008 school year.
Direct Food Aid
Marv distributes rice in Tan Phu Tay
We gave 15 kilos of rice to 240 people in six towns. All of the people we help are poor, but the rice recipients are among the poorest, usually barely having enough to eat, and our gifts of rice are greatly appreciated.
Family Assistance
Nguyen Thi Seo $3.00/month.
Miss Seo, age 87, is the newest addition to those receiving monthly help from us. She is too old to work and her adult children do not help her. The $50,000 Vietnam Dong that we give her each month is enough for rice.
Nguyen Van Tri $13.00/month.
Tri’s wife has abandoned him and the two boys. He still works for the fruit wholesaler and as he is severely disabled he is happy to have this steady work. Although living under very difficult circumstances, Tri always has a ready smile and the children look well cared for.
Vo Van Tan $10.00/month
Tan says that he thinks the government might give him a small pension in 2009 and if this happens he will no longer need our help.
Le Quang Son $13.00/month.
Son quit his electric appliance repair course and is working in a coffee shop. His income is $28 per month. Miss Be, our helper in Hue, will talk to him about studying something that will give him a better income.
Ms. Hien $10.00/month.
Tram, the younger daughter, is now in Grade 12.
Trang, the older daughter, has expanded her bookkeeping course to two years and has one and a half years to go.
Cho Family $13.00/month.
The oldest boy failed the university entrance exam again and is now studying electric appliance repair. The family sold one cow for income and still has three. This is the first family for which we bought cows – back in September, 2001 – and raising and selling them has served this family very well.
As usual, funds are distributed to these families monthly by Mr. Son, our volunteer assistant in Ben Tre province, and by Miss Be, our volunteer assistant in Hue. We left enough money for January through August, 2008.
Scholarship
Duc, our board member who administered this program, has moved to the U.S. We will discontinue this as a formal program, but will continue to provide help to individual children as opportunities present themselves to us. Two such children, Thanh Thanh and Cuong, were introduced to us last year by Miss Yen, our heart surgery coordinator. Go to the Special Projects section for details and photos of these two girls.
Vocational Training
This is an area where we have met some frustration. Although Duc (our board member in Saigon, now moved to the U.S.) introduced us to students at the Cao Thang Technical School in Saigon, and our help was very much appreciated and valuable to them in completing their courses, we were very rarely able to get at our target audience – those who would not be able to get any training at all without our help. We will be on the lookout for individual opportunities, and will report them in the Special Projects section.
