The 2017-2018 school year ended May 27th, and children in our three community-based Children’s Homes started their summer holiday during which most will spend some time with their extended-families.
These extended families don’t have the capacity or resources to provide a safe environment to care for the children year-round, but we know it’s essential for the children’s sense of identity and well-being to maintain and support their ongoing connection with their extended family.
In order to prepare for this holiday, annual family meetings were held with the participation of the Board of Management (BOM), the children and their extended-family representatives, Home staff and our YWAM Mercy project officer.
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In the meeting, besides giving an overview of the Children’s Home activities, the specific circumstances, accomplishments and challenges of each child was also addressed by the Home staff.
This year’s study results contained the good news that students in the Homes studying at “good” level increased by two children compared with the same term of the last school year (see table below).
During the meeting, not just adults, but the children also gave their point of view about Home matters. This is the first time children joined the family meeting. We believe that through discussion, all parties listened to each other’s opinion and understood each other better. This increases the solidarity among Home members and also helps the family cooperate effectively with the staff in caring for their children.
We also shared with extended-families our achievements in the last 10 months and our plans for the next 6 months. This is an important time to remind them about keeping children safe during the holiday and how to connect with the Home staff in case of an emergency.
Mr. HUNG, a BOM member, donated rice to support families during the summer holiday to ensure that the children are well fed while away from the Homes.
THANH and his father who is blind, took rice home to their family for the holiday.
The children’s summer holiday break from school is two months long, from June 1st to July 31st, 2018. During this break, we are also arranging a summer camp where we hope to teach the children to swim. The children will all be back at the Children’s Home on Wednesday, August 1st to start the new school year.