Spring Issue XV April 2009

VietHope ~ 423 Brookline Avenue #199 Boston, MA 02215 ~info@VietHope.org ~www.VietHope.org

In This Issue

Word From Board

VietHope Annual Retreat

Letters of Hope

Monitoring and Evaluation/Third Annual Benefit Dinner

Note from Patrick Curley

ietHope

is a non-profitorganization dedicated toVietnam’s socioeconomicdevelopment. We at VietHope believe that the wealth of Vietnam lies in its humancapital and its prosperitydepends on whether weharness this human capital. Assuch, we believe that goodeducation is indispensable toVietnam’s growth and itsfuture.VietHope is a 501(c)3 non- profit. We are a volunteer- based organization with 20active team members.

ContributingWriters:

Patrick CurleyCao Thi HuongAnh LeEoin Matthews Nam Tran NguyenVan NguyenUyen-Khanh Quang-DangQuang Tran

Editor:

Jennifer LouThu Yen Mac

Word from Board

by Nam Tran Nguyen

In February 2009, VietHope ventured to Santa Cruz, California for its 8

annual retreat. In addition tothe team in the U.S., the VietHope team in Vietnam participated in the retreat via conference call. Theconference call enabled both teams to “meet” one another, celebrate our accomplishments, and shareideas and goals for 2009 and the next three years.

The VietHope team is extremely proud of havinghelped more than 2,000 students in Vietnam through investments of more than $200,000 over thepast several years!

In 2008, we continue to improve and expand our programs and lay the foundation for further development:

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Continued project expansions

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University Scholarship Program (USP) = 305 awards

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Merit Scholarship Program (Merit) = 256 awards

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Community Scholarship Program (CSP) = 548 students

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Initiated the Youth Development Program (YDP), a program to help students andyouth in Vietnam develop critical skills and become active in community service

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Raised $50,000+ in 2008, with donor commitments for 2009 of $70,000+, includinga grant from uNAVSA (Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations)In 2009, VietHope intends to continue to build from the improvements achieved in 2008. In particularly,the team is excited to implement our first annual Youth Development Summit this summer as part of our kick-off to the Youth Development Program. The Summit will involve VietHope's UniversityScholars and 10 VSA leaders from the uNAVSA network. The Summit's participants will receivetraining in teambuilding,project management and an opportunity to work on a community service project.Phong Nguyen, VietHope’s Executive Director in Vietnam, continues to lead our extraordinary team of volunteers in Vietnam to expand and improve all aspects of program reach and implementation. In theU.S., we are excited to announce that Van Nguyen has joined the Board of Directors.As VietHope reaches a greater number of deserving students, VietHope will need the continued supportof its current supporters, as well as reaching out to new donors. If you have any ideas to help spread theVietHope word and reach, please contact me directly at nam-tran@viethope.org.Again, thank you to everyone for your support, time and effort. The VietHope team is excited for 2009!

Vietnam VH Team US VH Team

Spring Issue XV April 2009

VietHope ~ 423 Brookline Avenue #199 Boston, MA 02215 ~info@VietHope.org ~www.VietHope.org

VietHope’s 2009 Annual Retreat

by Eoin Matthews & Uyen-Khanh Quang-Dang

The 7th VietHope Annual Retreat took place on the weekend of February 13-16, 2009 in Santa Cruz,California. This event brings the VietHope team members together to review the past year’s progress, plan for the year ahead, and consume enormous amounts of home-cooked Vietnamese food. We werefortunate that 18 colleagues from Boston, Baltimore, New Haven, New York, Michigan, NorthCarolina, Orange County, Los Angeles, and San Francisco were able to attend.At the retreat, each committee presented an analysis of their work in the prior year and successesmeasured by key performance indicators the team had set. Discussions, like in previous years,were engaging and inspiring; VietHope’s affinity for uncovering problems and proposing creativesolutions proved stronger than ever as meetings ran as long as seven hours. Early Sunday morning, theVietHope’s Vietnam Team connected with the US Team via Skype for a four-hour conference call,where many exciting ideas were thrown around for the coming year. The VietHope Annual Retreat gives us a rare chance to celebrate our friendships (new and old) as wellas our 7-year VietHope collaboration. This year’s big news award was reserved for VietHope’sPresident, Nam Tran Nguyen, who will give birth to her first child later this year. Congratulations Nam!In its concluding moments, the team committed to rigorous fundraising efforts in 2009 in the face of amore challenging economy. Perhaps more urgently than ever, we need your support. VietHope willcontinue to make sure that every dollar you donate is used efficiently and effectively to providedeserving students in Vietnam the education that they need. Thank you for being a part of VietHope.

Ways to SupportVietHope

VietHope welcomes anyonewho believes in our mission.There are a number of ways inwhich you can supportVietHope:

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Sponsor a studentthrough one of VietHope’s 3ScholarshipPrograms

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Donate toVietHope’sinfrastructureinvestment program

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Spread awarenessabout VietHopeand VietHope’smission

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Donate time andenergy by becoming aVietHope volunteer

Spring Issue XV April 2009

VietHope ~ 423 Brookline Avenue #199 Boston, MA 02215 ~info@VietHope.org ~www.VietHope.org

Letters of Hope

Cao Thi Huong

Merit Student Graduate Hong Duc University, Thanh Hoa

I will always remember the feeling when mymother told me that I should stop my studies because my family doesn’t have enoughmoney for me to go to high school. It was asummer day a year ago. I cried so much andmy mother also cried – tears of shame because she is not capable of sending me toschool.It ended my hope of attending university.Everyday I watched my friends go to school,then I would cry alone. I couldn’t believemy ears when I heard that my mother saidthat I received a scholarship and wouldreturn to school. My mother held me in her arms and cried, but this time we cried tearsof happiness. I was crazy with happinesswhen I learned that I can continue to carryout my dream.I asked my mother “Who helped our family,mom?” My mother smiled and said to me:“They are angels, my daughter.”

Thanks to you, I can return to school. Thanks to the scholarship, children like me have happyeyes, dreams of a good future, houses withred tile, streets with bright lights.

We havestrength in order to overcome difficulties andwe know that there are kind people besidesus, ready to help us, lead us to a happy life.One year has passed with good results andin my heart I always remember thatassistance. Now in this central area with sunand wind, people smile and communicatetogether about the song of angels. I believe that children like me will promise totry much more in order to repay thatassistance. Finally, I thank vicar for helpingus get this scholarship.

Anh Le

Student Volunteer Northeastern University, Boston

I started volunteering for VietHope in November 2008. VietHope was going tohave a fundraising dinner at Northeastern soI decided to help set up the event. After dinner, the presentation began. The wholeroom was stunned when watching a shortvideo of poor children in Vietnam. Theywere the recipients of the VietHopescholarship program. There were elementary,middle school, high school and collegestudents talking about their dreams and howthe scholarships had helped them take closer steps to achieve those dreams.I could understand their feelings well because I grew up in Vietnam whereeducation is not free. I am fortunate enoughto be able to go to school. Some aren’t. Their parents couldn’t afford the highly cost of education. Some children have to work tohelp their family earn a living. Otherswander on the streets asking for money or even steal food and other stuff from stores.

Watching the video, I realized how meaningful the scholarships are to those financially disadvantaged students.

Ilooked at their smiling faces; I saw hopesand dreams in their eyes. I wanted to dosomething, just anything and everything Icould to help them. And I knew thatvolunteering for VietHope to raise morefunds to provide scholarships and buildinfrastructure in Vietnam would be the bestway to do it.There are not so many volunteers for VietHope right now but each person who hascommitted to it is pouring his/her heart outfor a great cause.

I feel so inspired volunteering with such enthusiastic and passionate people

who try their best to createmore educational opportunities for thechildren, the promising future leaders of adeveloping country.

ScholarshipPrograms

Merit ScholarshipProgram:

Provide access toeducation for poor studentsin rural areas from grade 6-12 ($150/student/year).Merit is a renewalscholarship program where- by scholarships are renewedon a yearly basis untilstudents finish grade 12, or fail to meet VietHopecriteria.

University ScholarshipProgram (USP):

Provideaccess to education for disadvantaged students at theuniversity level($150/student/year). USPaims to develop a network of university students and potential communityleaders. Summer activitiesare organized for USPscholars to engage incommunity serviceactivities.

Community ScholarshipProgram:

Providemonetary support for uniforms and school suppliesfor the least well-off studentsin Vietnam in K-5.