Saigonchildren calls for support to help areas hardest hit by Covid-19

Saigonchildren executive director Damien Roberts (2nd L) speaks at the launch ceremony of the charity’s second emergency Covid-19 appeal – PHOTO: MINH TUAN

During the first Covid-19 appeal, which was launched in April, saigonchildren raised over US$400,000 and provided 7,000 relief packages to children from disadvantaged backgrounds in HCMC and five southern provinces comprising Dong Nai, Hau Giang, Tay Ninh, Tien Giang and Tra Vinh.

Despite the incredible success, many children are struggling with access to education. As the economic hardship worsens over time, more families are feeling the pressure and children are being forced to drop out of school to support their households.

Since the second outbreak of Covid-19 first hit the country at the end of July, the tourism sector in Quang Nam Province and Danang City has been heavily affected, with many low-income seasonal workers struggling to find enough economic resources to keep their families fed and educated.

The Danang economy shrank by 3.61% in the first half of this year, its first contraction in the 23 years since it became a centrally administered city. According to the Danang Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, there are some 216,400 uncontracted and freelance workers affected by the pandemic in the city. Over 50,000 people in the city’s poor and near-poor households are among the most affected by social distancing measures and the closure of businesses.

Due to the restrictions currently in place, saigonchildren will partner with local non-governmental organizations and the Union of Friendship Organizations of Quang Nam and Danang to help distribute the support packages comprising food and other necessities.

This second Covid-19 appeal will continue the effective mission of the first – improving food security to alleviate the pressure on families to educate their kids. However, it will additionally be reaching out to children whose households have been impacted by Covid-19 in an attempt to provide more scholarships to deserving and hardworking children.

“We received incredible support from our supporters when we made the first Covid-19 appeal. However, even with our relative success in fundraising, the more we speak with our beneficiaries, the more we understand that there is still a huge amount of work to be done. This pandemic has impacted the jobs of 30.8 million people and the worst affected are women, unskilled and informal workers, whom we support the most,” Damien Roberts, executive director of saigonchildren, said at the launch ceremony.

“Our goal is to always help children access education as best they can, even if at this time it means providing them with basic support so they don’t have to choose between staying in school and having a full belly.” 

Established in 1992 as a UK-registered charity, saigonchildren works exclusively in Vietnam with the mission of removing barriers to education, focusing on school building, scholarships, vocational training and special needs education.

Source: thesaigontimes.vn
Collected by My Nguyen