Children of Vietnam

COV has identified three groups of children who are particularly vulnerable: children with disabilities, poor rural and ethnic minority children and children living with single mothers. While these groups have similarities – low socio-economic status, limited educational and/or medical access, etc. – each also has unique challenges, strengths, and opportunities to have an improved life and brighter prospects.

Our programs are designed to decrease challenges and increase strengths and opportunities in multiple areas adapting to each specific target population. We are providing individualized “wrap-around support” either working directly with the child, the parent or the community or all simultaneously.

Children of Vietnam’s Hope System of Care works to keep children with disabilities at home with their families and to help these families receive adequate support so they can provide the best possible environment and quality of life for their children. An interdisciplinary team is invited from the community to review the child’s situation and to work collaboratively together with the parent to create a sustainable care plan. A range of comprehensive services is made available to the child so that he or she can develop to the fullest.

Children of Vietnam works to ensure that all children in difficult circumstances, with equal emphasis between boys and girls and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to appropriate learning and life skills opportunities including transportation, funding, study equipment, psycho-social support, and parent outreach. We focus on both school-aged children and college-aged children.

For single mothers living in poverty with their children, access to education, healthcare, and adequate nutrition is extremely challenging, if not impossible. Empowering Foundations for Women & Their Children works to break this cycle of poverty by assisting head-of-household, single mothers with a powerful combination of wraparound services including small livelihood microloans, livelihood training, healthcare, scholarships for their children, small household improvements.

Good nutrition is an essential need for children, particularly young children, where malnutrition and stunted growth increase their risk of suffering impaired cognitive ability, weakened performance at school and work, and dying from infections. Children of Vietnam’s Young Child Nutrition partners with local charities to distribute vitamin-fortified meals to kindergartens in rural and mountainous regions to children most at risk. The meals are granted by a partnering NGO, Rise Against Hunger, which has formulated the meals to align with World Health Organization standards. Further, where needed, clean water filtration systems are provided for communities.

Children of Vietnam has been operating in Central Vietnam since 1998. We started as a very small organization doing relief and crisis work. We now work to build the capacity of individuals along with our local partners to increase community sustainability. As of 2020, we have:

Empowering Foundations for Women & Their Children
433 Total number of single mothers
795 Total number of children

University Bright Scholars
222 Total number of university graduates
126 Total number of female university graduates

Study Steps Tutoring & Life-Skills
Five Pilot groups totaling nearly 100 children beginning in 6th grade

Hope System of Care
875 Total children with disabilities
446 Girls
429 Boys

Nutrition School Food Distribution
Over 1 million meals yearly

Kindergarten Building Blocks
54 kindergarten classrooms for children 3 through 5 years