Helping a handicapped boy in Vietnam to generate income with a laptop

Hanoi, 16th Dec, 2016

Appreciation Letter

Dear the respected sponsor and Ms Hanh,

My name is Pham Van Hung.

My family's situation is that: my dad passed away early and my mum is Phan Thi Tinh. She is the sole breadwinner mother of two sick children born with this hemophilia disease, a type of bleeding disorder

My younger brother is Pham Quang Huy. He was born in 2001 with a muscular dystrophy genetic disorder with his left leg. This disease weakens his left leg muscle, restricts his ability to walk and causes him to be hobbled.

Currently, I also have a muscular dystrophy in my right leg, and my left knee is infectious and constantly in chronic pain. I and my brothers are always in sick and often need to be rushed to the hospital for treatments. 

This health condition affects both our ability to play, study and work normally. Also, my mum is getting older over time and become more tired of the increasing workload.

I grow up now and I want to ask my mum for permission to work in Hanoi so that I can at least take some burdens off her shoulder. First of all, it will be closer to my hospital for regular treatments. For such, I will suffer less pain and improve my daily health and working conditions.

Secondly, I want to be independent, to earn a living on my own and gain more exposures to the society so that I could subsequently help to cover part of my family's expenses. There are many types of work in Hanoi, but it is difficult to find a job that suits my health condition. Despite of my hard efforts, I have to give up numbers of good job opportunities

And then, I find online sales business fits my needs and health condition.

However, at first, I still need to find a job to gain more experiences and make a living. This online sales business requires me to have a laptop which I have not had yet.

My goal is to have a laptop so that I can use it to start my online sales business. To achieve this goal, I started working in a coffee shop

But, this low-pay job can only cover my rental fees, daily meal expenses and transportation costs.

In the depths of despair, I thought that I have to give up my dream at last.

And then I found my luck when I met Ms. Hanh. Owing to her help, I have a chance to know the respected sponsors even though there are many other unfortunate people who are also in need of assistance.

On behalf of my family, I want to sincerely appreciate for your kindness and love. With your financial assistance, I can finally achieve my dream and my mum can afford selling vegetables to make ends meet. Thank you for buying me a laptop for my online business.

In my last paragraph, I would like to send my most sincere thankfulness and best wishes to you, and Ms Hahn. And all the respected sponsors for your good health, full of happiness and great success in life and career.

Your sincerely, 

Hung

Pham Van Hung

Family near Hanoi being supported by 100 Friends. 100 Friends supports 36 families in partnership with HSCV.

Family near Hanoi being supported by 100 Friends.

Location The family lives in Khanh Thuong commune of Ba Vi, a rural district to the northwest of Hanoi. Originally part of Ha Tay Province, Ba Vi was incorporated by Hanoi in 2008. On the edge of Vietnam’s northern mountainous region, Ba Vi is a blend of 50% mountains and 50% lowlands. Khanh Thuong commune is located in the lower mountainous region. Relatively poor soil quality and erosion issues due to the hilly topography make farming difficult, furthermore many families have to travel several kilometers each day to tend to their crops. Rats are problematic and destroy a high percentage of the crops each year. There is little opportunity for alternative income sources in the area. Due to the remoteness of the area, children have to travel up to 10 km, (6 miles), to attend school. Sponsorship Information Thank you so much for keep helping Duy with scholarship for the last 4 years. Your suport is a great encouragment for the boy and for his family. They are really grateful for your help! Background The parents are both farmers. Their small rice-field can provide food for only one season. To get more food, they grow corn and potatoes. The family of four live in a very small house which is just around 20 m2. It was built in 2006. The furniture inside the house is very old. Sometimes when work is available, the father works at construction sites for extra income. This hard construction work helped him earn $50 per month, but it is also very sporadic – not every month. However, he cannot work too hard since he has problem with the back. Although their life is very hard, the parents are happy with the two young sons. But they are concerned a lot about the school expenses every year when the new school year starts. Updated Information There is no significant chnage in the family situation for the last year. The family is still living in that very old and small house. There are many cracks on the roof that cannot keep the house dry in rainy season. The parents really want to change the roof but right now they cannot afford it yet. The father has herniated disc that makes his back painful and he cannot work. Most of the time he just stays at home and helps his wife taking care of the children. The mother, thus is the breadwinner of the family. Her work is mainly farming. She is also hired to peel off the bark for the carpenter workshop. She earns around 1 million dong per month (approx. $43 USD). The cow that the family bought from the HSCV’s loan produced a calf last year. They sold it for 6 million dong (approx. 260 USD). The burden of the family of 4 is still very heavy on the mother’s shoulders. Sponsorship Availability and History The family was introduced to HSCV since 2012. Manh has received scholarship from HSCV since 2014. Duy has received since 2015. He was also donated with a new bicycle early 2015. You also supported them to buy pomelo trees in 2015. In 2016, the family received a loan from HSCV to buy a cow to the rear and a donation to build a cowshed. If you have any questions or comments, please email our Sponsorship Team at sponsorships@hscv.org

The mother and sons in front of the house Duy

Family Members Name Y.O.B Sex Occupation Gia (father) 1970 M Farmer Hang ( mother) 1980 F Farmer Manh (son) 2007 M Student Grade 5 Duy (son) 2009 M Student Grade 4 Inside the house Manh The mother with the cow and calf

100 Friends helping children and families in collaboration with HSCV (Human Services for Children in Vietnam)

Families being helped by 100 Friends in Vietnam:

I gave $300 to my cousin Melanie to assist a children's library in Bali, Indonesia last June. Here is her report. Well done!

Below are the photos and description of the library in Bali: 

I teamed up with the Bali Children's Project to renovate the children's library in SDN 6 Senganan in Penebel, Tabanan regency. With the donation from 100 Friends, we were able to change the atmosphere of the library from a dull, uninviting room into a very beautiful, comfortable and welcoming space for children and their teachers. The donation funded the painting of a beautiful mural on the library wall and the addition of a large rug and colorful pillows, making it a comfortable space for the children to sit and read.

Interestingly, while the artists were working in the library to create the mural many teachers and children often came to the library. They were so happy knowing that their library would turn into a nice place for them. Once completed, the children and school teachers were so grateful for their new space and excited to have such a bright and inviting place to read, learn and grow.