Sponsorship Proposal to World Airlines Clubs Association

Sponsorship Proposal to World Airlines Clubs Association

What is Blue Dragon Children s Foundation? Blue Dragon Children's Foundation is a grassroots charity reaching out to kids in crisis throughout Vietnam since 2003. Blue Dragon children are street kids, children with disabilities and children who are at risk or have been victims of human trafficking. Blue Dragon s dedicated staff of 70 support over 1,200 of the most vulnerable girls and boys in Vietnam. The majority of Blue Dragon s beneficiaries are from rural Vietnam: street children who have run from extreme poverty and complex social problems in the countryside; ethnic minority girls and women sold from remote border provinces to China; children trafficked internally for labour exploitation in appalling conditions. In Hanoi, the Blue Dragon team works on the frontline with children in crisis. We provide nutrition, health care, counselling, activities, safe shelter, legal support, and opportunities for education and training. Our social workers, teachers, lawyers and psychologists currently provide direct support to 209 children in Hanoi and many of their families, including 48 children with disabilities. Our individual planning approach means that we set unique, personalised goals for each and every child, seeking to break the poverty cycle one family at a time. We are focused on change and innovation, not just welfare. From initially working directly with street children, Blue Dragon has expanded its work to meet the needs of other children in crisis, including children working in conditions of slavery in remote farms/gold mines/sweat shops/brothels. More recently, since 2010, Blue Dragon has been called to rescue girls and young women trafficked for forced sex work and forced marriage in China. It is the only non-government organisation in Vietnam which conducts rescues of children from their places of slavery. Blue Dragon has already conducted more than 486 rescues. Blue Dragon's mission is to provide opportunities and tools that empower the most disadvantaged children and their families to break out of poverty, forever. What are Blue Dragon s Programmes? Step Ahead: Blue Dragon s Step Ahead team is the first contact for children in crisis in Hanoi. Step Ahead supports street children, children from very poor families and children with disabilities through its Drop-in Centre, shelters, Learning Centre, Tertiary Program and Careers Preparation Program. The Step Ahead team also works to build capacity of its local government partner, Hanoi

Relief Association for Handicapped Children (HARAHAC), and university staff responsible for training the next generation of social workers, as well as provide training to social work students through its growing internship program. Safe and Sound Hue (SAS Hue) and Safe and Sound DB (SAS DB): SAS Hue and SAS DB are Blue Dragon s anti-trafficking programs. Both SAS hue and SAS Dien Bien run preventative programs in order to reduce vulnerability to trafficking. The programs support trafficked children and those at-risk of trafficking to attend school or vocational training to obtain legal registration papers. Access to education, livelihood opportunities and legal identities improve the condition of communities who are vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation. The team also works to build capacity among duty bearers (including government officials, police, community leaders and schools) in order that they develop the tools needed to build long-term resilience to trafficking in their communities. Project X: Based in Hanoi, Project X provides psycho-social counselling to girls and young women who have been rescued from brothels and forced marriages in China. The program provides emergency and ongoing social support to survivors building new lives through education, employment or vocational training. In addition, Project X s psychologist provides a unique high-level support service to help address the extreme trauma and associated mental health problems, including depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder, commonly experienced as result of trafficking. Stay in School: Stay in School supports 400 rural students from Bac Ninh province who are in school but are at high risk of dropping out unless they receive financial support. Staying in school reduces a child s vulnerability to exploitation, including trafficking and child labour. Students in Bac Ninh receive financial support for school fees, insurance, uniforms and textbooks. The Bac Ninh area is now more prosperous than it once was and this program is therefore being phased out. Legal: Blue Dragon provides a unique legal advice service to child in crisis in Vietnam. This includes representing children who have been subject to exploitation or abuse, and children who are in conflict with the law. The team also works to provide children and their families with legal registration papers, which enable people to access vital services such as education and healthcare, and reduce vulnerability to trafficking and exploitation. Access to justice empowers individuals to be assertive decision makers and participate fully in their communities.

In addition, the legal team engages in advocacy work, most recently around the revision of the Penal Code in which we are calling for gender equality in the laws on child sexual exploitation and trafficking. We have also worked with parents to provide feedback into the recent National Plan of Action III on Trafficking 2016 2020. We work with government at all levels, from the commune to national level, to advocate for stronger protections for those vulnerable to exploitation, trafficking and abuse. The Legal team also coordinates the rescues of children and young people from trafficking, and works closely with SAS Hue and SAS DB to repatriate survivors and on anti-trafficking activities. To date, the legal team has rescued 486 victims of human trafficking. 370 children were rescued from child labour: the youngest was 11 years old 116 young women were rescued from forced marriage or brothels: the youngest girl was 7 when she was trafficked Assisted in the return of an additional 241 people after rescues by police Impacted on at least 167,000 community members via prosecutions, education and workshops Proposal for Sponsorship Donors from around the world provide sponsorship support for Blue Dragon children so that they can stay in school. Blue Dragon assists over 1100 children and donors provide the much needed funding to ensure that these vulnerable children receive an education. Three students, whose profiles are provided below, are proposed for sponsorship support by WACA. These students come from poor households with families who are unable to put them through school. The sponsorship from WACA will pay for their school fees to enable them to continue with their education. All three students, whose profiles are provided below, are conscientious and determined to complete their schooling.

Name of Student: THẮNG Year of Birth: 1999 School: Grade 8 Background: Thang is now living with his grandmother, aunt and older sister. We found him living on the streets in Hanoi and helped him to find his grandmother so that he could move back to live with his family in his hometown. Thang s parents did not have any paperwork to show that they are married. After Thang was born in 1999, Thang s father changed. He always hit Thang s mother and gambled heavily. This led to their separation, with Thang remaining with his father, and his mother taking his older sister away. There was no contact between Thang and his mother for a long time. It was difficult for Thang because he was not given the care he needed his father always returned home late at night and in a drunken state. Thang ran away from home when he was 7 when his father did not return for some days.

Our staff found him in a bus station in Hanoi and brought him back to Hai Phong to find his relatives. Having run away while he was still young, and living on the streets for so many years, he could not remember his home address. It was with a lot of difficulty and hours of searching that Blue Dragon staff finally located his grandmother and older sister. With some counselling, Thang agreed to return to school. Although he returned as an older student, he tried very hard to catch up with his classmates. He even managed to study 2 grades in 1 year with good results. His efforts resulted in him receiving a letter of commendation from the Department of Education and Training in Hai Phong. His grandmother is now weak and elderly. She receives a small allowance from The Le Chan Ward which is given to poor families. His aunt is an ordinary worker who earns a basic salary. Their combined income is insufficient to meet the needs of this family. Thang is now studying in Grade 8 at Nguyen Ba Ngoc School where he is one of the top 10 students of his school. He has been given a prize of a bicycle by the school in October 2015. He is very committed to his studies and aims to be a police officer.

Name of Name Student: Thuong Year of Birth: 2003 School: Grade 7 Background: Thuong has been supported by Blue Dragon since 2011. She comes from a poor family, and there is very little information regarding her mother. Thuong was abandoned in a kindergarten when she was a one year old baby by her mother, who disappeared from Thuong s life after that. Family sources indicate that Thuong s mother was a sex worker. They have tried to look for her, but have been unsuccessful in establishing any contact. The babysitter in the kindergarten decided take care of Thuong for a little while, and then passed her back to her grandmother who is now old and unable to work. They were in great financial difficulty, and Thuong faced the prospect of dropping out of school. They live in a small rented room in Long

Bien slum in Hanoi. That was how our staff encountered them, as the slum area falls in the neighbourhood of Blue Dragon. When we met Thuong, she was studying Grade 3 in Thuong Thanh primary school. Currently, Thuong is studying Grade 7 in Thuong Thanh Secondary School. Thuong has always tried her best to maintain good academic results over the years. Her dream is to become a teacher to help poor students like her.

Name of Student: Tuyen Year of Birth: 2001 School: Grade 5 Background: Tuyen was living with his mother and stepfather who was a shoe seller on the streets. The financial situation of the family was difficult, and his stepfather would beat both Tuyen and his mother regularly. They lived in a tiny room in Long Bien slum and at that time, his school fees were paid for by a youth NGO in Hanoi. However, with the situation at home becoming unbearable with his stepfather s beatings, Tuyen urged his mother to run away and take him with her. She refused to do so, and so Tuyen decided to run away by himself. Fortunately for him, he only lived on the streets for a few days before Blue Dragon s outreach worker found him, and brought him to Dragon House. Following an investigation of his background, and determining that it was not possible to send him back to live in an abusive situation, Tuyen was then placed in our Shelter. Blue Dragon has since helped Tuyen to obtain his birth certificate and placed him in a better school.

Tuyen is a disciplined and hardworking boy. He is always helping other children. His goal is to study well and gain admission to a university. He has ambitions of becoming a doctor or a pilot.