VCF raises funds to support Covid orphans

According to statistics until Oct. 18, 2021, released by the HCMC Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs (DOLISA), 48 children in the city lost both parents or caregivers to Covid-19, and 1,805 children lost one of their parents.

In order to support disadvantaged children affected by Covid-19, Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union (HCMC YU) cooperated with VinaCapital Foundation (VCF) to implement the "Care to Rise" (Yeu thuong Nang buoc) program. Accordingly, the two parties will sign a memorandum of understanding to survey Covid orphans.

The signing ceremony and launch of "Care to Rise" program between VCF and HCMC Youth Union. Photo by VCF

"Care to Rise" is an outgrowth of the existing successful partnership between VCF and HCMC YU - Grassroots Assistance Program (GAP). GAP addressed Covid-19 generated lockdown problems in HCMC such as nutritional and other critical family needs, assisting indigent dislocated foreigners, while providing support services to healthcare professionals battling the pandemic.

The "Care to Rise" program seeks to provide for, protect and encourage the 2,000 orphans created by the Covid-19 pandemic until adulthood. To accomplish this, the program begins with a survey visit to every Covid-19 orphan and/or disadvantaged child to fully assess each beneficiary, their new environment and then determine three crucial areas: nutrition and other basic needs, health/vision issues and possible anxiety disorders caused by the abrupt loss of parents and dislocation, along with the ability to attend and/or perform school education requirements that currently require internet and communication devices.

"Different orphans will have different needs, therefore it is necessary to assess individual demands of post-Covid-19 orphans to design the best support package for them. Each child will have a unique long term ‘life-plan’ with periodic progress assessments and planned adjustments until adulthood," a program representative said.

Rad Kivette, CEO of VinaCapital Foundation, speaks at the event. Photo by VCF

The project is divided into two stages - assessment, short term remedies and the future. Stage 1 of "Care to Rise" involves a 4-6 week project with plans to survey 1,400 children to provide relief in the three areas mentioned above. In stage 2, individual children surveys will be turned over to volunteer public health professionals, and social workers, to determine the course of action for each case. Budget estimates are preliminary but range from $300,000-500,000 depending on the survey assessment.

In this campaign, VCF’s specific role includes raising funds from the community; recruiting volunteer public health professionals for teaching/training YU volunteer ‘surveyors’; training YU volunteer ‘surveyors’; recruiting volunteer public health candidates; providing volunteer medical services via doctors and nurses; developing an orphan/indigent child data base to follow-up until adulthood; co-managing the program and providing standards and quality control for the project; exercising continuous measurement and evaluation (M&E) of the project and providing all necessary public communications and related material.

"The partnership with Youth Union will enable us to reach out ‘in person’ to every orphan child to assess individual needs and deliver the best support package for each case," stated Rad Kivette, CEO of VinaCapital Foundation.

"VinaCapital Foundation supports the government of Vietnam to ensure our commitments to strategic development priorities and provide critical leadership and resources for the full development of thousands of Covid orphans."

Tran Thu Ha, Vice Secretary and Head of Children Department of HCMC Youth Union, Chairwoman of HCMC Young Pioneer Council. Photo by VCF

HCMC Youth Union is responsible for informing and reporting to relevant units on project implementation; connecting resources to provide academic sponsorship for children until high school; work with HCMC Young Doctors Association to provide health care and nutrition solutions for children.

HCMC YU also recruits volunteers to participate in the program and organizes extracurricular activities inside and outside the school to create opportunities for orphans to grow up healthily and happily.

VCF is a USA registered 501-c3 public charitable organization, licensed as an international non-governmental organization in Vietnam. Founded in 2006, VCF’s mission is to create healthcare and education solutions to assist underserved and marginalized children and women. The work of VCF touches the lives of millions of Vietnamese in 63 provinces each year.

VCF invests in three main areas. The first is grassroots medical programs including funding children’s heart surgeries and supporting pre- and post-operative care; providing free health examinations for children in remote areas; and providing grassroots psychosocial assistance.

The second area is healthcare capacity building programs including providing training and equipment for emergency and neonatal care in rural hospitals; installing filtration systems to provide potable water for underserved communities; and national emergency programs that provide disaster and pandemic relief.

The third area is education programs that support ethnic minority female students with scholarships, organize mentoring and life-changing Girls’ Clubs so they become agents of change and unleash their potential.