The Mission

Beginning late this summer, volunteers are mobilizing to travel to the orphanage where thirty Vietnamese orphans are living. Most of the children have been living in the Bac Lieu Child Care Centre since they were newborns and are now quickly approaching their second birthdays. This is a critical time period in a child's development. Studies have shown that children living with little stimulation in institutional settings often suffer substantial and widespread developmental delays, including physical and motor delay, cognitive impairment, and delayed language development. The rule of thumb, in fact, is that children typically lose one month of developmental skills for every three months they live in an institution.

Pairs of volunteers, including unemployed college graduates, hopeful adoptive parents and hopeful adoptive grandparents will take turns traveling to the orphanage. The volunteers will be purchasing fresh food at the local market to supplement the rice porridge the children eat now. The volunteers will work with the children to introduce them to solid food and help them develop chewing skills. It is expected that the introduction of solid food will also help with the slow growth seen in all the children.

The volunteers will also bring simple learning toys to use in interacting with all the children. They will participate in activities to build and develop their fine motor skills. Currently, the children are not permitted to have toys out on the floor, so this will be an important and exciting experience for them.