Friendship, flowers and bubbles of fun...

Rose and I have been back for a couple of weeks now, my how the time flies! And I must say, the passing of time was very obvious when we went to visit the children of Friendship home.

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The children are growing so quickly. They seem to be really benefitting from the food ACCV is supplying for them. Every week Toan purchases and delivers 50kgs of rice, lots of protein, oil, fruit & veg etc …

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They are all looking very healthy ….. and taller!!

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As you all know spending time with the children is a real highlight to our trips, it’s always so lovely to catch up with them and see first hand how they are all doing. Many of the children have now matured into delightful young adults.

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Phuc has finished his first cooking course and will soon begin a more advanced level course. Toan is doing a wonderful job as both mentor and social worker with Phuc, he has taken him under his wing and it is really showing. Phuc has a level of confidence and happiness I’ve never seen in him before, it’s wonderful.
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Another young man has begun a motorcycle repair course as he looks to the future. A few of the children have come of age and they're now working and living independently. In their place are a number of new little faces at Friendship Home, six in total.

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We had great fun getting to know them, there is nothing like a tub of bubbles to help a friendship along, new or old…..

Ms Ha and the children were aware that it was my birthday and they went all out to make sure it was one I wouldn’t forget in a hurry! I was treated to the most delightful afternoon, which included lots of singing, flowers, handmade cards and hugs.


It was a wonderful day....



Kind regards

Alison & Rose



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The freedom of choice .....

Here is a photo of some brooms made by members of the Blind Association where we run our courses. A bundle of hand made brooms will sell for approximately 60,000vnd ($3.50), take out the cost of the materials and you have an idea what sort of money they can earn, if they're lucky enough to have work.

This is one of the many reasons we are focusing on educational courses for blind people.

We want them to have options....

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Kind regards
Alison & Rose

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They say money can't buy happiness.......

Rose and I just returned from Hanoi yesterday. It was another busy trip, but we achieved so much and once again we really enjoyed being there.

It's always great to catch up with the people we’re supporting, to see first hand how they're doing, how well the money has been utilised and if they need any further assistance.

Many of you know The story of Thao, the very poor young girl who grew up collecting rubbish to survive, and who, with the full support of ACCV is now a medical student.

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Thao is a delightful young girl, it's great to keep in touch with her and see how she is doing. Academically, she is doing very well, in fact her marks are very high. She is a devoted student who really appreciates the opportunity that has come her way. She will often express her gratitude for our support, even heading into town to find an internet café and organising someone to translate an email for her.

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Thao tries to make the long bus journey back home when she can as she is very close to her mother, who is quite ill. Recently she mentioned that she was very frightened about her mothers situation as she is quite weak and they had been told she would not live more than a couple of years. Thao is only eighteen years old, her mother is only 52.

With Dat’s assistance we organised tests for Thao’s mum to see exactly what the story is with her health and if we could possibly help. She has spent the last week in hospital in Hanoi undergoing tests. The final result is that she has only one kidney and it is full of stones. We met with Thao and her mother, both of them looking worn out and terrified. It turns out that she requires a daily medicine regime to treat both the stones and to strengthen the kidney.

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The medicines she needs will cost 1.6 million vietnamdong per month (about $100). Thao struggled to talk as she told us that they have no resources, nowhere to turn. She didn’t know what to do and she understands that ACCV is there to help children and again she mentioned how grateful she is for our support.

We had a big chat and after a while I explained to Thao that while she is at medical school we are committed to fully supporting her, and that support will include helping her mother...

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I wish I could convey the relief, gratitude and emotion that Thao obviously felt, it was clearly written in her face. An eighteen year old girl who had just realised that someone was going to give them the $26 per week required to keep her mother alive.

As the news finally sank in, Thao shared a bit of fun catch up time with Rose. Just chatting about growth spurts, hairstyles, and posing for photos!

If you would like to help Thao and her mother simply mark your donation “Thao” and every dollar will go directly to support them.

Kind regards

Alison & Rose

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(please send us a quick email if you make a donation so that we can acknowledge your kindness - thank you)

A wonderful birthday gift....

Well today it’s my birthday, and this evening Rose and I will once again fly out to Hanoi.

As I’m putting the final touches on the Braille worksheets and activities, I can’t help but think back to a special birthday a few years ago. It was actually on my birthday that we first met the children of Friendship Home.

We went along with stationary supplies we were donating for an English class that was being set up for the children at the orphanage. We had a truly wonderful afternoon, our children and the children who live at Friendship Home really hit it off and soon became fast friends. The highlight of the afternoon was when the balloons became water missiles and were thrown from a dizzy height, soaking the poor soul who couldn’t move fast enough!! Soon everyone was dripping wet and laughing their socks off!

That afternoon really was a life altering day, things haven't been the same since. That evening our children were talking about the kids of FH and the very difficult lives they led. I can remember saying that meeting them, even with the sadness of their situation, was a really special gift. They are an amazing bunch of kids.

Our plan was to spend an afternoon with the children, go and enjoy a family birthday dinner, continue with our trip through Vietnam and return to our lives here in Brisbane …….. that's not quite the way it worked out!

Since then there has been a huge amount of joy, a little bit of heartache and some truly amazing friendships and experiences.

Thoughts of how the children are growing, the turnaround in Quan’s life, meeting Brian, Dat, Thao, Toan ….

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So as I put the finishing touches on the Braille materials and prepare for a birthday dinner and then a flight to Hanoi. I realise how lucky I am to be involved in the lives of these amazing young people. It’ll be so nice to see them all again.

Another wonderful birthday gift.

Thank you
Alison & Rose

Pay it forward…...

Please excuse the delay in blog posts, things are busy, busy this end as Rose and I prepare for another trip to Hanoi. We are having a wonderful time producing activities for the next language course for blind people.

This year the Australian Government provided a 'stimulus package' designed to assist the economy in averting the global financial crisis. The idea is that every person who submitted a tax return last year will be given $900. They are then asked to go shopping and spend the money here in Australia, thereby boosting the economy.

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One young man, who doesn’t have very much money, (he has just finished a four year apprenticeship, which amounts to a lot of hard work and long hours for very little wages) came and told me that he had finally received his stimulus package and that he would like to donate $500 of his money to ACCV.

It is always wonderful to receive donations for the young people we are working with, the kindness and generosity people show is amazing. And of course donations are the backbone of ACCV, we simply cannot exist without them.

However, there is something quite humbling about receiving money from someone who we know will feel the impact of giving that money to others. In keeping with the spirit of what the stimulus package was designed to do, we agreed to spend that money here in Australia. Spending money has never been a problem for ACCV! (finding it, well that’s another story….. )

As many of you are aware, educating young blind people is a major focus for ACCV in Hanoi, and the stark reality of what they don’t have is always a bit of a shock, particularly when I compare those Hanoi classrooms with the wonderland of resources I work with here in Australia.

So, the $500 dollars we received from this young man will have an enormous impact on the lives of young blind people. One that will continue to affect each and every young blind person who attends an ACCV English language course.

We have purchased;

Dymo braille labeller 3 @ $60.00 $180.00

Dymo tape - black 20 @ $ 6.00 $120.00

Dominoes double 5 @ $25.00 $125.00

Braille primer 1 $40.00 $ 40.00

Tactile dice - set of 2 @ $6.00 $ 36.00

What this actually means is that the classroom environment has just been changed drastically.

In our previous course the students worked with only Braille boards and styluses, the classes were carried out with lots of teacher talking and students listening and writing.

Our next course will be a different story altogether!

We are busy producing posters, flashcards, bingo games, song lyric worksheets, even dominoes. Braille dominoes – can't you just imagine the fun of learning numbers with a game of good old fashioned dominoes!

Our students are in for such a treat, sincere thanks to you B!

And thank you to all ACCV supporters, we really are indebted to you all.


Kind regards
Alison & Rose


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(please send us a quick email if you make a donation so that we can acknowledge your kindness - thank you)

ACCV Pilot English Language Course.....

A while ago I blogged about the ACCV English language course for blind students finally getting off the ground. Well, the first course has now been completed, and very successfully too!

You never know how a pilot anything will go, let alone an educational course for disabled people, in a foreign land, in a foreign language, with very limited resources! I am so delighted and proud to be able to say it has been completed with results beyond our expectations.

Juliette as course coordinator along with teachers Birgit and Hai have done a truly amazing job – the adaptations, adjustments and challenges that faced them weekly have been quite interesting to say the least :) And they have graciously dealt with each of them and delivered a wonderful programme for the students.

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I would like to add that Juliette came on board as Course Coordinator, which is a big job in and of itself …… she also morphed into a teacher at a minute’s notice and did that job very well too – we are indeed very fortunate to have her on board. ….. Thanks Juls x

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We have also benefited from the additional support of very keen young Vietnamese Teachers Aides/Translators Van, Thuy, Hieu, Phuc and Khanh. They really are quite a remarkable team.
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The course is a whole lot of fun, even a little singing and dancing :)

The students have gained so much from this course, apart from the obvious educational benefits, the social side of getting together for classes has been wonderful. The photos tell the story.

Young Toan has been helping out and getting to know the students.

While the coordinator and teachers enjoy a well earned summer break, the students are very keen for classes to begin again :) Fortunately one of the teachers Aides, Khanh is kindly spending time with them over the summer to keep them a little up to date on their language skills – thanks Khanh

ACCV English language course for blind students has always been a very long term project, we’re not going anywhere! We expect this course to go from strength to strength and to be reproduced many times to benefit the young blind community in Hanoi.

The students are very thankful for the opportunities that come their way, Juliette and the teachers & TA’s are making such a wonderful contribution to these young lives.

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Kind Regards

Alison & Rose

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(please send us a quick email if you make a donation so that we can acknowledge your kindness - thank you)

Lucky boy!

On our very first visit to Vietnam back in 2006 we spent some time with the children of Friendship Home. We were introduced to the children one by one and given a brief background on each of them.

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They are a great bunch of kids, each of them with a real story to tell, but one little guy stood out – the translator told us his story;

Phuc (pronounced Foop) had a rather sad background, his mother died when he was just three years old, his father died a few years later. Phuc then went to live with his very elderly, blind grandmother and he would forage for bits of scrap iron to be sold or bartered for food and other basic supplies. He was eventually spotted by the authorities and brought to Friendship Home in 2000.

When he was eleven years old Phuc and a couple of the other boys were playing nearby when a wall totally collapsed and Phuc was pinned underneath the concrete blocks. As a result of the accident he had one leg amputated and severely injured the other. He now faced a future of both poverty and disability.

Listening to this tale we were all feeling a bit sad and sorry for him, the translator then added;

“and you know, it’s strange, because he has so much bad luck and yet his name actually means ‘lucky!'”

Jim piped in with; “well the story’s not over yet!”

Very true indeed, and it’s been great getting to know Phuc over the years. He's a terrific little guy and he really enjoys our visits, especially when we take the children for a day out. He always finishes each visit with ‘when are you coming back?’.

Now Phuc’s story continues. He left school last year which was a bit of a worry, a young man with limited education and a disability doesn’t have too many options available to him in Vietnam. When we saw him back in April he was telling us that he would really like to be a cook one day.

That was also around the time that ACCV employed Toan, a fine young man who’s overcome his own challenges and who sees his future as a social worker helping others. We decided that this was a perfect opportunity for Toans social worker skills to be put to the test, he was in charge of organizing a cooking course for Phuc.

As you can see from these photos, Toan did a great job, and it didn’t take him too long at all, a couple of weeks ago Phuc began his full time cooking course. He really loves it! This is hopefully the beginning of Phuc’s vocational education and a pathway to some decent employment opportunities for him.

It appears that his luck is now more in keeping with his name.


I’ll post regular updates on his progress.
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Kind Regards
Alison & Rose



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(please send us a quick email if you make a donation so that we can acknowledge your kindness - thank you)

How times change ………….

On a visit to see Quan a couple of years ago, I met an elderly lady who was a regular visitor and a friend of his. She used to sit with him sometimes to keep him company, help while away the many hours (and years) he sat in his family home with nothing to do. During our visit she signalled to me with outstretched hands, and tears in her eyes, miming the tragedy of this young boy she knew. It was very sad.

You can imagine my delight when I received this photo from Jim. I immediately recognised the elderly neighbour, but this time I didn’t recognise the expression on her face. There is no sympathy to be seen, you can clearly see the happy respect she shows Quan as she meets with him when he returns to his village for a visit.

(I might add that he was a passenger on a motorbike, hence the helmet .... he wasn’t driving! :)

That sad young man is now a distant memory. Quan is a respected member of the community, even somewhat of a celebrity, they love it when he comes home for a visit.

The local youngsters are quite intrigued, they all know Quan, he’s the blind guy who was given an opportunity to go to Hanoi. He's the guy who studied hard, worked hard and got himself a life!

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If you would like to read the full story of Quan's journey simply follow the link: http://www.accv.net.au/18.html

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There are many other young Quans out there waiting for a similar opportunity. We are hoping to raise the funds to run a few more courses for blind students this year.

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We greatly appreciate every donation, it is simply not possible for us to run the courses without your help.

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Kind Regards
Alison & Rose

TO MAKE A DONATION

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(please send us a quick email if you make a donation so that we can acknowledge your kindness - thank you)

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Where words fail, music speaks ....

When Rose and I were in Hanoi we spent some time at another Blind Association where we are hoping to establish a massage course for ten young blind people, similar to the course we ran for Quan and the other students back in 2007.

This particular Blind Association is located in a very old concrete building, three or four stories tall, a bit like a hospital or school you would see in an old movie.

While we were discussing the basics for running a course with the executives of the Blind Association we could hear the most beautiful music wafting through the building. It was quite distracting. At one point I interrupted the meeting to ask where the sound was coming from. We were told that a number of local young blind members of the association like to get together and have a bit of a music session.

We were lucky enough to be treated to an impromptu concert. This amazing voice belongs to a lovely young blind girl named Sen, she is hoping to be a student of the next ACCV massage course.

Take a minute and have a listen to this young lady’s voice …… the words may be Vietnamese, but the sound of music is definitely universal.

It really struck me how these guys are no different to any other group of teenagers, they have great fun just hanging out and making music together.

They are also very keen to have the opportunity to train as massage therapists so that they can make a living and build a better life for themselves.

Hopefully ACCV will be able to help them.

Kind Regards

Alison & Rose

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Different worlds……..

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We have been providing Braille boards for the blind students of the Hanoi high school I have previously mentioned. We recently had a new batch to deliver but we decided that before we took the Braille boards in we would show them to Brian's young students and let them have a bit of a play and an impromptu Braille lesson.

It’s always nice to spend time at Brian’s school, the children are great and they’re always happy to say hello to us and to spend a bit of time with Dat and listen to what he has to say. They come from a very different world to the kids we usually deal with, but they’re just as delightful and they are very keen to hear about their poorer, blind counterparts. With Brian as their teacher they have learnt that there is a bigger, poorer world out there.

Another thing they learnt is that Braille is certainly not as easy as it looks.

Firstly, to read Braille, you run your fingertips across the page from left to right, feeling the raised bumps that have been imprinted onto the page by a small, sharp device called a stylus. Each letter is a combination of dots placed within a cell (somewhat like a domino) with separate arrangements to denote spaces, capitals etc.

However, to WRITE Braille you must produce the letters across the page from right to left and completely in reverse!

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Dat was in his element as teacher, he loved having the students surround him as he taught and marked their work. Teacher Brian was also a diligent student, trying so hard to learn his letters well!

We really had a lot of fun and the students had a new respect for their blind counterparts at the end of the lesson!

They also enjoyed catching up with Rose and her sour lollies!


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The next day the Braille boards were duly delivered to some very grateful young blind teenagers in Hanoi …….. but that’s a story for another day!


Kind Regards

Alison & Rose


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