On 8 May 2020, HCMC Child Welfare Association (HCWA) held two meetings with the People’s Committee of District 8 and Binh Chanh District with the aim of implementing the cooperation agreement project titled “Prevention and Protection of Child abuse in HCMC, Vietnam” which is sponsored by the Danish Vietnamese Association (DVA).
Participants of the meeting include: Madame Thuan – Chairperson of HCWA and also the project chairman; project management officers of HCWA; Sub-DOLISA of District 8 and Binh Chanh District; Vice Presidents in charge of culture and society from 2 districts, child social officers and collaborators in the area. The conference focused on the implementation of the cooperation agreement, and the notification of activities and indicators that have been adjusted in accordance with cooperation agreement. All of which aim to provide emergency support for disadvantaged children and their families, who are heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The HCWA also briefly informed participants of a number of activities the project have carried out, as well as discussing the main activities to be implemented in the near future.
Specifically, during the (9 am – 11 am) meeting on May 8, the HCWA together with authorities from Binh Chanh District People’s Committee put emphasis on organizing a workshop based on the prevention of labor abuse and domestic violence in 2020 as well as supporting officials of the two communes in helping to prioritise the project’s activities. The People’s Committee of Binh Chanh District also made a commitment to work closely with the HCWA in terms of caring for children and working to meet the project targets. During the (2 pm – 4 pm) meeting on the same day, the HCWA and authorities from District 8 People’s Committee and Sub-DOLISA of District 8 also made a commitment to strive and thrive together, as well agreeing upon flexible directions in which the work can be carried out in order to best support those the project is aimed at helping.
In order to prepare for the next steps the HCWA together with the People’s Committee and the Sub-DOLISA of both District 8 and Binh Chanh District agreed to work quickly in order to set up a project coordination board in each district to help solve the immediate problems and ensure the plan is carried out on schedule, all with the aim of building a safe environment for disadvantaged children in the 2 project areas.
The event was also an occasion for the project to hand out 30 support scholarships (each with a value of 1.7 million VND) and 400 special gifts (each with a value of 300 thousand VND), including necessities such as masks, hand sanitizer, etc. The items were purchased with funding from the DVA along with milk sponsored by the Nutifood Dairy Company). These small presents have provided encouragement and timely support for disadvantaged children and their families before children return to school after a long break due to Covid-19.
After a successful start the“Prevention and Protection of Child abuse in HCMC, Vietnam” project is hopeful to continue the success of previous projects in regards to nurturing the dreams of young children and enabling them to access the right tools to build a better future for themselves.
