blue dragon newsletter - december 2010
TRANSCRIPT
8/6/2019 Blue Dragon Newsletter - December 2010
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DRAGON TALES
Khuong, aged 16, has been living in the Blue Dragon shelter for just a few
months.
We rst came across him living on the streets of Hanoi back in August and
could see that he really needed a helping hand. With our support, Khuong
has been attending Grade 7 and is hoping to soon be reunited with his
amily in the countryside.
When the Blue Dragon staff decided to use photography as part of thisear’s Christmas Appeal, Khuong eagerly signed up to learn basic camera
kills, and then took to the streets to capture images that he believes are
quintessentially Vietnamese.
Something to be proud of !Blue Dragon’sChristmas Appeal!Khuong’s now-famous photo, Calligra-
pher , and 12 other images can be seen
on our website.
This year Blue Dragon is trying some-
thing different for its Christmas Appeal.
Blue Dragon kids and volunteer profes-
sional photographers have taken somestunning images of Vietnam. For any
amount you donate, you will receive a
high quality print of the image of your
choice, either in a 12cm by 15cm size
slotted into a Christmas card, or in a
20cm x 30cm framable display size for
larger donations.
New photos have been uploaded this
week, so even if you have seen the cam-
paign page before it is worth a second
look now!
Did you know?Most children stay in Blue Dragon’s programs for 4-6 years.
Some kids stay longer, depending on how much time they need to
mplete their education.
Participants in our programs range from rst grade students, to uni-rsity students, to young adults beginning employment.
Even after they have formally left our programs, we continue to look
ut for the young people we’ve worked with and support them any
me they need it.
Despite having very
ttle experience with
camera, Khuong
napped an image
hat is arguably one of
our best – Calligrapher .
His image stands itsround against the
mages donated to our
ampaign by some
ccomplished photog-
aphers from Vietnam
nd Singapore.
Well done, Khuong –
ou can be proud of
our effort!
Calligrapher (Ha Van Khuong)
An update on the work of Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation
Vietnam - December 2010
Click the link
(right) to see
the selection
of images
available!
An example of one of our photos
in Christmas card format (above)
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DRAGON TALES
What’s your name?
To Thi Huong Giang.
What’s your job at Blue Dragon?
I am the Social Work Coordinator.
What’s your typical day at Blue Dragonlike?
A typical day might start with a meet-ing to discuss cases and new programactivities. I also spend time supportingstaff who are dealing with complex situ-ations. Often I am required to meet withchildren who are ‘high risk cases’ anddeal with emergency situations.
What’s the most difcult case you haveever worked on?
A boy who used to steal and sell drugs.He was very difcult to work withbecause he was a member of a gang.However, over time, he came to trust us, moved into our residence and madegreat changes. Currently he is overseason a scholarship!
What are you working on at themoment?
Getting the VIP treatment Staff proleung and Viet are two teenage boys who have seen a lot in their short lives.
ow aged 17, they were among the rst of the trafcked children Blue
ragon helped to escape the streets of Ho Chi Minh City back in 2006.
We rst met the boys selling owers in the tourist disctrict, working through
e night to meet their targets – or else face a beating from the trafckers.
Blue Dragon has since broken up some
of the trafcking rings which were
taking children from Hue, in central
Vietnam, to the South, and we havebeen supporting the kids to live with
their families and attend school.
In April this year, Hung and Viet
travelled together to Hanoi to study
at VIP Bikes, a social enterprise which
teaches disadvantaged youths to repair
motorbikes in a real life business setting.
ue Dragon created VIP Bikes in 2008, and although it is now an indepen-ent organisation, we continue to work closely together to provide training
those who need it most.
ung and Viet have been living in Blue Dragon’s shelter while undergo-
g their traineeships for the past 6 months. Every day, they’ve been at the
orkshop in their uniforms, ready to work on all kinds of bikes brought in
y customers for maintenance and repairs.
he manager of VIP Bikes, Australian mechanic Andrew Souto, has over-
een their training and is proud of the progress that they’ve made.
With their 6 month training program at an
nd, Viet has decided to return to his
ountryside to look for work as a me-
hanic. Hung has decided to stay on
VIP Bikes and learn some more.
With the new skills they have
arned, Hung and Viet are assured
f being able to nd employment
nd work towards independent, happytures.
bove all, they will never have to worry
bout child trafckers again.
An update on the work of Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation
Viet in 2006 after the rescue
Hung and Viet in 2010, hard at
work!
Vietnam - December 2010
At the moment I am helping children whoneed extra support and liaising with our lawyer on a legal case. I am also helpingorganise our annual Tet awards, where wecelebrate the achievements and successesof the kids.
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DRAGON TALES
Indochina CharityRally The IndoChina Rally is an incredible
opportunity to see Vietnam from the
seat of a beautiful, classically restored,
Russian made 650cc Ural motorbike,
whilst also raising money for Blue
Dragon!
Starting next April 13th, the Rally will
follow the Ho Chi Minh Trail, taking in
such famous sights as Khe Sanh, Ham-
burger Hill and the DMZ.
A full 40% of all Rally fees will be di-
rected through the Intrepid Foundation
and distributed to Blue Dragon. The
Intrepid Foundation has generously
agreed to match, dollar for dollar, the
rst 12 people to commit to the Rally!
These earlybirds will be responsible
for creating over US$35,000 worth of
donations!
If you have a sense of adventure, but
also want to give something back, then
click on the link below.
see more photos of what has been happening this month, check out
ur Facebook photo blog!
is new, monthly blog allows our friends to see a snapshot of some of
e many things that have happened in the last month.
Christmas comes early!
Blue Dragon gives a bike to an
excited little girl! Thank you to Se-
dona Executive Suites for donat -
ing 25 bicycles to our kids.
Blue Dragon gives out bicycles to
many kids, sometimes just for fun
and sometimes for more practical
purposes, such as getting to school.
Shufing skills!
Expert UNO skills being dis-played. UNO is the game of
choice for our kids, the penalty
for losing a game often involving
push-ups!
The beautiful game begins!
Blue Dragon United celebrates
he opening of the Hanoi Youth
ootball League.
An update on the work of Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation
Vietnam - December 2010
Autumn Action Shots!
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DRAGON TALES
lue Dragon works with close to 1000 children and youth throughout Vietnam.
rom day to day, we have many compelling stories to tell – of runaways, aban-
oned children, tragedies and triumphs.
ut it’s important that we keep our eye on the big picture: we are here for the
ong run. The children we meet now may need our help for months or years, not
ust for one day.
n it for the long run
Blue Dragon is based entirely in Vietnam; we have no staff or
ofce in any other country.
This poses a challenge for us using traditional communication,
o we instead rely heavily on the internet to keep our friends
nd followers around the world informed about the work of our
organisation.
To stay informed, you can:
Join us on Facebook.
Log onto the Blue Dragon Blog.
Subscribe to the free, quarterly Newsletter – email
[email protected] to get put on the mailing list.
Stay informed 3 Ways YOU canhelp today!
(that don’t involve givingmoney)
1- Forward this newsletter to 2 peoplewho might be interested in our work.
2- Write a blurb about Blue Dragon in
your work or school newsletter or on youblog.
3- Encourage friends and family todonate or sponsor a child.
To help a child in the long term, you can keep a child in school
through Blue Dragon’s sponsorshipprogram. Visit our website or email
us at [email protected] g for more
information.
ur job is to be here for them no matter what.
o provide the long term care that the Blue Dragon kids need, we run residential homes; nutrition and health pro-
rams; and make individual plans with both immediate and long term goals.
hese ‘after care’ services rarely make for headline-grabbing, exciting stories. But they are a very large part of our
ay to day work, and critical to our success in working with Vietnam’s most disadvantaged kids.
An update on the work of Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation
Vietnam - December 2010
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DRAGON TALES
Click one of the icons below to donate online.
(Worldwide) Tax-deductible Tax-deductible
Not tax-deductible for Americans for Australians
Donate today!
www.vietnamstreets.blogspot.com
www.streetkidsinvietnam.com
Wherever you are, and however you celebrate Christmas, the Blue Dragon kids and staff wish you the very best.
Thanks for your support throughout 2010!
Featured fundraisersJenny and Max Callaghan of Bateau Bay, NSW, hosted a dinner at their homein October – and raised $1800!!! The special night included a 6 course dinner and a rafe.
Nadine Ziegeldorf, who volunteered with Blue Dragon from 2006 to 2009,recently donated 100 cute teddy bears from her business to Blue Dragon in Australia. Roseville College students in Sydney have pitched in by selling thebears for $25 each! All money raised will go to the Hoi An Children’s Home.
8’s for Change at Kirwan State High School had a fundraising day at their
school, selling cakes and books, running competitions and performing mu-sic. The event was a great success and raised $1200!
Earlier this year Geert and Hilde Merlevede-Casier celebrated their 25thwedding anniversary. Instead of presents they asked for money to be donat-ed to Blue Dragon, and they raised $2500, that’s $100 for every year of their marriage! Thank you also to Lieve Sabbe for passing on our details to them.
To nd out about other people and organisations who have donated, clickhere.
An update on the work of Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation
Blue Dragon around the world…As Blue Dragon reaches more children in Vietnam, we need more support from our friends around the world. We arenow fortunate to have support from two groups:
Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation International: This is the Australian Board that governs our work in Vietnam. TheBoard meets quarterly, and can be contacted at [email protected] .Blue Dragon Children’s Trust (New Zealand): This Wellington-based volunteer group aims to raise support for our work throughout New Zealand. Contact them at: [email protected] .
Vietnam - December 2010
Happy Holidays!
Students at Kirwan
High school perpare
for their fundraiser
(above)
Jenny and
Max’s dinner
party gets
into full swing
(below)