Vui is among 600 volunteers helping to deliver more than 42,000 sponsorship products every year to children in ChildFund development areas in Vietnam, including Cao Bang.
These messages and gifts come from the thousands of people around the world who sponsor a child. Letter after letter, Vui sees the connection grow.
Every month there are at least 30 to 40 letters in exchange between the children and their sponsors, says Vui.
“Some of the children are quite small so they have not been able to write and their parents are not always fluent in Vietnamese writing so I am happy to help them write out their thoughts,” she says.
“I find my joy in working with children and their families on letters.”
Since ChildFund started working in Cao Bang in 2010, more than 6,700 children and their families have benefited from development programs.
Dozens of schools, healthcare stations and water supply systems have been built, and hundreds of income generation activities have been implemented as a result of the support from individual sponsors and the Australian and New Zealand governments.
“We can see the positive changes daily in our life,” Vui says. “Children have a better place to study and good quality healthcare services are available within our commune.
“We are thankful for sponsors in supporting us to improve our living and make a better future for our children.”
Connecting sponsors and children
- When you decide to sponsor a child, letter writing builds friendships, self-esteem and basic literacy for children, and keeps sponsors in touch with their lives and progress.
- Sponsors can send letters every year as well as other items such as postcards, gifts and educational materials. There is also the option to send birthday and season’s greetings cards.
- A complete exchange of letters takes about 16 weeks (six to eight weeks each way). This time allows for translation and transportation to and from the child, who may live in a remote area. We rely on a network of community volunteers to collect the letters and often deliver them on foot to each child.
