Viet Nam

Global Community Service Foundation has been providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Viet Nam for more than a decade. Our projects began small—providing a water buffalo to a rural village, helping build a well to access safe water and donating computer equipment to a local school.

We have taken major steps in the past few years to make a more substantial impact in Viet Nam communities. Some of our latest programs include:

Education: Bikes for Children

In July 2008, a dozen Vietnamese-American children and young adults led by Global Community Service Foundation Board member Phu Ngoc Nguyen donated more than 200 bicycles to children in Dong Nai Province.

In rural regions of Viet Nam children with bicycles can travel six to 10 kilometers to attend school—without a bike it would be impossible for these youngsters to get an education. Youngsters also use their bicycles to travel to more populated towns and tourist areas to sell lottery tickets, postcards and books in order to supplement their family’s income.

GCSF, Vietnamese-American families and business, and other nongovernmental organizations that conduct humanitarian work in Viet Nam donated $15,500 to purchase the bikes. The project was a collaborative effort with the Dong Nai Newspaper, Thien Ha Services Trade Co., Ltd. and Vy Phuong Trade & Services Co., Ltd.

Self-Reliance: Wheel Chairs for the Disabled

Global Community Service Foundation teamed up with another nongovernmental organization, Free Wheelchair Mission, and the Dong Nai News in April 2008 to provide 550 wheel chairs to disabled adults and children in central and southern Viet Nam. The need for wheel chairs is urgent in Viet Nam, which has more than five million physically disabled people—many of whom were injured by a landmine or unexploded ordnance.

This essential means of personal mobility improves the recipients’ quality of life and that of their families. Without these wheel chairs the recipients would continue to struggle to get around and to contribute an income to their families. The wheel chairs were donated to disabled individuals living throughout central and southern Viet Nam—ranging from major cities to the country’s rural areas.

When the wheelchairs arrived from the U.S. they were assembled and distributed by volunteers from Thien Ha Services Trade Co., Ltd. and Vy Phuong Trade & Services Co., Ltd. In all, GCSF and Free Wheelchair Mission have donated 1,650 wheelchairs in Viet Nam since 2006.

Health Care: Joint Medical and Dental Mission

Global Community Service Foundation teamed with Journey For Children in January 2008 for a dental and health care mission to Viet Nam. U.S. and Vietnamese volunteer dentists and doctors provide free dental care and presented educational workshops to HIV/AIDS victims, the blind and disabled, ethnic minorities and disadvantaged youth. The special mission benefited more than 1,200 children and 400 women at five of our community-development projects in south and central Viet Nam.

The six-day dental mission began in Ho Chi Minh City where more than 20 health care professionals provided primary care treatments to HIV/AIDS patients. Next the team traveled to Quang Tri Province where it delivered dental care and basic health and hygiene education to children at the Le Mon pre- and primary schools; the Blind and Disabled School in Dong Ha; the Van Kieu ethnic minority group in Spanr Village; and the Pa Co minority group in the A Deng Village.

Colgate Palmolive Viet Nam provided dental and health care supplies and educational materials, including 1,800 Colgate toothbrushes, 1,728 tubes of Colgate toothpaste and 864 bars of Palmolive Natural soap as well as dental care videos and posters for five facilities.

Essential Needs:

In December 2008, Global Community Service Foundation hosted a World Aids Day 2008 event in Washington, D.C. to support the Mai Tam Center in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. The center assists and cares for mothers and children living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.

Since 2005 the Mai Tam Center has aided more than 300 mothers and their children and reunited more than 60 families. The center, with assistance from Global Community Service Foundation, provides food, shelter and care to 25 mothers and more than 50 children at a time in a “family-like” atmosphere. The funds raised at the event helped the center expand its services.

Miss Viet Nam 2006 Mai Phuong Thuy, a spokesperson for her country’s children and adults affected by HIV/AIDS, traveled to the United States for the event.