On the beautiful morning of October 26th 2020, the “Seminar for Dynamo Educators Network in Vietnam” was successfully held by The Ho Chi Minh Child Welfare Association (HCWA) and Dynamo International with special sponsorship from Wallonie Bruxelles Delegates (Hanoi). Later that day at 19:00, at the HCWA Office, “Webinar for Dynamo Educators Network in Asia” also took place, to discuss the topic of “Children in the street situation in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic” .
The morning seminar was hosted by Madame Luong Thi Thuan – President of HCWA, and madame Tran Thi Kim – Representative of Dynamo International in Vietnam, with participation from more than 20 eager to learn officers, social workers, educators from a variety of warm shelters and children’s organizations in HCMC, Danang, Can Tho and Phan Thiet. The seminar started with updates on the work being done by The International Dynamo Network, the meeting became a deep discussion between the Vietnamese educators about how Covid-19 had affected the disadvantaged children and their families whilst they shared experiences in order to suggest suitable and widely implementable resolutions.
During the meeting, representatives from the warm shelters pointed out the tremendous impacts Covid-19 has had on children and families, particularly street children. All educators then expressed in specific details how their local units and children have been struggling to cope with the pandemic and still are, some also shared stories of their individual experiences as well as future plans to mitigate the situation and advance the help being offered. With the unpredictableness of Covid-19, it was agreed that internal networking is crucial in order for the members to exchange tips and tricks, as well as helping to actively and effectively plan the right assistance for disadvantaged households and future counteractions against the pandemic. The participants then suggested holding these meetings on a more regular basis during the coming months.
Besides the seminar, Dynamo International also hosted the “Exhibition of photos presenting the street activities of the Dynamo international network” to introduce pictures documenting the activities of educators and street children in Vietnam, as well as around the world.
The evening webinar at The HCWA Office discussed the topic of “Children in the street situation in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic” was conducted by Monsieur Edwin de Boevé – Director of Dynamo International and joined by representatives of Dynamo from all over Asia. The webinar was part of Dynamo’s “Web of the Street” chain of events, which is taking place mainly via online platforms between the 26th to 30th of October 2020, while other activities are being deployed in Brussels. “Web of the Street” aims to promote next year’s “Words of the Street” event which is scheduled to occur from the 18th to 22nd of October 2021.
Dynamo International Network in Vietnam and The HCWA hope through the continuation of these events that the social workers and educators of warm shelters and childrens organizations can relieve themselves of some of the difficulties they are facing at this time thanks to the opportunity to share their experiences and ideas so that they can continue their great work helping street children and families, especially at a time when the Covid-19 situation is still so complicated and unpredictable.
