Riding into the future

How has owning a bicycle changed your life?

Stop to answer this question and you will find yourself with a list as long as your arm. Riding with friends? Riding to the shops? Riding away from trouble? Riding to school? Remember the amazingly unstable jump that you and your friends set up in the street? Having your friends dare you to speed towards that thing was an important moment in so many of our lives but clearing the jump and landing safely defined us.  These kinds of acts build the confidence that we carry through to our adult life. And those memories of a childhood well-spent stay with us forever.

As a part of our OneVietnam Matching Grant Challenge, we’re highlighting the importance of the bicycle for young children living in Vietnam. Last week we discussed the ways that owning a bicycle changes lives.  The Nguyen family can attest; sons Tai and Vinh no longer have to walk miles and miles just to reach the front door of their school. Instead, they fly through the countryside, cheeky smiles intact. Like us, they’re confidence is blooming; their bicycle has changed their lives.

There are many more families who could use a life-changing gift. We’d like to help them keep their children in school. We’d like to help them perform basic tasks and be able to travel greater distances when emergencies arise.

This month, One Vietnam have challenged us to raise $2500 in contributions to be matched by an anonymous donor and this week we’d like to throw the challenge over to you. We’re going to introduce three families in this post; we hope that you can spare a small contribution today.

Linh and Chien Nguyen have three children. All three of their children are excellent students and diligently study to excel at school. Their eldest daughter, Quynh has already received a biology incentive award. Linh suffers from a chronic lung disease, forcing Chien to be the sole breadwinner for the family.  The children often borrow notebooks and textbooks to complete their assignments, as their parent cannot spare money to cover these expenses. A bicycle would go change their lives and the lives of their three children and drastically improve transport for the family.

Huong and Loc are extremely dutiful children. Huong helps her mother, Ly, make brooms to sell at the local market while continuing to study in middle school.  The family live away from the main road and a trip to school is particularly long and bumpy. Despite challenges involved in getting to school, both Huong and Loc never miss class.

Thi Nguyen lives in the district of Ky Son. She is an only parent raising her son, Manh, despite having suffered terrible leg injuries in a motorcycle accident. Manh is an excellent student. He realizes the potential that good schooling could bring for his and his mother’s future. Additionally, Manh is a local soccer star, with the potential of playing professionally when he is older. A bicycle would contribute considerably to his means of getting to school and to soccer practice.

All three of our families would benefit immensely from your help today. A bicycle contribution costs $70 and will help set these students on the right path to achieving their dreams. You can contribute as much or as little as you want—a single dollar will help us reach our goal-- and anything contributed in the next two weeks on our OneVietnam page (www.onevietnam.org/hscv) will be doubled up to $2500. Something as simple as bicycle can change a life. It helped change yours and mine, so let’s work together to share with these families today. 

The Power of Two Wheels

Remember when you were younger and owning a bicycle was so important? Sure, walking was possible but what about the things you could do on two wheels?

You could ride further on a bicycle, and go faster.  You could race your friends, outrun your friends, or transport your friends. You could deck your bicycle out in fancy colors; attach stunt pegs, beads, or a basket. For many of us, the bicycle helped define our childhood.

As a part of our OneVietnam Matching Challenge, we’re highlighting the importance of the bicycle in rural Vietnam.  For many, the bicycle is more than a toy; it’s an essential tool.

And what an important tool!

Think of any job that requires you transport anything, anywhere. It might be a mattress, the groceries, a bag of clothes, or your children. Whatever it is can be easily placed in the back of your car (secure behind a seatbelt in the case of your children!).

For the Nguyen family living in Ba Vi, these chores and more are performed on the back of their trusty bicycle. They’re able to bring heavy sacks of vegetables home from the markets and transport their crop of rice to be sold. Even unlikely items such as furniture can be strapped to the bicycle and walked along the side of the road.

Most importantly, Sons Tai and Vinh are able to ride to school, one peddling furiously, and the other balancing delicately on the handlebars. For children living in rural areas of Vietnam, this is a huge advantage. Young students may be required to walk hours just to reach the nearest school. Considering that they may also be malnourished, this is a huge drain of energy before they have even stepped foot inside the classroom. Having to make this kind of journey every morning further stacks the odds against children staying in school while, as we all know, a bicycle can cut a two hour walking into a half hour ride.

Simply put, a bicycle makes all of the difference.

It is no surprise that we incorporate bicycles into our HSCV programs. Our mission is to offer children a chance at a better future and we’d like to equip them well for the journey. By contributing a bicycle to a family you are helping us make a better future possible and you’re creating smiles today. Our bicycles are solid, reliable, and last forever. This gift will continue to give for years to come.

We have a long waiting list of families who would benefit from a bicycle, including the Nguyen family. Their daughter Mai is in Grade 6, and a math whiz. Her brother Hong Son, has a heart condition. A bicycle would make it easier for her to get to school, and easier to transport Hong Son to the hospital.

A bicycle contribution costs $70. Thanks to our OneVietnam Matching Grant Challenge, a contribution made for $70 would automatically be doubled. The math is simple! One contribution equals two bicycles and two sets of families enjoying the benefits. Now is the time to make the difference for these families and give the gift a bicycle. Please drop by our page at www.onevietnam.org/HSCV today and help us create better lives and more smiles!

Second Chance at $2,500 in Matching Funds

Want to hear an inspiring story?

                Thuong is a fourth year university student in Hanoi. He is 22 years-old and has his entire life ahead of him. He loves his classmates and his degree.  He is this close realizing a dream of a professional career and the chance to help his family out of the desperate poverty they have lived in for generations.

                Only money stands between Thuong and the end of his degree.

                Like many of us around the world, Thuong’s family have scrimped and saved for his education.  His parents have sacrificed all they have, knowing, and hoping, that Thuong’s education will free him from a life spent in the fields struggling for wages to stay afloat. They have borrowed money from the banks, friends and neighbors, and anywhere else they can. They have sold most of what they have except for a buffalo, a pig and a bicycle, elements essential to their survival. Theirs is an all or nothing gamble and they are facing the possibility of coming up short.

This a simple story of everyday inspiration.  It is the story of a boy growing up in poverty and a family doing everything in their power to help him escape the chains. Thuong is studying hard and looking to succeed.

                Right now, you have the chance to be a part of his story.

                To help young men and women like Thuong overcome their financial burdens and achieve their dreams, an anonymous Matching Grant of $2500 has been donated to Humanitarian Services for Children of Vietnam (HSCV). We have 4 weeks to meet this latest challenge on OneVietnam. In our last challenge, we shared the stories of Manh and Dinh. Thanks to your contributions, we have been able to provide them and other young girls and boys with sponsorships. Now we’re looking to provide assistance to those who are closer to the finish line. Like Thuong, they’re hungry to achieve the level of education they need to make a real difference in the world.

                By contributing towards an HSCV Post-High School Scholarship, you’ll be helping these young men and women change their own world. It costs just $250 per year to assist a student through university, college of vocational training for their choice and the returns will be numerous. They’ll be able to find the jobs they need to repay their family’s debts. With their completed degree they’ll contribute back to their communities by creating business, contributing social aid, and expertise in several other fields. In fact, there is no limit to success they might achieve, if they are given the chance. Your investment just might yield the thinkers and leaders of the future.

                For more information, please visit OneVietnam.org/HSCV. Contributions can be made for as little as a $1 towards a program of your choice. A full $250 contribution will provide a sponsorship to help a student like Thuong become the story that he imagines.

$2,500 Matching Grant Challage - OneVietnam

First of all, thank-you. If you’re reading this post, you may have already donated to HSCV, perhaps even in one of our recent campaigns. You may also have taken the time to read our posts and meet some of the families that benefit from our rice programs or from or scholarships.

Your contribution is vital to us at HSCV. Times are tough around the world and we appreciate that the decision to dedicate your hard-earned money towards somebody’s life is not always simple. Yet, for the families that you’re helping, the consequences are almost always simple. Beyond, changing lives in practical, financial terms, you’re reaching out a hand to a fellow human being and saying, “I want to help you reach your potential.”

With your assistance, we’ve already been able to help so many families reach their potential, through rice programs, scholarships, bicycles and surgery. You helped us help the Nguyen family pay for their son, Vinh’s, medical bills. You made it possible for the Ngo family to keep Duc and Hanh in school; the ultimate investment in future.

Today, we’re writing about the possibility of potential. Through our association with OneVietnam, we’ve been offered an amazing opportunity to help our donors ensure that their dollar reaches its full potential, by offering a matching grant that is worth $2500. This means that for every dollar that you invest in a child’s future, another dollar will be contributed through OneVietnam, https://onevietnam.org/hscv

We don’t receive these opportunities often and we’re hoping to make the most of this one. Our staff are busy contacting donors and spreading the message. We’ll be introducing some more families through this blog and across our social media platforms. We’re excited to take full advantage of our matching grant opportunity and we hope that you are as well.

So, please take a moment to consider contributing to HSCV over the holidays. Anything that you give to the OneVietnam campaign will be doubled, up to $2500. If you have already contributed, or are unable to contribute, help us by spreading the campaign across OneVietnam, Facebook and email. Posting our link may only take you a moment but the extra exposure is very important to us; it helps us to reach our potential and for that, we’re grateful.  

Thanks for reading and “Happy Holidays!”

A chance to stay in school

Happy Give to the Max Day! Over the last two days, we have introduced families that have been transformed in some way through the generosity of our donors. With your help, Tu and Nga Nguyen can consider a life where their son Vinh receives the basic medical attention needed to survive. Thanks to a rice sponsorship, Hai Nguyen can continue to keep her son Ninh in school, increasing his chances of finding a job that will sustain help him break the poverty cycle for his family. While these opportunities are made possible through HSCV general funds, our today’s family demonstrates why it is so important for us to raise funds for the Rice Sponsorship Program during Give to the Max Day.

The Ngo family exemplifies the Vietnamese spirit of family sacrifice. Bang Ngo is single mother suffering from intellectual difficulties. She takes advantage of whatever work is available to earn money for her children, Kanh, Duc and Hanh, but the jobs are not stable and the $1 per day wage is not nearly enough to support four people. The family’s dire situation has forced son Khanh out of school. He offers himself as a free laborer but with no schooling and no skills, work is hard to come by. Since his father died, Kanh will do whatever it takes to keep the family stay afloat and to keep the two youngest children in school. When HSCV first met the Ngo’s, they were living close to the village garbage dump with limited possessions and very limited prospects.   

Since meeting the family in 2007, HSCV has been able to supplement the family with a rice sponsorship from our general funds and the impact has been amazing. Thanks to the stability of a square meal, Duc and Hanh have been able to stay in school to date. The future of this family and many others like it rest with the children. We consider education to be an essential right of passage for our children; for the Ngo family it is the very definition of bettering your future.

In order to continue sponsoring the family, HSCV needs to find funds for our rice program and this is why your contribution during the Max day means so much to us. Through your donations, the Ngo family and many others like them will be able to concentrate on the job of getting ahead. There are many of us out there, battlers, who understand the importance of an occasional lucky break. This Give to the Max Day, be the one to provide that lucky break for a deserving family! Thanks for your time, encouraging thoughts and support!

Visit http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Suppport-Families-On-Give-To-The-Max-Day to schedule your donation. Please contact Annetta De Vet at Annettadevet(AT)hscv.org.