Aid for Kids

Children Aid for Kids

Improving the Lives of Children Worldwide

A 501 (c) 3 Charity

Inaugural Digital Newsletter
August 2013
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Vietnam Project
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Our Executive Director

We are grateful for your past support and hope you will be able to contribute again to these much needed and exciting projects. Without your donations, we will be less able to help those who depend on us at home and abroad. Every little bit helps.

 

If you have any questions or comments, about Aid for Kids please contact

 

Dawn Degenhardt

Executive Director

Dawn 

207-538-7899 [email protected]

 

Joy Degenhardt

Vietnam Program Director

Joy   

 

207-385-4073

 [email protected]

 

 Featured Article 

 

 Nancy's Reflections and a Call to Action

Nancy 

I am so humbled by the way God has used, is using and will use the good effort we all made to bring something of substance to help an isolated, very poor village in the Mekong Delta region and to bless the family of our daughter, Rachel, who live in this place.

 

 Old Bridge

 

 On June 16th, Father's Day here in America, our family and 17 new friends whom we met just a few days earlier as we began our tour of Vietnam, gathered together on a dock, on the Mekong River, in Soc Trang. We were back! We were going to see Rachel's family again and see the bridge we worked so hard to raise money for to replace a very dangerous monkey bridge for their village. We were back!

  

Leaving Soc Trang 


 

With the help of Thomas, who was responsible for finding Rachel's birth family, he completed a very complicated two day preparation to make it possible to take this large of a group out to see the bridge. Instead of walking the 2-3 km we walked four years ago, this time we would take a very long, narrow motor boat that could hold all twenty one of us either standing or sitting on very small plastic stools in the bottom of the boat, there were no frills on this tour boat. The preparations were still being finalized when we arrived, ready to begin our journey. As a result of the complications we were delayed in leaving. This was a problem because the Mekong River and its tributaries are all affected by the ocean's tides. With that many people on a boat in a small tributary at low tide could present some very serious problems for us to leave the area after the dedication of the bridge.

 

We finally had clearance to board the boat and begin our journey. We began by cruising up the Mekong River, passing river boats and people who I'm sure went home that night talking about the strangest sight they had ever seen of this large group of Americans standing in the bottom of a boat motoring up the river. Our boat driver knew exactly which tributary to turn in to for the second part of our passage. The entrance to the tributary that Rachel's family lives along and the location of the new bridge, was no wider than a back ally in downtown. As we cruised up the tributary, it was a narrow waterway barely wide enough for the boat to navigate up and occasionally dodging fishing nets set on the banks and extending out into the water. The Water Palm trees grew very thick along the banks with their dark brown, very knobby fruit jutting up from the base of each tree. We had to be alert to keep from being hit by the 

 

    READ MORE....

 

Or contact

 

Nancy Schultz  [email protected]

 

Dawn Distributing Scholarships

 

Dawn with Scholarships 

  

Goiter Treatment Needed

Boy with Goiter 

Aid For Kids Supporter  

We're delighted to be able to send you this 
digital version  (first ever) of our most recent Aid for Kids newsletter.  Your prior kind support has assisted our programs in Vietnam, Maine, Lesotho and Florida. A few of these projects are described below. Help us to continue this valuable work.
Vietnam Project Celebrates 20 Year AnniversCam Ranhary and Motherland Tour

It has now been 20 years that Joy and I have been providing aid in Vietnam. The dedication of Rachel's Bridge in Vietnam made this summer's Motherland Tour (Vietnam Bridges Tour) an exceptional experience for all involved. Twenty-two people including Jennifer Sylvester, Joy and I were part of the most exciting Motherland Tour ever. $22,000 was raised for the new concrete bridge, new home for Rachel's birthparents and a small business, plus scholarships to keep 20 children in school. Please go to www.facebook.com/AidForKidsVN where you will read all about it and see amazing photographs. The blog written by Marissa (one of the adoptees on the tour) reads like a novel.

Rachel's Bridge - A Gift to her Biological Family and the Community 
Rachels Bridge
Congratulations to the Schultz family and all of you who contributed to make the dream a reality! This bridge will not only serve the people of the immediate area, but the government has made a commitment to use this bridge as a prototype to replace many "monkey bridges" in the Mekong Delta area. 
Nancy Nancy Schultz - New Western Regional Director

Because of the Schultz's success and Nancy's desire to continue to help the kids in Vietnam, she is now a volunteer as Western Regional Director for Aid for Kids and her assistant will be Diana Knesek. They will be helping to raise funds for Medical Mission Trips and Scholarships. 

Autism Education Project

2013 has been an amazing year as we have seen the initiation of the Autism Education Project, at the Tu Xuong Rehabilitation Center in Ho Chi Minh City flourish. This project began under the direction of Duy Lyford, (an adoptee). On our visit there, it was amazing to see how much the kids were learning. Over the course of the past 8 months we have seen great strides in the development of the content and supporting materials. We invite you to join us as we endeavor to continue and develop this special project into the future.

 

Support the Autism Education Project today by participating in our funding efforts of raising $10,000 for the future. Your support will help keep the project into the future.

 

The Autism Education Project has been working closely with Tu Xuong Rehabilitation Center, a center for children affected by various disorders. Our initial step has been to educate the staff and enhance the knowledge of these future trainers. We have worked to shape and organize the center into a facility that is now more prepared to receive further assistance. We have developed guidelines, sample materials, and foundational structures that are poised to take the project to greater heights. As the first stage is drawing to an end we need your support to keep this project moving forward. Later we will train the staff to work directly with the children and also hold workshops for families within the community to come to the center for educational training. This program will be a model program under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).

 

You can support us by donating $15 dollars Please select this link. 

  

AFK Video Projects

     Autism Education Video

 

To see a video of how the Autism Project is making a difference in the lives of Vietnamese children, select this link.

 

Cam Ranh Education ProjectJoy at Cam Ranh  
We have a newly completed building for the computer program at the Cam Ranh Education Village. We are in need of lap top computers and touch pads. Currently there are 40 students in our English program who will go into the computer program once it is developed. After the opening ceremony of the new building, we announced and presented gifts to the top 6 students and provided scholarships to everyone. The next phase will be a third building for the culinary program. Our goal is to provide sponsorships of $25 per month to all our students to complete the program. With tourism developing in Cam Ranh, it is a necessity for these children to learn conversational English, computers and cooking skills so that they can become self-sufficient. We are always looking for volunteers in this program!  
Community Library at Cam Ranh Education Village  

 

Cam Ranh ChildrenThe Cam Ranh Education Village is located in a remote rural area of Vietnam with few community resources, Aid for Kids wishes to create a community library at the Cam Ranh Education Village which would provide a much needed opportunity for students to improve their English skills by initiating self- directed study. The students would be able to extend their reading skills, as well as develop their listening and comprehension skills by engaging with music & movies.

  

Wish List for Cam Ranh Education Village

  • TV - flat screen
  • Ipads
  • CD/DVD Player
  • English books
  • English - Vietnamese - English dictionaries
  • DVD movies - with English subtitle option would assist their learning
  • CDs with easy to sing children's songs
 Aid for Kids are seeking donations of books, DVDs and CDs that are appropriate for English learning for the age groups of the centre's students (5-10 yrs and 11-16yrs ). Email Joy if you can help!
Dental/Medical Missions in Vietnam Dental Mission

This summer we have had 3 dental missions coming to the Mekong Delta to provide free dental care from Glasgow University of Scotland, Dundee and Leeds University from the United Kingdom. In December, there will be a medical/dental team of 20 from NOVA Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and 10 from Argosy University in Eagan, Minnesota. 

 

To see the awesome work done by the Medical Mission from Nova, please select this link.

 The "Other Maine" Project Distributes Over $1.5 million in MerchandiseOther Maine Distribution Center

The "Other Maine" Project continues to grow and flourish under the direction of experienced volunteer Dannette Ellis. With the donation of a Distribution Center last November, we are now able to receive, store and distribute large quantities of new merchandise to those in need. Already this Danetteyear, we have received 6,500 warm coats, 20,000 diapers, 5,000 Scholastic books, thousands of Skechers Crocs and dozens of pallets of clothing from Nike, Oshkosh, and Carters along with household items and personal care products, etc. These goods are distributed free to low-to-moderate income families, the homeless and others in need through our volunteers or via our 85 non-profit Distribution Partners throughout Maine. To date, we have distributed over $1.5 million worth of merchandise.  Our goal this year is to raise the funds through grants and private donations to renovate the Distribution Center building. Already we have raised partial funding to replace windows, doors and lights with energy-efficient ones, put in a different heating system, insulation and other "green" alterations to help the environment, render it more usable, and become economically efficient. Read more about the Other Maine Project  

 Lesotha - Africa Celebrates 5 Year Anniversary

In Lesotho, Africa, The M.O.S.A. ProjecLesothot is celebrating its 5th anniversary. Belinda Collias, the founder and director, graduated from medical school in May and received a grant to provide medical services in Lesotho this summer. They continue to increase the number of students sponsored. Please visit www.mosalesotho.org for further information.

My Choice Building
My Choice (Sarasota) Expands Services

The My Choice Program in Sarasota, Florida has expanded with more services to the 15 to 20 new clients (pregnant and parenting young women) each month. The "Angels Among Us" thrift store that helps support the program, directed by Cheryl Huston, has expanded as well. The building they have been renting can now be purchased by them for less than half the value, and the goal this year is to raise funds to purchase it. The strategic location of this building cannot be overstated. It is adjacent to one of the poorest sections of Sarasota and five universities.

 Pay It Forward

If you've enjoyed reviewing this program update, please consider forwarding this newsletter to your friends and ask them to support Aid For Kids. To add a friend to our mailing list, or to send us a name or email change, simply  email us at [email protected].