Children’s Education Foundation • Vietnam
The founder of Children’s Education Foundation (CEF), Linda Burn, first traveled to Vietnam to set up a culinary tour of Vietnamese cuisine. However, when she encountered three young girls who had been abandoned by their parents and were not attending school, she was deeply affected and inspired to take action. She continued to explore the country, traveling through the remote central highlands, listening and learning about the communities’ needs and the services that were lacking. The first project CEF took on was the building and establishment of a medical center in the highlands, offering free medical care to the community in order to improve children’s school attendance in the area. From there, CEF grew to address many issues affecting rural, disadvantaged, and minority communities, but the focus on improving children’s access to education has remained at the very core of their work.
CEF’s mission is to break the cycle of poverty by helping girls from impoverished or marginalized communities access education and training, providing not just the young women, but succeeding generations, with the possibility of a better life. CEF became a U.S. registered charity in 2009 and an Australian registered charity in 2015.
PROGRAM FOCUS
CEF programs include:
- Education Sponsorships & Scholarships: CEF aims to keep girls in school and encourage them to complete their education. The students supported by these programs face major barriers to accessing education; many are orphaned, living in extreme poverty or dealing with other difficult family circumstances.
- Support Services: Additional programs like Food Support, Medical Support, Bikes for School, and Mentoring help students meet their basic needs and allow them to benefit more actively from their educations.
- Education Events & Workshops: CEF runs many educational events and workshops for the community, covering a wide-range of topics, including: Education Against Trafficking & Child Labour, Child Sexual Abuse Prevention, Life Skills, Creative Expression, Water Safety and Female Health & Hygiene.
WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP
CEF has been a partner of GoPhilanthropic since our Co-Founder Lydia Dean first traveled to Vietnam in 2011 in search of organizations working closely at the grassroots addressing critical education needs.
Over the years, the GoPhil community has supported many of CEF’s activities, including:
- Key events and trainings for at-risk children, such as “Girls to Women” female health & hygiene workshops, and Water Safety Days trainings;
- Sponsorships and scholarships for a large number of ethnic minority girls and other disadvantaged children, seeing them through the completion of high school and beyond;
- Establishment of a “Healthy Kids Fund” to support children and/or families with free medical care and medication, so that the children are able to stay in school.
VIDEO: CEF Changing Lives
WHAT MAKES CEF UNIQUE?
CEF goes to great lengths to reach and serve some of the most isolated and vulnerable populations in central Vietnam.
They work closely with ethnic minority groups, including the Hmong people, who lack equal access to education and other basic rights.
The girls in these communities are at high risk of trafficking; improving their access to education, awareness and opportunities is key to preventing their exploitation.
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