We are the group of Vietnamese American who want to make a difference in improving the social conditions for the low-income children and/or provide educational advancement of the underprivileged youth. Our mission is to provide educational and financial assistance to the underprivileged, abandoned/orphaned and disabled children.
Do Luan Foundation was incorporated in Texas 2008 by the siblings of the Do Family. They comprise the Board of Directors of the non-profit Do Luan Foundation. The Foundation in 2009 was dissolved in Texas in order to be incorporated in California for administrative purposes. The Board of Directors are all volunteers and not receiving any income for the services. Since 2008, the Foundation has made an average of twenty grants in the amount of $200 each every year to underprivileged high school graduates having high scholastic aptitude. Moreover theses students have demonstrated a high level of moral characters and early commitment to public, community or religious services. In addition, the Foundation has provided financial assistance to the disabled and poor children in the remote area of Vietnam through the other charity organizations such as Sister of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, An Phong Sapa Mission, and Bui Chu Saint An’s Orphanage.
The Foundation has relied on teachers, religious leaders, and community leaders for referral of applicants for scholarships and assistance. But we cannot do it without your generous contributions.
Background
It has been well documented that education and educational opportunities are important for socio-economic development. Monies are well spent when they are spent on early education and when they are most critically needed. Conversely, when underprivileged students and children lack the opportunities to advance educationally, there is a high probability that they would later turn to criminal activities, drugs, the drug trades, the sex trade or sexual slavery. Various governments have spent billions of dollars in combating crimes involved drugs, etc. Early investment of a dollar may prevent thousands later on law enforcement and steer them away from the criminal activities.
It has been identified that children with traditional values and emphasis on education such as Vietnamese, among other racial and ethnic group, may prove receptive to such assistance. There have been well publicized reports that vulnerable Vietnamese children as young as ten to thirteen years of age had been sold to the sex trade and industry throughout Asia. See human rights report by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Aside from Africa, this sex trade preys on Vietnamese children the most.
The Boards are passionate about the charity cause and hope to draw more public attention and interests in helping the unfortunate children. The initial and main objectives of the Foundation are to fund the scholarship and provide financial assistance to the underprivileged children in Viet Nam. Our long-term goal is to draw more publicity and expand our mission to assist the unfortunate children all around the world.
Why invest in children in Viet Nam?
Viet Nam has experienced fast economic growth which also has widened the gap between rich and poor. As a result, many children are being left behind. These children are invisible to most of the society and often lack basic necessities like shelter, clean water, education and protection. Ensuring that every child goes to school, has access to quality healthcare, is fed with nutritious meals and is protected from abuse and exploitation is fundamental to creating a healthy, literate and ultimately more productive society.
In United States, of the 1.6 million Vietnamese Americans counted, Vietnamese youth, nationally, have increased significantly as well as issues such as language and cultural barriers between the old and new generation, identity crisis, and increased incarcerated youths in United States. There is a need to increase the awareness of language and culture differences as well as helping the second-generation Vietnamese-Americans youth to find their sense of identity, and reconnect to their roots.
According to the UNICEF resources:
Every third child in Viet Nam is poor
By any measure, Viet Nam has made tremendous progress for its children over the past two decades, a remarkably short time. However, child poverty is much more prevalent than commonly believed. Using contemporary measures of child poverty – which consider children’s basic needs and rights, – including education, healthcare, nutritious food and safe water, shelter, sanitation, and protection from unsafe work and abuse – shows that almost one third of all children in Viet Nam under the age of 16 are poor.
Some kids are left behind
Reduced poverty and other aspects of social development have not benefited everyone equally. Currently in Viet Nam there are significant disparities between different groups of people in different parts of the country. In particular, ethnic minority children are much worse off than non-minority children, and kids living in many rural areas experience more deprivation than kids living in cities and towns.
Children are particularly vulnerable
In Viet Nam, children and their families are especially vulnerable to natural disasters, the impacts of climate change, economic crises and the consequences of parents’ migration. Unexpected disasters may push families who escaped poverty back into it. And then children’s health and education are jeopardized, which can have life-long developmental consequences. Poverty is also on the rise among children in urban areas, particularly children of migrant parents. When people move to cities, traditional protection systems can break down, leaving migrant children vulnerable to exploitation, violence, and neglect.
Resource: 2010 Human Rights Watch, UNICEF Resource and Publications
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/media_61023.html
http://www.hrw.org/news/2002/06/22/cambodia-young-trafficking-victims-treated-criminals
http://www.humantrafficking.org/countries/vietnam