Over the years, Journeys of the Heart has worked closely with Children's Education Foundation. This small grassroots organization, run in-country by Linda Hutchinson Burn, is an NGO with Boards in both the USA and Australia.
We work with CEF for a number of reasons.
- we endorse the mission of CEF…their focus is education for girls from poor families, who without support, would not attend school and therefore would not have choices as women and sadly, may be trafficked. Trafficking is increasing with the growing gulf between rich and poor in Vietnam.
- we have been impressed with the "hands-on" approach that Linda and her staff take in assessing needs, administering funds, auditing student progress and family health and income levels. Home visits are frequent and school reports are monitored.
- we appreciate that the whole family situation is taken into consideration in each case.
- we applaud the fact that CEF is creating new programs ( a new lending library for example) and is flexible about sponsoring boys who may also have extremely difficult family situations.
- we also were thrilled that CEF took on the challenge of housing and educating children from the leprosy village of Hoa Van, who would not have otherwise have had an opportunity for a high school education.
This is Thuy. Thuy lives with her Grandmother and other relatives in a simple house. She has been sponsored by a generous donor to Journeys of the Heart for a number of years. Thuy is a good student and is also very helpful around the house and caring for her younger cousins.
Each child has a different story and different but always difficult challenges: single parent households, serious illness of one or both parents, physical disabilities, abandonment, and crushing poverty.
