2011 Collective Philanthropy Project
We are proud to announce the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation as the beneficiary for the 2010-2011 CPP Campaign.
Fundraising goals were set at the 2011 UVSA Midwest Leadership Retreat at Michigan State University on January 15, 2011.
The Story of BDCF
The foundation was begun by an Australian school teacher, Michael Brosowski. He visited Vietnam in 2002 to teach English at the University in Hanoi. While there he met many street children.
At first Michael, along with one of his language students Pham Sy Chung, offered the children tuition in Math, English and Yoga and Art. They also formed a football team – “Real Betis Vietnam” which would later be sponsored by their Spanish namesake. The idea was to promote a sense of sportsmanship and teamwork while getting exercise. Initially 3 teenage boys turned up for these games.
By early 2003, Michael had quit his university job to concentrate full time on the needs of the street children. Word had gotten around to the people of the community and more kept arriving to seek help. The problems varied from medical needs, educational needs, and sometimes just a need for somewhere to sleep. In February 2003, work began on formalizing the small group’s efforts into a registered organization.
The process was not a simple one, but in March 2004 Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation was registered as an Incorporated Association in Australia. In September 2004, it was registered as an Independent Non-Government Organization in Vietnam.
Prior to this period, on June 2, 2003, The Big Room was opened. The Big Room was essentially a residence for six former street kids. It was funded for its first year by a $5000 donation from two expatriate women. In addition, a program was launched to try to help keep poor rural children in school and the group continued to reach out to other children in the Hanoi area.
Chung left to study in the US in early 2005, and Michael hired two full-time staff to replace him. With these two staff, a combined office and drop-in centre was opened in March of that year. This office was used until August 2007 when the Foundation moved to larger premises to cope with its continued growth.
In late 2005, Michael and a Vietnamese law student – Ta Ngoc Van – rescued a child from central Vietnam who had been bought by slave laborers in Ho Chi Minh City. This was the start of another program dedicated to recovering many more children in the same situation. To do this, Michael hired Van and his wife full-time as Vietnam’s only Child Care Advocates. As of June 2008, one child trafficking ring has been permanently disrupted and over 30 children have been returned to their homes.
In August 2007, Blue Dragon began assisting in the running of a children’s Home in Hoi An, Central Vietnam.
The Problem
For children in Vietnam who are born into poverty, there is little hope for the chance of a better life. More than 75% of the population lives in rural areas, where rice farming is the major industry and whole families earn as little as $1 – $2 a day. Children from the countryside are often forced to quit school and move to the cities to find work on the streets, where they are at risk from all sorts of dangers such as crime, sexual exploitation, drug abuse, and disease.
The Solution
Blue Dragon believes that the best way to end poverty is through education and training. We provide opportunities to children in rural and urban areas, to give kids a chance to study wherever they are. To ensure success, children are offered social, legal, and academic support services, including accommodation. We do all we can to help each child along the path to achieving their dreams.
What is Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation?
Blue Dragon is an Australian charity that aims to make a lasting change for kids in crisis throughout Vietnam. Since our small beginnings in 2003, Blue Dragon has become a powerful force for change on the streets of Vietnam, both in the cities and in the rural areas where poverty is widespread. Blue Dragon offers Vietnam’s most disadvantaged families the chance to turn their lives around, providing practical solutions to the daily problems that are keeping poverty alive.
Who do we help?
Blue Dragon helps kids in crisis throughout Vietnam, includ- ing street kids; runaways; victims of trafficking; children with disabilities; young rural-urban migrants; kids affected by drugs and HIV/AIDS; homeless families; child prisoners; and the rural poor.
What does the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation do?
Every year, Blue Dragon…
- Sends over 800 kids to school and training Provides accommodation to over 60 kids
- Distributes over 500L of milk and 2400kg of rice to hungry children
- Reunites up to 40 runaways with their families Takes over 100 children to visit a doctor Obtains legal registration papers for nearly 50 children Rescues over 20 trafficked children
- Plays over 300 games of soccer
- Blue Dragon’s central aim is to get children into school and to keep them there with the ultimate goal of improving their employability and long-term prospects. To achieve this, many other tasks are undertaken. Accommodation is provided or repair/refurbishment of their existing home if living conditions simply aren’t suitable. Out-of-school tuition is provided to help children study. Books and stationary are given to those who can’t afford them.
- Medical care is paid for in some extreme cases where it can save the life or lifestyle of a child. To date, two instances of cosmetic surgery (one facial tumor and one hare lip) have been funded or part-funded by Blue Dragon. These two operations have allowed the afflicted children to return to an education that they were previously excluded from as a result of their conditions. Another boy, seriously injured by a gang wielding knives and machetes, was nursed back to health with the help of Blue Dragon and returned to an almost normal life afterwards.
- Child trafficking is a major issue in SE Asia, and Blue Dragon now tackles this as a permanent part of its workload. Two staff members work full-time on locating and rescuing children who have been bought, traded or kidnapped by child laborers. The parents of many of these children believe they are sending them to a better life with an opportunity for education and a proper job. However, this is not the case and the children find themselves working 15 or more hours per day with no pay, and living in cramped unsanitary conditions.
What has BDCF accomplished?
- Sent 1,113 kids back to school and training
- Provided accommodation to 103 girls and boys
- Served 159,143 meals
- Built or repaired 24 homes for families
- Distributed 4,537 liters of milk
- Handed out 17,404 kgs of rice
- Reunited 56 runaway children with their families
- Taken 522 kids to a doctor or hospital
- Put 5 teens through drug rehab
- Obtained legal registration papers for 195 children
- Rescued 72 trafficked children
- Placed 55 teens in jobs
- Played 761 games of soccer!
What are Blue Dragon’s Active Programs?
BDCF’s work is structured through four main programs, each with a geographical and ‘needs’ focus.
Safe and Sound
Focus: Child Trafficking: Rescue and prevention
Mission: Help children escape from traffickers and return to their families; and prevent trafficking from taking place by spreading awareness among villages and communities.
Location: Hue and Ho Chi Minh City
Step Ahead
Focus: Street kids and children with disabilities
Mission: Enable street kids and children with disabilities to return to school by providing a full range of support services, including legal advocacy, psychological and counselling services, school fee relief, and accommodation.
Location: Hanoi
Hoi An Children’s Home
Focus: Children living in extreme poverty
Mission: Enable the poorest children in Quang Nam province to finish their schooling, and go on to university, by providing a residential home with a full range of support services.
Location: Hoi An town
Stay In School
Focus: Rural children
Mission: Support children from the poorest rural families to stay in school, by providing for all school-related costs including uniforms, tuition fees, stationery, and text books.
Location: Bac Ninh province
BDCF’s range of services to children includes:
- Social workers – making individual plans and monitoring children’s progress
- Child Rights Advocacy – standing up for kids when they are in conflict with the law
- Psychological services – offering counseling and group therapy to help kids deal with their issues
- Accommodation – giving kids a place to live in a healthy family environment
- School fee relief – enabling the poorest of the poor to afford a basic education
- Vocational training – offering opportunities for older teens to explore vocational courses, from computing to cooking
- Employment counseling – helping teens to think about their futures, and supporting them to find good jobs
- A drop-in center – providing a safe haven for children to play and learn
- Creative therapy – engaging kids through drama, art, music and dance
The Project
Which Program is CPP funding?
The “Safe and Sound” Program in Hue Province
What are the BDCF’s goals?
- End Child Trafficking in Hue
- Increase awareness to the issue of human/child trafficking
What will CPP funds raised specifically go towards?
- Expand to 3-5 more villages
- Rescue at least 60 more children
- Rebuild 7-10 more houses
- Create 1-2 children’s playgrounds
- Support up to 150 trafficked children to go to school
Frequently Asked Questions
What Makes CPP relevant to my VSA?
As quoted by Stephen Nguyen (Stephen Nguyen, Former VSA President (IVP/ADVISOR), IVP MAUVSA, uNAVSA-7 CPP/Marketing staff. BA Philosophy: Public Policy & Ethics):
CPP was the original catalyst for the initial cooperation and eventual creation of the Mid-Atlantic Union. The idea that working towards a common goal would bring our missions closer together and allow us to share ideas, accomplishments, and competing towards a fundraising goal was essential for building the cohesive bonds that now exist between our memb er universities. The organized national campaign allows for your students to operate with the full support of both VSAs across the nation and the Philanthropic organization itself.
Working on the CPP Project allows for your VSA to grow and see the potential for growth in the areas of volunteering, fundraising, and non-profit work. It can often be seen that students question the value of this work after their college VSA life is done. The CPP, along with uNAVSA opens the door for students to collaborate with non-profits, work on a national campaign towards a common goal, and ultimately impact the world.
At the end of your VSA year choosing to collaborate and embrace the CPP will open up doors to your neighboring VSAs, Neighboring Regional Union of Vietnamese Student Associations (UVSA), uNAVSA, and the CPP organization itself.
How was this organization selected?
The idea that working towards a common goal would bring our missions closer together and allow us to share ideas, accomplishments, and competing towards a fundraising goal was essential for building the cohesive bonds that now exist between our member universities. The organized national campaign allows for your students to operate with the full support of both VSAs across the nation and the Philanthropic organization itself.
Working on the Collective Philanthropy Project allows for your VSA to grow and see the potential for growth in the areas of volunteering, fundraising, and non-profit work. It can often be seen that students question the value of this work after their college VSA life is done. The CPP, along with uNAVSA, opens the door for students to collaborate with non-profits, work on a national campaign towards a common goal, and ultimately impact the world.
A the end of your VSA year choosing to collaborate and embrace the CPP will open up doors to your neighboring VSAs in the region, UVSA Midwest, other UVSAs, uNAVSA, and the CPP organization itself.
Resources
Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation’s Official Website
Blog about progress of programs and children in Blue Dragon
Sign-up for BDCF’s mailing list
*Adapted from the MAUVSA CPP Information Packet.
Stephen Nguyen, My-Ha Moon.
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