| The Kianh Foundation |
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| What\'s On | |
| Monday, 27 November 2006 | |
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The Government-run Hoi An orphanage was founded in 1975 in Danang, and moved to Hoi An in 1985. The children there range from three months to twenty-one years old. They live at the orphanage for a number of reasons. Some have lost one or both parents and other family members are too poor to take care of them. However there are some who have family but who are simply unable to cope with them. This is particularly evident with many of the disabled children. Jackie Wrafter and Jacci Garside who visited the orphanage whilst on holiday founded the Kianh Foundation in September 2001. Witnessing the conditions in which the children were living, they were immediately moved to take action to change their lives. They found seventeen children with disabilities, lying two or three to old wooden beds, locked away in a dark room. The children’s lives were lived out solely on the beds: they ate there; went to the toilet there. They never left the room. They had no toys, no books, no games, no music. The name “Kianh” is the name of one of the children, a boy with cerebral palsy whose condition inspired them to set up the foundation. He continues to live at the orphanage. Since the charity was created they aim to: Make Hoi An orphanage a centre of excellence where all children have the opportunity to reach their greatest potential. To improve the health, education and quality of life for children at Hoi An orphanage by working with the people of Vietnam. And to respect the children and adults with whom they work. Just some of the ways they have helped the children this year are:  SurgeriesThree year old Minh Hien and six year old Van Hien (shown below left), went to Hue Hospital to have their second round of cleft palette surgeries. The surgeries were successful, although Van Hien laughed so much that he split his stitches and had to have them re-stitched! Van Hien’s twin brother, Hau (on the right), had minor eye surgery in Danang Eye Hospital to unblock his tear ducts. Hau is turning out to be a diligent and hard-working child, and received several prizes at the end of his first school year in June, for being top of the class. Dental checkup The entire orphanage recently returned to the East Meets West dental clinic in Danang (www.eastmeetswest.org ), for their annual check up. There were little tears and few fillings for all those children who had been before, but the drill came as something of a shock to the newcomers, whose teeth, typically, were in a bad state. The indoChina Children's Fund - in Memory of Mike Matsushita In 2005, Michael Minh Matsushita, lost his life in the London tube terrorist bombings. Mike had worked as a guide for tours through Vietnam and Cambodia. With a donation from some of the money raised by his friends and family for disadvantaged children in south East Asia, the Kianh Foundation was able to help the orphanage in a number of ways. Firstly, they repaired the roofs of the two special education classrooms. During the annual rainy season, the old, leaking roofs usually caused the rooms to become flooded and unusable. Equipment was damaged, the children are returned to their bedroom with nothing to do. However the repairs now mean that this year, the children’s education and day-to-development will continue as normal. Secondly, they used the money to improve the children’s nutrition for six-months. Traditionally the children existed on a terrible diet of little more than bowls of rice with a few scraps of fatty meat. This poor diet has contributed to the continued ill health and, in some cases, malnutrition, of the children. Now with additional financial donations from local restaurant, Blue Dragon, the Foundation can now add fruit, to their diets. The children now enjoy more varied meals of fish, meat, eggs, tofu and vegetables.  Staff training and developmentTwo specialist trainers from Australia and Germany came to train and improve the development of their physios and teachers. Two of the carers moved into the special education classrooms to provide play and stimulation for the very disabled children every afternoon. The children love the break from long days on their beds, and the carers seem to be getting a great deal out of it, too. One of the physios, Phuong, now works in the classroom for the afternoon sessions, and she and the teacher, Mrs Lai, are showing the carers ways in which to stimulate these children through play. This is a very positive and inspiring room. How can you help? The most effective way to help is through financial assistance. The Foundation does not receive any government grants, loans or funding support. Monthly Costs They would greatly appreciate financial support with the following monthly costs: * Employing 9 skilled, professional Vietnamese staff (US$ 1,000) * Meat, fish, fruit and vegetables for all children; 3 meals per day (US$ 600) * Electricity for disabled children’s rooms (US$ 100) * Medicines, general pharmacy supplies (US$ 100) * Weekend educational play sessions for disabled children (US$ 55) * High-nutrient Soya milk powder for a two year old girl with hydrocephalus (US$ 40) * Living expenses for a deaf girl to attend School in Danang (US$ 32). Her Annual school fee is US$ 172 * Living costs/tuition fees for 3 students in Danang (US$ 10 each) * Medicine for boy with AIDS; rice for him and his family (US$ 20) For further information or to make a donation, please visit www.kianh.org.uk |
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