Winter warmers for children in Vietnam

“This is my first hoodie ever! Normally I only receive new clothes two times per year, in summer and winter, when my parents have good crops. In bad harvests, my parents can`t afford stuff like new clothes or school bags or toys for me,” says 11-year-old Thao (pictured below), who struggled to contain her excitement.

Thao is one of more than 2,000 children in poor communes in Kim Boi district, an area new to ChildFund Vietnam`s support who received fleece hoodies in January 2015.

“Now that I`ve got this hoodie, my mum and my dad won`t have to worry about getting me clothes. I also won`t feel scared of the strong cold winter wind when I go to school,” she adds.

In Kim Boi district, the average family income per capita is approximately $300 per year, primarily from rice and maize farming.  More than 90 per cent of the local population is from the Muong ethnic group. Here, one in three households are considered poor, which is much higher than the provincial average (17 per cent) and the national average (13 per cent).

Due to the difficult economic conditions of many families, children often lack basic items such as clothes or books for their daily activities. ChildFund Vietnam is providing children with these small but important items that help to improve their daily lives, while also continuing to implement long-term community development activities within their community.

“Through this activity, we want to help families living in difficulty in our project areas,” says Ms. Nguyen Thi Thai Ha, ChildFund Vietnam`s sponsor relations manager. “With our gift, we hope that these children will stay healthy while going to school or doing daily activities, so that they can develop to their full potential both physically and mentally.”