Orphans into loving families in Vietnam

COVID-19 has devastated the lives of thousands of children across Vietnam, such as those of two siblings aged 13 and 6, as reported in an article written by VN Express International. Last year, both their father and mother died of COVID. As their sole living relatives, their grandparents had to move the children from Ho Chi Min City to their village in Dong Nai Province. There are similar stories right across the country.

According to Imperial College London, so far 9,600 children have lost one or both parents to COVID. According to government reports, some 1,500 children have been orphaned by COVID in Ho Chi Minh City alone.

Therefore, the government’s guidance to prioritize family-based alternative care within communities for children orphaned by COVID-19 is extremely welcomed. This is a timely decision to ensure that children deprived of parental care due to COVID-19 receive the love, care and support they need to overcome this incredibly challenging and difficult period, be it through their extended family or foster care.

This is why Care for Children’s work in Vietnam is crucially important. This year Care for Children will complete the pilot stage of the project, including the placement of the first group of children into foster families. This will ensure the project can move to the next stage, whereby Care for Children will roll out its training programme across the country – impacting a whole nation.

This pandemic reminds us all that children are far better off in safe, secure and loving family environments. Thank you for your support and staying connected to our work.

Care for Children has now completed its training programme for the staff of two orphanages (Hanoi and Thái Nguyên) in Vietnam - giving key personnel the knowledge and skills needed to set up and run a foster care programme. Once COVID restrictions allow, Care for Children’s training team - based in Hanoi - will start providing twice monthly on-site coaching to walk the new foster care teams through their first family placements.

This could not come at a better time. The current pandemic has the potential to vastly swell the amount of children inhabiting the country’s orphanages. According to government reports, some 1,500 children have been orphaned by COVID in Ho Chi Minh City alone. For those who cannot be placed with their extended family, it is our hope that they can be placed with local foster families instead of being referred to government orphanages. 

This is the case in Thailand where we have been training the government since 2012. We hope Vietnam can follow in the foot-steps of Thailand, which has embraced foster care as a positive alternative to orphanages.

This pandemic reminds us all that children are far better off in safe, secure and loving family environments.

Make sure you keep connected with the project in 2022, as we roll-out our training to orphanages right across Vietnam. Thank you for your support.