TOP 20: MISS VIETNAM

Miss Unibarse VIETNAM 2008
National Director: Kim
Non-Profit Agency of Choice: SAIGON CHILDREN'S CHARITY

What is the problem to which we are the solution?

Saigon Children's Charity was founded in 1992 for a specific purpose: to help disadvantaged Vietnamese children to get an education and a fair start in life. Today, we continue to focus on the same needs.

Children born into poverty face numerous obstacles in getting to school. If they do get to school it is probable they will drop out early. Many will not be able to remain in school unaided after age 10 or 11. They are most unlikely to make the most of their potential and struggle later in life as a result. They will emerge into the adult world unqualified for anything other than the most menial and lowest paid jobs that no one else will do. In short they and their families will remain trapped in the cycle of poverty into which they were born and that is the setting into which their children will be born.
This, in short, is the problem to which we believe Saigon Children's Charity is the solution.

Our Philosophy

We believe that a measured amount of carefully targeted help from us can make all the difference. We believe that by focusing on the educational needs of the most disadvantaged children we are able to achieve positive change for them. We measure our results in the numbers of children going to school, graduating from school and finding decent jobs.
Since our inception we have followed certain guiding principles:

* We help only the poorest
* We foster independence and never allow dependency
* We never take away personal responsibility (we believe parents are responsible for educating their children. But we know they are poor so we help them to do it)
* We require all beneficiaries (and local authorities) to make a contribution to the project that is helping them

What we do

Saigon Children's Charity takes simple, practical steps to ensure that the children most in need get an education. We build schools, we give scholarships, we target additional support and help and we provide vocational training.
Our work achieves rapid results (scholarships get children into school immediately) and we know it works. Where SCC provides scholarships the drop-out rate will fall from 7 or 8% sometimes to just 2 or 3%. Longer term we know that a good education increases their choices in life and their opportunity to find and sustain decent paid employment.

Where we work

We work in and around Ho Chi Minh City, mainly in the rural fringes such as Can Gio and Cu Chi but also in difficult areas like District 4 and District 7. In addition we work in 5 provinces surrounding HCMC – Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh and in the northern provinces of the Mekong Delta, Tien Giang and Tra Vinh.

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