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History and Background Vietnam Children’s Fund

The Vietnam Children's Fund was founded in 1993 by Kieu Chinh, Vietnamese-American actress, lecturer and philanthropist, Terry Anderson, journalist, Vietnam veteran, author and the late Lewis Burwell Puller, Jr., a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and severely wounded marine in the Vietnam war. Puller believed that in war no one goes unscathed but that children, the most vulnerable of all, suffer the greatest hardships. He felt the Vietnam Children's Fund was a gesture that could not only help close the past but ensure a brighter future for the children of Vietnam. The first school, located on the former demilitarized zone in Quang Trị Province, was dedicated in Puller's name in April 1994, the 20th anniversary of the end of the war.

VCF has now completed 51 schools which serve more than 12,000 children. Many schools are built in the poorest and most remote areas of the country where the need is greatest.

VCF's signature design is a modern two-story facility that provides eight classrooms, a library, electricity, and bathrooms. As the schools are often the newest and most structurally sound buildings in these communities. They are also used for town gatherings and celebrations. In areas prone to flooding, the VCF school may be the only two-story building in a region where villagers can go to escape disaster. Quality control, accountability for funds, sound engineering, and sound design are keystones of VCF activity in Vietnam.

Historically funding has come from individuals, foundations, corporations and the Combined Federal Campaign. Corporate gifts include those from America Online, FedEx, Ace Hardware, Coca-Cola, Citigroup, Conoco, American Eagle Outfitters, GANNET, MCI and Starr Foundation.

VCF’s long standing history of building and handing over high-quality built schools to the Vietnamese people across Vietnam has earned the recognition of the Vietnamese government. VCF’s president Samuel Christopher Russell were conferred by the President of Vietnam Mr. Truong Tan Sang of the highest and most prestigious Presidential Friendship Medal to a foreign person and organization in 2013. The recognition of important contributions by VCF is a testament to the dedication and unwavering support of VCF to the Vietnamese people.

With over 1.6 million babies born in Vietnam each year, the need for new schools could not be met even with the most generous imaginable foreign aid from all countries and World Bank assistance. Thus, funds used by VCF do not duplicate or substitute for any activity of other donors. VCF meets a need that otherwise would simply not be fulfilled.

There have been over 300,000 students at VCF schools in the last 26 years, a number that has far surpassed the initial target attendance of 58,318 children- the number of names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, DC. Our goal for 2021 is to build five schools and increase the number in subsequent years to meet the high education demand across the country.

Future Plans

In 2021 VCF plans to add new programs to help reduce the adverse effects of climate change. The program is called Positive Impact. These new programs will have intertwined activities with existing school building programs that will enable tens of thousands of young children the opportunity to be educated on the impact of climate change at an early age, preparing them for the future where they will likely be responsible for developing climate change solutions.

Vietnam is widely cited as one of the five countries in the world most vulnerable to climate change, because of high population density in lowland river deltas and coastal areas as well as its long coastline and geographic position in relation to cyclones. In addition, industrialization has resulted in the rapid growth of coal powered plants, airlines, shipping lines and many other economic driven operations that generate GHG that has significantly and quickly added to Vietnam’s vulnerability.

VCF is committed to build carbon neutral schools starting with the first school in Cam Ranh Bay in 2021. Our aggressive plan includes having solar panels and other carbon free equipment in all new schools, providing safe and clean environment that enable students to learn from early ages on climate change and work with local authorities to plant as many trees as possible around each school.

In addition to building carbon neutral schools, VCF plans to coordinate and support organizations that provide training programs to educate people in mountainous regions on growing and managing trees. These long-term programs will offer alternative income to eliminate past income from cutting down trees in these hamlets and villages.

We will also work closely with organizations to develop and implement advanced, long term English language programs for the Vietnamese school system .

Furthermore, we also plan to support organizations that deploy programs to help farmers in the Mekong Delta to mitigate the negative impact of climate change as the people in this region have been and will be affected greatly by rising sea levels. We will also support organizations that employ programs that entice farmers in the higher regions to adopt new farming techniques to keep carbon in the soil and not releasing it into the atmosphere.

Conclusion

VCF recognizes that in order to make an impact it is important to be proactive and aggressive in these programs. The fact that the results will be verifiable, quantifiable and offer real carbon offset value to international donors, VCF is in a great position to garner the support from private and public organizations.

With years of management experience, specialty qualifications, strong inter-government relations and international and Vietnam business experience, VCF’s Co-Chairpersons, President, Board of Directors Board of Advisors and Executive Director and a team of competent and dedicated staff provide the combined ingredients for success well into the future.

Binh Nguyen

President

Our Team