Saturday, April 30, 2011

An open letter ......

ACCV has always been very personal for me, right from the start...

I'm just a mum, who relates to other mum's, who have sick or blind children, and very limited options.  When the going gets tough, and sometimes it does, I imagine that if I was living in poverty and I met this Australian women with access to resources to help my child, I'd want her to keep going and do what she had to do to help us.

I had no idea that ACCV would grow as it has, or that we would meet more than 700 children with chronic diseases such as Diabetes & CAH going untreated. Due to poverty. 

This is just astounding. A couple of weeks ago a little girl we sponsor died from untreated diabetes, aged 8.

We have met many children suffering with CAH  because they are not receiving the necessary medication.  

We are trying to connect the people who can help with the people who need help. So I have written this open letter. 

Please pass it along to anyone you think may be interested.

Christine Edith Sponsorship Programme
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Good evening,
My name is Alison Vidotto, I am the founder of a small Australian NGO operating in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Australian Charity for the Children of Vietnam (ACCV) is a registered charity in both Australia and Vietnam. ACCV works with underprivileged children and teenagers, many of whom are suffering from chronic Endocrine disorders, including Diabetes & Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH). 

Our goal is to help as many of these children as we can to access adequate health care and improve their quality of life. Many of these children are not receiving the medicines necessary for them to lead a healthy life, simply because their family is living in poverty.

The impact of a seriously ill child on a family living in poverty has far reaching effects, the family will often borrow large amounts of money, sell off any animals or assets in an attempt to seek medical treatment for their child. The slide into poverty is often inevitable.

ACCV is a small organisation, with limited resources. We have committed to funding medical care for approximately 85 children, there are more than 600 on the waiting list.

We have established a sponsorship programme to finance the medical care and associated costs for these children. This includes hospital check ups, surgery, transportation, nutrition and medication. Sponsorship is available for just $30 AUD per month, tax deductibility is available.

We are hoping to reach out to the  wider community in the hope of connecting families here to their poverty stricken counterparts in Vietnam with a view to sponsoring a child.

We would greatly appreciate it if you could help us to spread the word amongst the wider community as we endeavour to help these families.

Please do  not hesitate to contact me should you require any further information.


We look forward to hearing from you.


Kind Regards
   Alison & Rose





(please drop us a quick email so we can acknowledge your kindness)

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Bustin a move....

A great highlight to every trip to Hanoi is time spent with ACCV blind students. I kid you not, these guys are inspirational. They're doing so well, in so many ways.
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Our visit coincided with the last class of term, so it was a good excuse for a bit of a celebration (not that these guys need an excuse).
This time we had good friends from Colombia, Mayra & Juan in tow. Juan designed our fabulous 'ACCV A Brighter Tomorrow' poster, it was great for him to meet those who benefited from his hours of hard work.
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The students instantly welcomed their new guests and jumped at the opportunity to practise their English. It began very sedately, out came the fruit and Choco-Pies, Quan and Dat were getting to know there new friends, Quy was soon showing off his musical talents. Everyone was having a very nice time.
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And to be honest I'm not quite sure what happened....
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Suddenly the decks were cleared, the sound system was turned up..
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And the Colombian dance lessons began...
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 I have mentioned that our students are very quick learners....
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And good teachers of Vietnamese traditional dances too....
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Teachers and students....
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Management and guests...

A wonderful time was had by all!

Wishing you well

kind regards
Alison & Rose

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

A great evening.... for a great cause!...

The first ACCV annual fundraiser held at the Australian Embassy was a great success. Our goal was to raise funds for our Christine Edith Sponsorship programme.

Interestingly, the event was held on Christine Edith's birthday, which was a wonderful coincidence!

We were honestly humbled at how well the evening went, and at the hundreds of people who turned out in support.  

Thanks to our photographer Robert, we can let the photos tell the story....


The evening began in fine form with lots of children's entertainment..




Sing-&-dance along with the fabulous 'Toothpaste' was a major hit...



Our MC for the evening was our very own Australian Ambassador           Mr Allaster Cox...


While the Ambassador was a tough act to follow, this talented little dance troop managed to pull it off...



The feast began with a good old Aussie sausage sizzle & salads


There was also plenty traditional Vietnamese delights...


The Ambassador then became auctioneer extraordinaire.... 



He did very well, as you can see he held a captive audience...


It was a great evening, and we were very sad to see it end!!.....

Our sincere thanks to all concerned, we were truly blessed with the support we received from the Ambassador and Embassy staff,  our amazing event committee, donors, supporters, volunteers and guests who all gave so generously. It was without doubt a community effort.

We raised more than $8,000.00 for our programme to provide medicines for chronically ill children at the National Pediatric Hospital. As a direct result of this fundraiser we are able to take on another forty children.

That's forty families who can now give their child the daily medicines that are absolutely necessary for them to lead a healthy life. As we find sponsorship for these children, we will be able to help those who are waiting.

Thank you.

Alison & Rose


(please drop us a quick email so we can acknowledge your kindness)


Friday, April 8, 2011

With Gratitude to sponsors of our event.....

The first ACCV Annual Fundraiser held at the Australian Embassy was a great success. This is of course in no small part to the wonderful contribution from our sponsors. We received many generous donations from local companies, which undoubtedly made the evening a success..... Thank you!!