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Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
The source of the problem
I often write on this blog about the work that Blue Dragon Children's Foundation does to rescue kids who have been trafficked within Vietnam. Typically, they are taken from rural provinces under false pretenses (usually for "training") and end up as unpaid workers in home-based garment factories.
Finding trafficked kids, and getting them away from their "employers" is an exciting and rewarding part of our work.
However, it is only a part of our work. Once the kids are free from the traffickers, our job is to ensure the kids are safe, and can return to their communities and schools.
This part of our work is even more difficult than getting the kids out of factories. It involves finding out why the children were trafficked in the first place - getting to the source of the problem, and then developing the cure.
One of the common causes is a lack of community awareness of the dangers of children going to work far from home.
Another is a family's inability to pay school fees, which causes the children to drop out and then have nothing to do.
And sometimes, families let their kids be trafficked because the family home is simply inadequate.
When we take the trafficked kids home, we have to quickly evaluate the child's living conditions. If the physical building is obviously run down, too small, or (as sometimes happens) non-existent, our top priority is to build a new house.
Here are 2 houses which we have just built for kids who we rescued from factories last December.
... and another:
Apart from fulfilling the very important role of providing a safe roof over the heads of the children, the construction of a new house tells the families that they were right to bring their kids home; that their life is now getting better and they needn't fear the future.
You might notice that we don't put a plaque on the new houses, which is the standard practice for "charity houses." We don't want the families to feel indebted to us - this is their house, which they need and deserve, so we don't need to put the Blue Dragon name on it.
In coming months, we plan to build some more houses in Hue, but there's one that stands out as particularly urgent. This is for one of the boys, named Xiu, who we brought home just a couple of weeks ago. His house is in a perilous state and I can't imagine that it will survive the coming typhoon season.
Anyone with a $2000 - $2500 who wants to change the life of a family - drop me a line at bluedragon@bdcf.org!
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Finding trafficked kids, and getting them away from their "employers" is an exciting and rewarding part of our work.
However, it is only a part of our work. Once the kids are free from the traffickers, our job is to ensure the kids are safe, and can return to their communities and schools.
This part of our work is even more difficult than getting the kids out of factories. It involves finding out why the children were trafficked in the first place - getting to the source of the problem, and then developing the cure.
One of the common causes is a lack of community awareness of the dangers of children going to work far from home.
Another is a family's inability to pay school fees, which causes the children to drop out and then have nothing to do.
And sometimes, families let their kids be trafficked because the family home is simply inadequate.
When we take the trafficked kids home, we have to quickly evaluate the child's living conditions. If the physical building is obviously run down, too small, or (as sometimes happens) non-existent, our top priority is to build a new house.
Here are 2 houses which we have just built for kids who we rescued from factories last December.
BEFORE
AFTER
... and another:
BEFORE
AFTER
Apart from fulfilling the very important role of providing a safe roof over the heads of the children, the construction of a new house tells the families that they were right to bring their kids home; that their life is now getting better and they needn't fear the future.
You might notice that we don't put a plaque on the new houses, which is the standard practice for "charity houses." We don't want the families to feel indebted to us - this is their house, which they need and deserve, so we don't need to put the Blue Dragon name on it.
In coming months, we plan to build some more houses in Hue, but there's one that stands out as particularly urgent. This is for one of the boys, named Xiu, who we brought home just a couple of weeks ago. His house is in a perilous state and I can't imagine that it will survive the coming typhoon season.
Anyone with a $2000 - $2500 who wants to change the life of a family - drop me a line at bluedragon@bdcf.org!
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Thursday, June 24, 2010
Changing minds
I spent yesterday in Yen Phong district of Bac Ninh province, about 40km outside of Hanoi.
There were two important events going on.
First, we had the official start of a building project in a school. Thanks to a private donor from England, we are about to start constructing a library inside the grounds of Yen Trung Secondary School. This will be our second library.
Our role is to fund the construction of the library, but the local community also has some involvement. One local building expert, Mr Quy, has donated his time for free to oversee the construction. The local government is paying for all of the furniture and equipment to go inside the library. And we expect that some families of the students will be helping with some of the work. So - an all-round team effort.
After we had a short ceremony to mark the start of construction, I traveled with our program coordinator, Tuyen, to visit the home of a girl named Thoa who lives with her mother and a little sister. She's just finished Grade 7, and her school results were so good that she was invited to Hanoi to receive an award from the Prime Minister! Chatting with her for just a few minutes was enough to see that this girl has a real spark - not only brilliant academically, but she has a real character... there's just something about her that tells me she's got an amazing future ahead of her. (There she is with her award, outside her new house).
However, when Tuyen first met Thoa last year, the family was living in dreadful conditions. They had taken up residence in one third of a relative's open-fronted barn. Looking at it today, I can't imagine how they survived the freezing winters in there. I don't think they even had electricity.
Today was the "Opening Ceremony" of a new house for Thoa and her family. With a grant from St Elizabeth's University in Slovakia, Blue Dragon has built a new house for the family - and it's a great house if I do say so myself! The shower, toilet and kitchen are all separate facilities, and there's even insulation in the ceiling.
As with the library, though, we called on the community to make a contribution too. The most valuable contribution was the donation of land by a relative - who initially refused to help the family in any way. In fact, when Tuyen was first talking to the community about helping the family, everyone refused. Nobody wanted to help at all. In the end, though, they not only donated the land, but they went further to help with the construction. The final result was one of the best houses we've built yet - and all for about $2000US!
After these ceremonies, Tuyen and I went to visit a primary school that is asking us for help. The deputy principal met us and showed us around - he didn't care one bit that it's summer holidays. He really cares about his kids and he was super keen to know if Blue Dragon might be able to support local kids from poor families to go to school, so they don't have to drop out.
Of course we are going to help with that - how could we not? - but it was the deputy principal's reasoning that really blew me away.
To paraphrase, he was saying: Please help us. If you can just help a little bit, I can then use that to encourage the local community to do their bit, too. Right now there are people around who could help, but they don't want to. If I can show them that you are helping, I can make them change their mind and see that they also have a responsibility to help.
I've never heard it expressed so succinctly before. But how true it is: whether it's building a library, building a home, or supporting kids to go to school, part of our impact is in getting the broader community to step up and start helping out.
We've been doing this for years, but until yesterday I'd never realised it!
(And just on a side note, Blue Dragon funds much of its work in Bac Ninh province through a child sponsorship system. THANK YOU to our wonderful sponsors around the world. If you're not a sponsor but would like to be, email James - james@bdcf.org - or check out our website).
.
There were two important events going on.
First, we had the official start of a building project in a school. Thanks to a private donor from England, we are about to start constructing a library inside the grounds of Yen Trung Secondary School. This will be our second library.
Our role is to fund the construction of the library, but the local community also has some involvement. One local building expert, Mr Quy, has donated his time for free to oversee the construction. The local government is paying for all of the furniture and equipment to go inside the library. And we expect that some families of the students will be helping with some of the work. So - an all-round team effort.
After we had a short ceremony to mark the start of construction, I traveled with our program coordinator, Tuyen, to visit the home of a girl named Thoa who lives with her mother and a little sister. She's just finished Grade 7, and her school results were so good that she was invited to Hanoi to receive an award from the Prime Minister! Chatting with her for just a few minutes was enough to see that this girl has a real spark - not only brilliant academically, but she has a real character... there's just something about her that tells me she's got an amazing future ahead of her. (There she is with her award, outside her new house).
However, when Tuyen first met Thoa last year, the family was living in dreadful conditions. They had taken up residence in one third of a relative's open-fronted barn. Looking at it today, I can't imagine how they survived the freezing winters in there. I don't think they even had electricity.
Today was the "Opening Ceremony" of a new house for Thoa and her family. With a grant from St Elizabeth's University in Slovakia, Blue Dragon has built a new house for the family - and it's a great house if I do say so myself! The shower, toilet and kitchen are all separate facilities, and there's even insulation in the ceiling.
As with the library, though, we called on the community to make a contribution too. The most valuable contribution was the donation of land by a relative - who initially refused to help the family in any way. In fact, when Tuyen was first talking to the community about helping the family, everyone refused. Nobody wanted to help at all. In the end, though, they not only donated the land, but they went further to help with the construction. The final result was one of the best houses we've built yet - and all for about $2000US!
After these ceremonies, Tuyen and I went to visit a primary school that is asking us for help. The deputy principal met us and showed us around - he didn't care one bit that it's summer holidays. He really cares about his kids and he was super keen to know if Blue Dragon might be able to support local kids from poor families to go to school, so they don't have to drop out.
Of course we are going to help with that - how could we not? - but it was the deputy principal's reasoning that really blew me away.
To paraphrase, he was saying: Please help us. If you can just help a little bit, I can then use that to encourage the local community to do their bit, too. Right now there are people around who could help, but they don't want to. If I can show them that you are helping, I can make them change their mind and see that they also have a responsibility to help.
I've never heard it expressed so succinctly before. But how true it is: whether it's building a library, building a home, or supporting kids to go to school, part of our impact is in getting the broader community to step up and start helping out.
We've been doing this for years, but until yesterday I'd never realised it!
(And just on a side note, Blue Dragon funds much of its work in Bac Ninh province through a child sponsorship system. THANK YOU to our wonderful sponsors around the world. If you're not a sponsor but would like to be, email James - james@bdcf.org - or check out our website).
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Monday, June 21, 2010
The wrong side
Over the last couple of weeks, I have been writing a lot about the good things that our kids have done - and there's much more that I could say!
But Blue Dragon is not an organisation that only helps the kids who are well behaved. There are some charities here in Hanoi that work that way. If a kid stuffs up, she or he gets kicked out. There's one group I can think of that boasts a 100% success rate for its 'graduates'; but they only achieve that by kicking out any kids who are difficult to help.
Our kids, by contrast, are a mixed bunch. Some of our children really are the angels that I make them out to be, while others spend much of their time on the wrong side of the law.
This morning, one of our boys here in Hanoi was in court on a charge of aggravated robbery. He's 15 years old now, but was 14 when he and a group of 5 others attacked and robbed another 14 year old on the street. Our boy - let's call him "Nam" - received a suspended sentence for his role in the crime, in part because his father recently died, and in part because he is with Blue Dragon and our lawyers could testify that he's been trying really hard lately to get his life back on track. The other teens involved in the robbery were sent to prison - one of the boys got 3 years.
There's one other Blue Dragon kid in detention at the moment, awaiting trial for burning down his school. One boy is in prison on a serious drug charge. Two more were picked up by police for sleeping on the streets and are now in a "social protection" centre, while 3 more are in reform school. Another three are in drug rehab.
So what does all this mean? Are we doing a bad job? Should we really be helping kids who are getting into trouble and disobeying the law?
Are we making the problem worse by supporting them?
These are tough questions, and we do face them from time to time. The police aren't very happy when they arrest a young person on the street who says "I'm from Blue Dragon." It does make them wonder what on earth we are doing.
But it would be simplistic to say that the problems would disappear if we withdrew our support from kids who are getting in to trouble. With young Nam who was in court this morning, we know for sure that he would have been involved in that crime whether or not he was coming to Blue Dragon. The difference is that, by having an association, we are able to influence and guide him down a better path.
There are also plenty of kids in our programs who used to lead lives of crime, but now have jobs or attend school and live in stable homes. We could never have predicted which kids would choose to change, and which would not. Of those who have made a change, none made it very quickly. They all took time, patience, and (in many cases) a whole lot of 'second chances'.
Now that Nam's court case is over, he too has another chance to make some good choices. Our job will continue to be to offer support, some role models, and guidance. Whether or not we 'succeed' is almost beside the point. We've got to try.
Who's going to believe in these kids if we don't?
.
But Blue Dragon is not an organisation that only helps the kids who are well behaved. There are some charities here in Hanoi that work that way. If a kid stuffs up, she or he gets kicked out. There's one group I can think of that boasts a 100% success rate for its 'graduates'; but they only achieve that by kicking out any kids who are difficult to help.
Our kids, by contrast, are a mixed bunch. Some of our children really are the angels that I make them out to be, while others spend much of their time on the wrong side of the law.
This morning, one of our boys here in Hanoi was in court on a charge of aggravated robbery. He's 15 years old now, but was 14 when he and a group of 5 others attacked and robbed another 14 year old on the street. Our boy - let's call him "Nam" - received a suspended sentence for his role in the crime, in part because his father recently died, and in part because he is with Blue Dragon and our lawyers could testify that he's been trying really hard lately to get his life back on track. The other teens involved in the robbery were sent to prison - one of the boys got 3 years.
There's one other Blue Dragon kid in detention at the moment, awaiting trial for burning down his school. One boy is in prison on a serious drug charge. Two more were picked up by police for sleeping on the streets and are now in a "social protection" centre, while 3 more are in reform school. Another three are in drug rehab.
So what does all this mean? Are we doing a bad job? Should we really be helping kids who are getting into trouble and disobeying the law?
Are we making the problem worse by supporting them?
These are tough questions, and we do face them from time to time. The police aren't very happy when they arrest a young person on the street who says "I'm from Blue Dragon." It does make them wonder what on earth we are doing.
But it would be simplistic to say that the problems would disappear if we withdrew our support from kids who are getting in to trouble. With young Nam who was in court this morning, we know for sure that he would have been involved in that crime whether or not he was coming to Blue Dragon. The difference is that, by having an association, we are able to influence and guide him down a better path.
There are also plenty of kids in our programs who used to lead lives of crime, but now have jobs or attend school and live in stable homes. We could never have predicted which kids would choose to change, and which would not. Of those who have made a change, none made it very quickly. They all took time, patience, and (in many cases) a whole lot of 'second chances'.
Now that Nam's court case is over, he too has another chance to make some good choices. Our job will continue to be to offer support, some role models, and guidance. Whether or not we 'succeed' is almost beside the point. We've got to try.
Who's going to believe in these kids if we don't?
.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Text me
OK, I confess: I'm a texter.
I guess it's the introvert side of my nature that much prefers to send text messages from my phone than to ring. It drives some people crazy, so it's always nice to meet others who also prefers to text than to talk.
Over the 7 years or so that Blue Dragon has been in operation, I can't imagine how many messages I've sent and received. The irony is that when I left Australia, back in March 2002, one of my quiet joys was packing away my mobile phone, thinking: I won't be needing that again.
I was wrong!
Many of my days are shaped by the messages that reach me. Sometimes I need to keep my messages recorded (or at least transcribed) for the sake of keeping evidence!
This morning started off with this one: Can you buy me some rice or something to eat? I want to be safe. Last night someone tried to kill me.
Going back a few years, I was having what we Australians call "a shocker" of a day. Among countless other messages going back and forth, one of my staff sent me this: I am with her in the brothel now. An hour and a half later, in response to my message asking Are you OK? the reply was: Not yet. Can you ask someone to contact the police? (This was one of our rescue trips to retrieve trafficked girls - and everything turned out fine in the end).
At times the messages which reach my phone can be quite emotional. In January this year, I met a street kid in Ho Chi Minh City who had apparently never had somebody show any real concern for him before. I was in town for just a few days, and spent a lot of time with him and his relatives, who saw him as being nothing more than a worker for their family business. When I left to return to Hanoi, the boy sent me this message: Em khoc sap het nuoc mat roi, which roughly translates as: I've nearly cried away all my tears already. Looking back at that message still leaves me feel a pit in the bottom of my stomach.
Other messages bring me real happiness. After our China trip in March this year, one of my staff accompanied the three girls back to their villages to reunite them with their families. This was the message I received: I just came back from the village. It was great. The girls were very happy. Wish you could hear a thousand thankful words.
And then there are the abusive messages - I get some of those, too! Not everyone appreciates the work I do, it seems. But I won't repeat any of them here...
.
I guess it's the introvert side of my nature that much prefers to send text messages from my phone than to ring. It drives some people crazy, so it's always nice to meet others who also prefers to text than to talk.
Over the 7 years or so that Blue Dragon has been in operation, I can't imagine how many messages I've sent and received. The irony is that when I left Australia, back in March 2002, one of my quiet joys was packing away my mobile phone, thinking: I won't be needing that again.
I was wrong!
Many of my days are shaped by the messages that reach me. Sometimes I need to keep my messages recorded (or at least transcribed) for the sake of keeping evidence!
This morning started off with this one: Can you buy me some rice or something to eat? I want to be safe. Last night someone tried to kill me.
Going back a few years, I was having what we Australians call "a shocker" of a day. Among countless other messages going back and forth, one of my staff sent me this: I am with her in the brothel now. An hour and a half later, in response to my message asking Are you OK? the reply was: Not yet. Can you ask someone to contact the police? (This was one of our rescue trips to retrieve trafficked girls - and everything turned out fine in the end).
At times the messages which reach my phone can be quite emotional. In January this year, I met a street kid in Ho Chi Minh City who had apparently never had somebody show any real concern for him before. I was in town for just a few days, and spent a lot of time with him and his relatives, who saw him as being nothing more than a worker for their family business. When I left to return to Hanoi, the boy sent me this message: Em khoc sap het nuoc mat roi, which roughly translates as: I've nearly cried away all my tears already. Looking back at that message still leaves me feel a pit in the bottom of my stomach.
Other messages bring me real happiness. After our China trip in March this year, one of my staff accompanied the three girls back to their villages to reunite them with their families. This was the message I received: I just came back from the village. It was great. The girls were very happy. Wish you could hear a thousand thankful words.
And then there are the abusive messages - I get some of those, too! Not everyone appreciates the work I do, it seems. But I won't repeat any of them here...
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Thursday, June 17, 2010
We made it!
I'm really happy to announce that Blue Dragon's special appeal for our street children's shelter in Hanoi has reached the $30,000 mark!
This means that Planet Wheeler in Australia will donate a matching amount - giving us about enough rent money to ensure we can stay there for 5 years.
Phew. Thank you, everyone.
We are still able to accept donations for the appeal - more funding means greater security - but please be aware that further contributions cannot be 'matched'.
To all who donated - big smiles from the Blue Dragon team!
.
This means that Planet Wheeler in Australia will donate a matching amount - giving us about enough rent money to ensure we can stay there for 5 years.
Phew. Thank you, everyone.
We are still able to accept donations for the appeal - more funding means greater security - but please be aware that further contributions cannot be 'matched'.
To all who donated - big smiles from the Blue Dragon team!
.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Such things
The Vietnamese journalist who wrote this article put the question to me during our discussions: Do you agree with the experts who say that Vietnam can not stamp out child labour and trafficking?
Vietnam has a problem with child trafficking and exploitation. There's no question about that. Yesterday, my team removed a 10 year old girl from a factory in Saigon.
She was 1 of 11 kids we rescued altogether. The oldest was about 15 - but of the 11, only one knew their date of birth, so precise ages are a bit hard to determine. What I can say is that they were all tiny, and none should have been working in a garment factory.
Of the 11, 3 are completely illiterate. Only one has completed Grade 6. Another 4 have an education level below Grade 4.
Yes, this is a problem. But it is not unique to Vietnam, and it is not insurmountable.
A few hundred years ago, the poet William Blake was writing about the awful atrocities inflicted upon children in England. Kids were being stuffed down chimneys as a way of clearing soot - and this was considered a legitimate job for a child!
"Are such things done on Albion's shore?" he asked. Yes they were; but not for much longer. Such things would today lead to lengthy prison sentences and a massive public outcry.
Vietnam is now headed down the same road. In taking those 11 kids out of factories on Monday and Tuesday, Blue Dragon Children's Foundation - along with the Hue Red Cross and government officials - were not just restoring freedom to a few disadvantaged children. We were hurting the traffickers and factory owners who have invested their time and money into recruiting these slaves. We were also drawing public attention to the crime of exploitative child labour.
This is exactly what needs to be done for Vietnam to shake off the shackles of child trafficking.
I'm not sure if there really are any experts who say Vietnam can't get past this problem. If there are - well, I'm not sure that they should be called "experts."
I believe completely that child trafficking and exploitation in Vietnam can be brought pretty close to an end. (I qualify that, because every country in the world has this problem; it's just a matter of scale).
I also believe that the end may be in our lifetime. Such things cannot be tolerated much longer.
The 11 kids freed from factories on June 14 and 15, 2010
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Vietnam has a problem with child trafficking and exploitation. There's no question about that. Yesterday, my team removed a 10 year old girl from a factory in Saigon.
She was 1 of 11 kids we rescued altogether. The oldest was about 15 - but of the 11, only one knew their date of birth, so precise ages are a bit hard to determine. What I can say is that they were all tiny, and none should have been working in a garment factory.
Of the 11, 3 are completely illiterate. Only one has completed Grade 6. Another 4 have an education level below Grade 4.
Yes, this is a problem. But it is not unique to Vietnam, and it is not insurmountable.
A few hundred years ago, the poet William Blake was writing about the awful atrocities inflicted upon children in England. Kids were being stuffed down chimneys as a way of clearing soot - and this was considered a legitimate job for a child!
"Are such things done on Albion's shore?" he asked. Yes they were; but not for much longer. Such things would today lead to lengthy prison sentences and a massive public outcry.
Vietnam is now headed down the same road. In taking those 11 kids out of factories on Monday and Tuesday, Blue Dragon Children's Foundation - along with the Hue Red Cross and government officials - were not just restoring freedom to a few disadvantaged children. We were hurting the traffickers and factory owners who have invested their time and money into recruiting these slaves. We were also drawing public attention to the crime of exploitative child labour.
This is exactly what needs to be done for Vietnam to shake off the shackles of child trafficking.
I'm not sure if there really are any experts who say Vietnam can't get past this problem. If there are - well, I'm not sure that they should be called "experts."
I believe completely that child trafficking and exploitation in Vietnam can be brought pretty close to an end. (I qualify that, because every country in the world has this problem; it's just a matter of scale).
I also believe that the end may be in our lifetime. Such things cannot be tolerated much longer.
The 11 kids freed from factories on June 14 and 15, 2010 Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Lost and found
Blue Dragon staff are working in Ho Chi Minh City at the moment looking for trafficked children from central Vietnam.
So far, from among the garment factories of the industrial districts, we have retrieved 6 kids - 5 girls and one boy.
As the search goes in, it becomes harder, as we lose the element of surprise and word gets around the factories that we're in the city.
I'll give a full report in the next day or so, when we've wrapped up and the children are on their way home.
A related matter - this article appeared in Thanh Nien newspaper over the weekend, discussing the issue of child trafficking and exploitation within Vietnam.
.
So far, from among the garment factories of the industrial districts, we have retrieved 6 kids - 5 girls and one boy.
As the search goes in, it becomes harder, as we lose the element of surprise and word gets around the factories that we're in the city.
I'll give a full report in the next day or so, when we've wrapped up and the children are on their way home.
A related matter - this article appeared in Thanh Nien newspaper over the weekend, discussing the issue of child trafficking and exploitation within Vietnam.
.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
The Appeal - Part 2
Just a couple of weeks ago, we launched an important appeal to help Blue Dragon secure a residence for street kids in Hanoi.
The goal is $30,000 US, which will be matched dollar for dollar by Planet Wheeler.
We're almost there - we have so far raised $27,385!
At this stage, we're excited by the possibility that we might even go beyond our target, which will help us even more with securing the home.
Friends and supporters around the world have done their bit to help. Schools, companies, and individuals have contributed whatever they can... It's been truly inspiring!
Below are some photos sent by the Girl Guides of Wyong in NSW Australia. They raised $502.10 by having a garage sale one weekend! Thanks, girls!!
.
The goal is $30,000 US, which will be matched dollar for dollar by Planet Wheeler.
We're almost there - we have so far raised $27,385!
At this stage, we're excited by the possibility that we might even go beyond our target, which will help us even more with securing the home.
Friends and supporters around the world have done their bit to help. Schools, companies, and individuals have contributed whatever they can... It's been truly inspiring!
Below are some photos sent by the Girl Guides of Wyong in NSW Australia. They raised $502.10 by having a garage sale one weekend! Thanks, girls!!
.
Celebrations
Today, some pics of Blue Dragon kids in central Vietnam celebrating...
In Hue, a family has a new house:
The old...
And now the new.
The son of this family, a boy named Tri, was trafficked to work in a garment factory but returned with our help over a year ago. The family home was falling apart and leaking every time it rained... so we built a new house!
Also in Hue, the official opening of our Safe and Sound Community Centre:
This centre, in Hai Tien village, is a place for kids and family members to come and learn, or play, or just hang out. It's part of our overall strategy to end child trafficking from this area.
And in Hoi An, a Children's Day celebration:
The kids and staff of the Home had a brilliant time; first at the Home and then at the beach.
Happiness all around today!
.
In Hue, a family has a new house:
The old... 
And now the new. The son of this family, a boy named Tri, was trafficked to work in a garment factory but returned with our help over a year ago. The family home was falling apart and leaking every time it rained... so we built a new house!
Also in Hue, the official opening of our Safe and Sound Community Centre:
This centre, in Hai Tien village, is a place for kids and family members to come and learn, or play, or just hang out. It's part of our overall strategy to end child trafficking from this area.
And in Hoi An, a Children's Day celebration:
The kids and staff of the Home had a brilliant time; first at the Home and then at the beach.
Happiness all around today!
.
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Paper days
In my last blog entry, I wrote that Blue Dragon staff were in central Vietnam helping families to register their existence with the government.
They're done now - with a total of 90 individuals and families now having paperwork!
These 'papers' include birth certificates, marriage certificates, and household registration books - all essential for anyone to have a job, go to school, or have access to health care.
Our staff even managed to fit in some training for local government officials so that they can keep doing this in future without any further help from us.
Of all the people who were helped, one particular story stands out.
Blue Dragon staff met one elderly woman - nobody has any idea of her age - but she's a grandmother, so presumably she's in her 60s or 70s. She has lived her entire life on a boat; not once has she lived on land.
Because she never had any paper work - her birth was never registered - she's never been to school. Her own children also could not have paperwork; nor could their children. So in a single day, three generations of one family has suddenly acquired legal recognition, and all that that entails.
Definitely worthwhile!
Some pics below of families registering with government officials....
They're done now - with a total of 90 individuals and families now having paperwork!
These 'papers' include birth certificates, marriage certificates, and household registration books - all essential for anyone to have a job, go to school, or have access to health care.
Our staff even managed to fit in some training for local government officials so that they can keep doing this in future without any further help from us.
Of all the people who were helped, one particular story stands out.
Blue Dragon staff met one elderly woman - nobody has any idea of her age - but she's a grandmother, so presumably she's in her 60s or 70s. She has lived her entire life on a boat; not once has she lived on land.
Because she never had any paper work - her birth was never registered - she's never been to school. Her own children also could not have paperwork; nor could their children. So in a single day, three generations of one family has suddenly acquired legal recognition, and all that that entails.
Definitely worthwhile!
Some pics below of families registering with government officials....
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Pieces of paper
As I write, Blue Dragon staff are working in the countryside around Hue - in central Vietnam - in communities where dozens of families live without any form of official registration.
No birth certificates, no marriage certificates, no ID cards, no driver's licence, no land ownership papers.
I'm the first to admit that this is the 'less sexy' aspect of our work. It's hard to get people excited about registering families to receive official recognition from the government. But you just can't fight poverty if that basic first step has not been taken.
The staff are way out of town, along rivers and in beach areas, so I don't have a whole lot of info yet. All I know is that they've turned the usual procedure on its head. Instead of families having to travel to the nearest government office to apply, the government officials are out in the communities going from house to house with Blue Dragon staff to arrange the paperwork there and then. And on Day One, they registered about 40 families this way.
Pretty exciting stuff, if you ask me.
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No birth certificates, no marriage certificates, no ID cards, no driver's licence, no land ownership papers.
I'm the first to admit that this is the 'less sexy' aspect of our work. It's hard to get people excited about registering families to receive official recognition from the government. But you just can't fight poverty if that basic first step has not been taken.
The staff are way out of town, along rivers and in beach areas, so I don't have a whole lot of info yet. All I know is that they've turned the usual procedure on its head. Instead of families having to travel to the nearest government office to apply, the government officials are out in the communities going from house to house with Blue Dragon staff to arrange the paperwork there and then. And on Day One, they registered about 40 families this way.
Pretty exciting stuff, if you ask me.
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Sunday, May 30, 2010
Busy times
The last 2 weeks have been busy times at Blue Dragon - I've hardly had a chance to update the blog.
Last week I spent 4 days in Hue, visiting families in our anti-trafficking program. We've rescued about 60 children who were trafficked from Hue to garment factories in Ho Chi Minh City, and we're in the early stages of preparing another trip. My trip, though, was mostly to see how our work there is progressing.
Once kids have been freed from the factories and returned home, Blue Dragon's work involves getting them back to school; building homes if needed; and helping parents learn to become self sufficient.
Many of the 'solutions' to child trafficking are in simple, practical approaches. For the past 6 months we've been running a pilot project teaching aquaculture to some parents to help them improve their incomes. It's been a great success, so now we're getting ready to extend it to 10 more families. In another village, we've identified that the poorest families are struggling because their access to the main road is limited, meaning they have to travel much further than everybody else to get to the markets to sell their produce. So we're hatching a plan to build a new road to link their village to the highway.
We've never built a road before, but if that's what they need then that's what we'll do.
Back to the north of Vietnam, and last weekend we held the Closing Ceremony of our Stay In School program. We gathered about 300 students together, from Grades 5 to 12, to celebrate their completion of another school year. These are kids who are from the poorest families in their district, and without some outside help are pretty unlikely to stay in school.
This year, 35 students in our program have completed Grade 12. That's 35 kids who otherwise would be working in factories and shops now, despite their academic ability.
Over the past week a lot of my attention has been taken with matters at our Hanoi HQ. We've started our first ever fundraising appeal, and I believe we're almost half way now to our goal of $30,000. Blue Dragon has also said farewell to some staff who are moving on from us - never a happy time.
To top it all off I've been struck down with a recurring muscle problem in my shoulder, but thankfully was still able to give a speech to the Hanoi International School Year 12 graduation ceremony.
So, a busy couple of weeks, but some great progress with our work. Summer holidays are starting now, which means our drop-in centre is about to get a whole lot busier.
More to come soon!
.
Last week I spent 4 days in Hue, visiting families in our anti-trafficking program. We've rescued about 60 children who were trafficked from Hue to garment factories in Ho Chi Minh City, and we're in the early stages of preparing another trip. My trip, though, was mostly to see how our work there is progressing.
Once kids have been freed from the factories and returned home, Blue Dragon's work involves getting them back to school; building homes if needed; and helping parents learn to become self sufficient.
Many of the 'solutions' to child trafficking are in simple, practical approaches. For the past 6 months we've been running a pilot project teaching aquaculture to some parents to help them improve their incomes. It's been a great success, so now we're getting ready to extend it to 10 more families. In another village, we've identified that the poorest families are struggling because their access to the main road is limited, meaning they have to travel much further than everybody else to get to the markets to sell their produce. So we're hatching a plan to build a new road to link their village to the highway.
We've never built a road before, but if that's what they need then that's what we'll do.
Back to the north of Vietnam, and last weekend we held the Closing Ceremony of our Stay In School program. We gathered about 300 students together, from Grades 5 to 12, to celebrate their completion of another school year. These are kids who are from the poorest families in their district, and without some outside help are pretty unlikely to stay in school.
This year, 35 students in our program have completed Grade 12. That's 35 kids who otherwise would be working in factories and shops now, despite their academic ability.
Over the past week a lot of my attention has been taken with matters at our Hanoi HQ. We've started our first ever fundraising appeal, and I believe we're almost half way now to our goal of $30,000. Blue Dragon has also said farewell to some staff who are moving on from us - never a happy time.
To top it all off I've been struck down with a recurring muscle problem in my shoulder, but thankfully was still able to give a speech to the Hanoi International School Year 12 graduation ceremony.
So, a busy couple of weeks, but some great progress with our work. Summer holidays are starting now, which means our drop-in centre is about to get a whole lot busier.
More to come soon!
.
Monday, May 24, 2010
The Appeal
Blue Dragon's shelter for street kids in Hanoi is among our most important programs.
Seventeen boys are living at the Home at the moment. Some of these are kids who were rescued by our staff from child traffickers; some are orphans; some just don't have family they can live with.
All of the kids at the Shelter are trying to make a better life for themselves.
The Shelter is a rented building, and right now we have a chance to secure a long term lease on it: but we need to raise $60,000US, which is way out of our league.
Except... Planet Wheeler in Australia has made us an amazing offer. If we can raise $30,000 by July 31, they'll match every donation dollar for dollar. In other words, they'll double all donations so that we can be sure of keeping our street kids' shelter.
We've never made a public appeal like this before, but this is something really important to us. This is a chance for us to provide security and certainty to the kids who rely on us for their livelihood.
If this is something that you, or your school, company or church can help with, go to our donations page; and be sure to email us to let us know that your donation is intended for this appeal.
My colleague James is keeping a record of donations to see if we can reach the target - drop him a line at james@bdcf.org.
Thanks!
Michael
.
Seventeen boys are living at the Home at the moment. Some of these are kids who were rescued by our staff from child traffickers; some are orphans; some just don't have family they can live with.
All of the kids at the Shelter are trying to make a better life for themselves.
The Shelter is a rented building, and right now we have a chance to secure a long term lease on it: but we need to raise $60,000US, which is way out of our league.
Except... Planet Wheeler in Australia has made us an amazing offer. If we can raise $30,000 by July 31, they'll match every donation dollar for dollar. In other words, they'll double all donations so that we can be sure of keeping our street kids' shelter.
We've never made a public appeal like this before, but this is something really important to us. This is a chance for us to provide security and certainty to the kids who rely on us for their livelihood.
If this is something that you, or your school, company or church can help with, go to our donations page; and be sure to email us to let us know that your donation is intended for this appeal.
My colleague James is keeping a record of donations to see if we can reach the target - drop him a line at james@bdcf.org.
Thanks!
Michael
.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Buffalo shirts
Buffalo Tours in Vietnam has created a set of kids-sized T shirts featuring artwork by Blue Dragon children. How cool are these!
Buffalo is selling them - for about $10 each (plus postage)! With all of the proceeds going to Blue Dragon! How many more exclamation-pointed-sentences can I write??!!
To get your hands on them, write to Rick at Buffalo Tours: rick@buffalotours.com
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Buffalo is selling them - for about $10 each (plus postage)! With all of the proceeds going to Blue Dragon! How many more exclamation-pointed-sentences can I write??!!
To get your hands on them, write to Rick at Buffalo Tours: rick@buffalotours.com
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Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Safety
Every Sunday morning, the Blue Dragon football team gets together for an hour of soccer by the Red River. Anywhere from 40 to 80 kids attend, most of whom are street kids or from seriously disadvantaged families.
Last Sunday we organised a workshop for the under-15s on injury prevention and treatment. A total of 21 kids joined in, spending an hour with a brilliant young doctor (pictured in the white shirt) who gave the kids some really practical advice on staying safe while playing sport.
The kids learned lots and had a great time. This coming Sunday: a workshop for the over-15s!
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Last Sunday we organised a workshop for the under-15s on injury prevention and treatment. A total of 21 kids joined in, spending an hour with a brilliant young doctor (pictured in the white shirt) who gave the kids some really practical advice on staying safe while playing sport.
The kids learned lots and had a great time. This coming Sunday: a workshop for the over-15s!
.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Sorrow and adrenaline
I started last week by writing a well defined "To do" list. In hindsight, that was just tempting fate.
Two major events came to dominate the week; both involved the homes of Blue Dragon staff being attacked, in completely unrelated incidents.
One staff member had a couple of men turn up throwing rocks and calling out; shortly after, one of our program homes was also attacked, presumably by the same people. Eventually the men fled into the night, leaving everyone afraid but unharmed.
A few days later, another staff member started receiving threatening phone messages, only to find that a group of men armed with knives were waiting near his home to create an ambush. Fortunately, we were able to talk reason with the men, and finished up shaking hands and going separate ways. We still have no idea who they were or what they wanted, but it all seems to be resolved now.
These events have been stressful on everyone, but equally I have found them deeply saddening. The 2 staff involved are both great people; each has made many sacrifices to make life better for disadvantaged kids, and neither deserves to be made to fear for their safety.
I'm pretty sure (or at least very hopeful) that both of these incidents have been more about creating fear than threatening real harm. If the attacks had been aimed at me - well, I could be more understanding about that. I've dealt with plenty of threats over the past few years, and while I'd rather not have any more, I'd still prefer to be the one taking the blows.
This week, I won't bother with the "To do" list - last week's version will most likely remain current for a while longer!
.
Two major events came to dominate the week; both involved the homes of Blue Dragon staff being attacked, in completely unrelated incidents.
One staff member had a couple of men turn up throwing rocks and calling out; shortly after, one of our program homes was also attacked, presumably by the same people. Eventually the men fled into the night, leaving everyone afraid but unharmed.
A few days later, another staff member started receiving threatening phone messages, only to find that a group of men armed with knives were waiting near his home to create an ambush. Fortunately, we were able to talk reason with the men, and finished up shaking hands and going separate ways. We still have no idea who they were or what they wanted, but it all seems to be resolved now.
These events have been stressful on everyone, but equally I have found them deeply saddening. The 2 staff involved are both great people; each has made many sacrifices to make life better for disadvantaged kids, and neither deserves to be made to fear for their safety.
I'm pretty sure (or at least very hopeful) that both of these incidents have been more about creating fear than threatening real harm. If the attacks had been aimed at me - well, I could be more understanding about that. I've dealt with plenty of threats over the past few years, and while I'd rather not have any more, I'd still prefer to be the one taking the blows.
This week, I won't bother with the "To do" list - last week's version will most likely remain current for a while longer!
.
Saturday, May 08, 2010
Swim time
Here's a frightening fact:
Today in Vietnam, 10 children will drown.
And tomorrow, 10 more.
Despite being a nation inundated with water, very few people here know how to swim. Add to that the general belief in luck / fortune ("No need to supervise the kids down at the lake, nothing is likely to go wrong") and you have a recipe for disaster.
And 10 kids drowning every day is a disaster.
In a country with 85 million people, this is a tricky problem to solve. That's a lot of people who need to learn how to swim - but who can teach, if so few people have the skills?
One 'easy' answer is to run awareness campaigns. Blue Dragon once ran such a campaign for the kids in one of our programs; but awareness is nowhere near enough. Even the UN and the Vietnamese government seem to be stuck on this - telling people that they should fence off houses near water is woefully inadequate. Action, not words, are need.
Vietnamese kids need to learn how to swim.
With summer coming on, Blue Dragon is preparing to start up it's annual swimming program. Foreign volunteers taught our Vietnamese staff to swim back in 2005; those staff have now taught all our other staff, and each year we teach the kids from our Hanoi centre basic water survival and swimming techniques.
The kids love it, of course, and there are a handful of teens at our centre who have lost family members to drowning accidents, so they also appreciate the opportunity to learn.
We've just had some good news, too, that the German European School in Singapore is holding a swim gala this month, and all the money they raise will be for us to run our 2010 swimming program.
We won't be able to teach thousands of kids to swim, but every child who learns will be better able to survive in the water. And in years to come, they'll be teaching their own children how to swim.
Today in Vietnam, 10 children will drown.
And tomorrow, 10 more.
Despite being a nation inundated with water, very few people here know how to swim. Add to that the general belief in luck / fortune ("No need to supervise the kids down at the lake, nothing is likely to go wrong") and you have a recipe for disaster.
And 10 kids drowning every day is a disaster.
In a country with 85 million people, this is a tricky problem to solve. That's a lot of people who need to learn how to swim - but who can teach, if so few people have the skills?
One 'easy' answer is to run awareness campaigns. Blue Dragon once ran such a campaign for the kids in one of our programs; but awareness is nowhere near enough. Even the UN and the Vietnamese government seem to be stuck on this - telling people that they should fence off houses near water is woefully inadequate. Action, not words, are need.
Vietnamese kids need to learn how to swim.
With summer coming on, Blue Dragon is preparing to start up it's annual swimming program. Foreign volunteers taught our Vietnamese staff to swim back in 2005; those staff have now taught all our other staff, and each year we teach the kids from our Hanoi centre basic water survival and swimming techniques.
The kids love it, of course, and there are a handful of teens at our centre who have lost family members to drowning accidents, so they also appreciate the opportunity to learn.
We've just had some good news, too, that the German European School in Singapore is holding a swim gala this month, and all the money they raise will be for us to run our 2010 swimming program.
We won't be able to teach thousands of kids to swim, but every child who learns will be better able to survive in the water. And in years to come, they'll be teaching their own children how to swim.
Friday, May 07, 2010
... and another, not quite so.
After our success at reuniting 15 year old Son with his family on Tuesday, we've had a more difficult time with the 14 year old boy, Hoang, who we've also been working with.
On Wednesday afternoon, Hoang agreed to go home to his family - and it turned out that our fears of his safety at home had been a little overstated. There were (and are) definitely some issues, but nothing that should really prevent Hoang from being with his folks.
Two of the staff accompanied Hoang back to the countryside, and spent some hours talking to his family. Our experience with runaways - all of whom are from rural areas - tells us that kids often leave home because there's a tremendous gulf between them and their parents. It's more than just a 'gap'.
Vietnamese teens are exposed to the world through TV and the internet; they see hip hop culture, city life, and fast money. It all seems so exciting and attractive, and a small problem at home (an argument with dad, a rude comment from a teacher) becomes the spark to cause the child to run away to Hanoi.
The parents, meantime, have no way of understanding such behaviour. Their own teenage years were spent in hardship and deprivation. Having lived in Vietnam for 8 years, I am yet to meet anybody aged 25 or over who does NOT have memories of going hungry. But to the kids, that might as well be a story from ancient history. There's so much more to the world now! Concerns about this are regularly raised in local papers, too, like this story.
Little Hoang is in exactly this position. His parents are strict and want him to do well at school; they don't understand his obsession with computer games. Every chance he has, Hoang is at the internet shop. He's been skipping school, borrowing money, and focusing entirely on games. Not knowing how to deal with that, his parents and teachers have simply tried being stricter and stricter - until he ran away some weeks ago.
Finally, though, we got him home and we thought everything would be fine - but Hoang only lasted one night. He ran away the next morning, and headed straight back to the internet cafes of Hanoi.
So... we still have some work to do. I think the next step will be to bring Hoang's parents to Hanoi and try to get both Hoang and his parents to attend some counselling.
Looks like this little guy is going to need some ongoing help to get through these difficult times.
.
On Wednesday afternoon, Hoang agreed to go home to his family - and it turned out that our fears of his safety at home had been a little overstated. There were (and are) definitely some issues, but nothing that should really prevent Hoang from being with his folks.
Two of the staff accompanied Hoang back to the countryside, and spent some hours talking to his family. Our experience with runaways - all of whom are from rural areas - tells us that kids often leave home because there's a tremendous gulf between them and their parents. It's more than just a 'gap'.
Vietnamese teens are exposed to the world through TV and the internet; they see hip hop culture, city life, and fast money. It all seems so exciting and attractive, and a small problem at home (an argument with dad, a rude comment from a teacher) becomes the spark to cause the child to run away to Hanoi.
The parents, meantime, have no way of understanding such behaviour. Their own teenage years were spent in hardship and deprivation. Having lived in Vietnam for 8 years, I am yet to meet anybody aged 25 or over who does NOT have memories of going hungry. But to the kids, that might as well be a story from ancient history. There's so much more to the world now! Concerns about this are regularly raised in local papers, too, like this story.
Little Hoang is in exactly this position. His parents are strict and want him to do well at school; they don't understand his obsession with computer games. Every chance he has, Hoang is at the internet shop. He's been skipping school, borrowing money, and focusing entirely on games. Not knowing how to deal with that, his parents and teachers have simply tried being stricter and stricter - until he ran away some weeks ago.
Finally, though, we got him home and we thought everything would be fine - but Hoang only lasted one night. He ran away the next morning, and headed straight back to the internet cafes of Hanoi.
So... we still have some work to do. I think the next step will be to bring Hoang's parents to Hanoi and try to get both Hoang and his parents to attend some counselling.
Looks like this little guy is going to need some ongoing help to get through these difficult times.
.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
One happy ending...
This text message just came through my phone:
Son is with his family now. Everyone is happy.
Of the two runway boys we've been caring for, we now have a great result for one. Son, the older of the 2, is now back with his parents. Two of the Blue Dragon staff accompanied him to his village, after helping him to see that he does need to be back at home instead of living on the streets.
The staff have also just spent a couple of hours talking with Son's family - they too need some ideas and strategies for looking after their kids to prevent this from happening again. Apparently Son has run away many times before! But it appears that the family's problems are not insurmountable.
Son is pictured below, outside his house. Tomorrow we will spend time with the other runaway boy, whose situation seems much more complex. Here's hoping for some more good news soon.
.
Son is with his family now. Everyone is happy.
Of the two runway boys we've been caring for, we now have a great result for one. Son, the older of the 2, is now back with his parents. Two of the Blue Dragon staff accompanied him to his village, after helping him to see that he does need to be back at home instead of living on the streets.
The staff have also just spent a couple of hours talking with Son's family - they too need some ideas and strategies for looking after their kids to prevent this from happening again. Apparently Son has run away many times before! But it appears that the family's problems are not insurmountable.
Son is pictured below, outside his house. Tomorrow we will spend time with the other runaway boy, whose situation seems much more complex. Here's hoping for some more good news soon.
.
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