Healing hands and a funny afternoon……..

It has been a couple of years now since Quan graduated as a massage therapist. He really enjoys his work. Massage has provided him with so much more than just an income. It has given him a support network, a social life, the pride that comes with being so good at what you do that clients request you in particular. It has also relieved the pain in his young arthritic hands. In many ways massage has been quite a gift to Quan.

Recently, it was a gift to me too…

I was fortunate enough to receive a head massage from Quan. It was an absolute treat, he really is very good at what he does.  This quiet time together afforded us a rare opportunity to catch up a little. We had a nice chat as he worked away.   

Quan asked me if I remembered him from his ‘before life’.  I smiled and said I did, and I asked him if he missed that life. His response was a hearty chuckle and a very clear "No", he then spoke of how much he loves his "now life".

He went on to tell me how he and his mother remember the ‘very funny afternoon’,  when Mr Jim appeared at his house with a woman.  Visits to Quan’s rural village are always unannounced as there is no communication available. He said on that day they were very surprised and after we left they talked about how funny it was and how he and his mother hoped that we would help him to change his situation and to improve his life.  Well, things have certainly changed.  We chatted on about his new life and his plans to continue with his studies and professional development.

It was such an interesting experience, his large hands, swollen with nodules that are a legacy of the same illness that caused his blindness, are surprisingly strong.   At one point I noticed that the strong, professional hands of a masseuse left the muscles of my head and they very gently traced the contours of my face, ….  “aaah, so that’s what she looks like!”

 

Yes, things have certainly changed, I also remember how, on that same funny afternoon Mr Jim gave Quan a supply of medicines to relieve the pain in his hands.  Those very same hands are now pain free tools that provide his livelihood, and offer therapeutic relief to his fortunate clients.
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Massage offers an excellent employment opportunity for many young blind people. Quan is certainly not the only person to benefit from studying massage. 

And I'm not the only person to enjoy the benefits of receiving an excellent head massage. 

 Kind regards
Alison & Rose

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A big day out with Chipmunk Punks.......

There is no doubt that the children of Friendship Home benefit from our weekly donation of rice, protein and other food products. And it’s important that we provide blankets, scarves, gloves and other essentials to keep them warm throughout the winter.

But we also firmly believe that along with basic material needs being met, children should be allowed to be children. They should get to play, to be silly, to enjoy their childhood. A vital component of any childhood is laughter and joy. The long term benefits of nurturing little souls are without question. One
source of childhood joy comes from the excitement of those fun filled excursions out into the world. Those childhood memories are so important, we can all recall a couple of them pretty quickly.

Unfortunately, such memories are scarce for the children of Friendship Home. Having fun is not a regular part of their lives. We try to balance this a little and take them out for an occasional fun day.  This time our big day out was “off to the movies”.

 

Being the holiday season there were a few of the latest releases from Hollywood on offer, lucky for us the animated Chipmunks had released “The Squeakwel!” (oh yay). We pre-bought all the tickets and headed off to Friendship Home to collect the troops.

It was with great excitement that they rugged up in their new scarves and gloves. We try to make a point of giving the children individual items so they can enjoy a little ownership. Rather than buying 18 identical scarves we chose quite a few different styles. The kids were hilarious as they opened up the scarves, checked out the design, did a bit of a swap with each other, and then worked out just how they would wear it to make the most drastic fashion statement. Looking sharp and grinning away, they were ready to take on the Chipmunks!

We ordered a number of taxi’s to ferry us all back and forth. I shared a taxi with one of the older girls. Hang has lived at Friendship home since she was just five years old. She mentioned that they were all so excited because they had never been to the big shopping centre let alone to the movie mega-plex. It’s a different world.

The movie was great fun and the kids were glued to the screen. You know the Disney routine, cute little cartoon characters who sing, dance and save the day, they were hilarious. Okay, I admit I enjoyed it, just a little.

 

But what I really enjoyed, a whole lot, was watching the kids squeal with delight and laugh out loud as the very predictable story unfolded. Even the most serious of the kids were heard belly laughing.

                                        

We then went on to a local soup kitchen and a bunch of very happy children fed their little bodies. For a brief moment in time, these kids were totally content. With lazy smiles they returned to Friendship Home for a nice afternoon nap.

Some lovely childhood memories were made that day.

Kind regards
Alison & Rose

 

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Beauty and the Beast........ supporting ACCV

If you're available this weekend, and you live in Hanoi .......

Hanoi International Theatre Society presents;

BEAUTY & THE BEAST Directed by Amy Cherry

Hong Ha Theatre, 51 Duong Thanh, Hoan Kiem District

Performance times are;

Friday January 22nd, at 8pm

Saturday January 23rd at 2pm

Saturday January 23rd at 8pm

Sunday January 24th at 2pm

The January 2010 production of Beauty and the Beast is based on the 1991 animated feature film by Walt Disney Productions. The show centres around a beast who is really a prince who had a spell cast on him and who keeps a beautiful young woman named Belle in a castle. The beast must win Belle’s love or he will remain a beast forever. Through beautiful music, choreography and entertaining characters, the story tells of how Belle learns to love the Beast, while teaching him how to love in return.

Tickets available at Green Mango, Oasis Deli and Bookworm (or an hour before the performance at the Hong Ha Theatre Door)

Suggested donation: 150,000 VND

All proceeds will be donated to the Australian Charity for Children of Vietnam.

An added very special bonus is that H.I.T.S. has also donated tickets for the children of Friendship Home to go along and enjoy their first ever live theatre performance.

That's so wonderful for them and wonderful for us.

Thank you H.I.T.S.

Ring out the old, sing in the new.....

This year, we decided to spend New Years in Hanoi. It was a lovely way to begin 2010. On New Years morning, we headed off to the Blind Association to meet up with the students and staff at the centre.

We dragged some of the family along with us to enjoy the festive cheer and to see first hand what it is Rose and I do when we head off on our trips to Hanoi. And why their wife/mother is attached to a computer 24hrs a day.

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We received a very warm welcome, including a lovely spread of fresh fruit and sweets. Everyone was immediately at ease. The students proudly announced that they had a gift for us, and promptly broke into song! They had rehearsed and practiced “Jingle bells” in English, it was really special!

The positive environment that has been created here is really wonderful. It's quite a privilege to be a part of it all. The students are all very happy with their new lives. I think the social aspect to the classes has been even more beneficial for them than the academic side of things. Cheerful banter and sing song amongst friends was the order of the day.

Our teachers weren’t present this visit, both Birgit and Jennifer were off enjoying a very well earned Christmas break. But the results of their dedication and hard work were clearly present for everyone to see. The students are really progressing well. This time the English greetings flowed very naturally. They are all very keen to continue with their studies and made a point of asking when they can start their English classes again.

And the answer is very soon. Classes will begin again within the next couple of weeks. These students are on their way, there's no holding them back now.

Toan and our wonderful Teachers aides, Khanh and Trang were on hand to help out and enjoy the fun. They gave the students a good prod and told them to really practice their English language skills while they held a captive audience. And they did indeed.

I’m sure I don’t need to explain the joy involved, as I watched my own children chat away to the students. Some of my favourite people on the planet, getting to know each other. Quickly bridging huge gaps and just being young people, having a laugh together.

It was a great first day of the year!

Kind regards
Alison & Rose

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TO MAKE A DONATION

Happy New Year!!

ACCV would like to thank you for your kind support and wish you all the very best for a safe and happy 2010

Another year over....... and a new one just begun..........

Thank you so much for your ongoing support. The work we do at ACCV would simply not be possible without your financial assistance. We will continue to spend your money in the best possible way and keep you informed of just where it’s going. Please remember that 100% of your donation goes directly to the children of Vietnam, nothing is lost in administrative charges.

Kind regards

Alison & Rose

TO MAKE A DONATION http://www.accv.net.au/7.html

The spirit of Christmas & gifts that give ......

If you would like to take the angst out of Christmas shopping this year, you can buy someone special a gift that gives again!

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You can purchase a voucher from ACCV to make a donation as a Christmas gift for family and friends. Simply make a donation, you can choose the amount of money you spend, and how it is spent.

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Have a scroll through the sample vouchers and the list of suggested donatons and what that money will buy. When you have made your selection, simply make the donation and email us the details. We can create the voucher and email it directly to you for you to personalise your mesage. Or if you would prefer, you can send us the informatioin and we will send the voucher on your behalf.

You can nominate your gift to go directly to our language projects with the blind students.

$10.00 will buy a Braille board and paper for a blind student.

$50 will pay for two blind siblings to attend school for a month.

$100 will pay for a digital voice recorder for a blind student.

$500 will pay for an English language course for ten blind students.

TO MAKE A DONATION.

You may choose to donate directly to benefit the children of Friendship Home Orphanage.

$25.00 will pay for protein and fuit for Friendship Home Orphanage for one week.

$35.00 will pay for rice for Friendship Home Orphanage for one week.

$100.00 will pay for rice and oil for Friendship Home Orphanage for two weeks.

$150.00 will provide the children of Friendship Home Orphanage with winter blankets.

TO MAKE A DONATION.
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Or you might like to assist young teenagers with a Vocational Education Programme.

$50.00 will pay for two blind siblings to attend school for a month.

$125.00 will pay for a Vocational Education Programme , including course materials.

And of course there is delightful miss Thao. Your support is greatly appreciated as we help her to follow her dream to become a doctor, and to keep her mother healthy and alive!

$20.00 will provide 3 meals a day for Thao for a week.

$50.00 will contribute to Thao’s medical text books and stationary

$100.00 will pay for Thao's mother's medicine for one month.

$150.00 will support Thao at medical school for one month.

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TO MAKE A DONATION.
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Alternatively, you can make a general donation to assist us in supporting the many young people we are helping to break the cycle of poverty. We are happy to personalise your voucher to suit you.
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"Merry Christmas and wishing you all the very best for a safe and happy 2010"
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kind regards
Alison & Rose

Every dollar donated goes directly to the children of Vietnam - all administrative costs are covered by the Vidotto family

Someones trash is another's treasure ....

If you can read this, thank a teacher …….

When writing the blog entry yesterday, I was unaware that it was teacher appreciation day in Vietnam. I simply couldn't let that go by.

The teachers and teachers aides we are so fortunate to have on staff at ACCV are wonderful indeed. Birgit and Jennifer, along with Khanh & Trang travel quite a way out of Hanoi at least twice weekly to the blind association. They freely give their time, patience and dedication to our students, who are in turn genuinely fond of their teachers.

They also spend the necessary time to carefully document all facets of this course, and they contribute invaluable feedback and insight to the future development of this programme. Their contribution to the quality of life of not only our current blind students, but to the lives of those who will follow, is without measure.

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We also have another special teacher on staff. Mr Brian is not only a wonderful teacher, but he's also an invaluable member of the ACCV team. Without his full support and commitment, the smooth running of ACCV would simpy not be possible.

A very sincere thank you

Education is the movement from darkness to light....

Our review programme of the English language course for blind people is now more than half way through, and it is coming along beautifully. The students are progressing very well and they are really enjoying the classes.

Our teachers, Birgit and Jennifer, along with teaching assistants Khanh and Trang are doing such a wonderful job. Without their contribution this course would simply not be coming together. We owe them a very big thank you!

It is wonderful to see that the Braille materials we made up for the students are being fully incorporated into the classroom to create a fun and enjoyable educational environment for the students.

The students have just completed their first lot of assessments, for the first time in their lives for many of them, and they did very well! This brings a real sense of pride and accomplishment to the students, (as it should), well done to them!!


Each week the teachers send me lesson plans and student progress reports. It is such a joy to read each and every one of them. I can't help but think back to the very first time I met these people and the sad, limited existence they were leading.
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The Allan Bloom quote is so very true for these people... Education is the movement from darkness to light...


Kind regards

Alison & Rose

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" Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much" Helen Keller