Our response to COVID-19 in Vietnam
For 25 years, ChildFund has been working in Vietnam to meet the needs of children, youth and families living in some of the most remote communities. Thanks to your faithful support, we have made significant progress through the years, and the community of Cao Bang is getting very close to self-reliance — when they no longer need ChildFund’s support and we can direct your donations to children in communities of greater need.
Despite the successes we’ve seen in Cao Bang, COVID-19 has created new challenges for children and their families. Because of this, we’ve had to change our approach to our work in order to address the global pandemic.
Ensuring pregnant women, new mothers and their babies are safe...
A priority for ChildFund Vietnam is to ensure women have access to quality health services in the area of prenatal, intrapartum and postpartum care. To do this, ChildFund has partnered with the Center for Disease Control’s Department of Reproductive Healthcare to monitor the health and wellbeing of pregnant women and new mothers.
Through household visits, ChildFund (accompanied by a health worker) provided an examination, a review of their records and vital information on how to care for their babies. We also visited local facilities to ensure equipment is in good condition, stored safely, and that medicine is changed before the expiry date.
Helping parents teach their children by establishing at-home learning corners...
In the past, parents did not know how to support their children’s learning when they returned home from school. Now, with even more students learning from home, it’s important that parents can help their children to learn. To do this, ChildFund established learning areas in 185 homes, and have provided parents with instructions on how to learn maths and Vietnamese subjects.
Providing Personal Protective Equipment to vulnerable people across Vietnam...
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, ChildFund Vietnam reached 27,166 children, 2,244 people with disabilities and 5,023 elderly people with personal protective equipment (PPE) and by distributing facemasks, hand sanitizers and reusable water bottles to tens of thousands of children and vulnerable people.
ChildFund also provided PPE to health workers, community health centres and schools across the country.
Improving water, sanitation and hygiene for children and families in Cao Bang...
Before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, ChildFund had prioritised water, sanitation and hygiene in Cao Bang households. Now, hygiene is an even more important topic than ever.
Thanks to the support of child sponsors, five villages have created plans to achieve the highest level of water, sanitation and hygiene practices by December 2022.
Helping children and youth make the most of the online world ...
As more young people start to use the internet for learning and entertainment, it’s critical that they are equipped with information about online risks as well as protective strategies to keep them safe. ChildFund has been working with our partners in Vietnam to implement Swipe Safe, a programme designed to empower young people to make the most of the online world. This project is implemented in 37 schools across Vietnam, including 11 schools in Cao Bang, the area that New Zealanders support.
There are four key objectives to Swipe Safe:
- Young people can identify risks and protective strategies for the online world
- Parents are equipped with knowledge and skills to keep their children safe
- Internet cafes are safe for young people
- Schools are empowered to promote online safety through policy and guidance.
This article was written as part of our 2020 Annual Report. Click here to read the report today!