Orphans into loving families in Vietnam

In many countries, children growing up in orphanages is still the norm. We're committed to training orphanage staff to become family placement workers, whereby they are able to move children out of the orphanage and into local foster families. In the coming year, we’re hoping to see the first child placed into a foster family in Vietnam – a monumental milestone!  

In Vietnam's pilot project phase, our basic training consists of ten, two-day workshops. The first two regions to take the training, Hanoi and Thai Nguyen, are now over a third of the way through the initial core training. Read on to find out what our training involves, and why it's key to transforming the lives of orphaned and abandoned children.

The fourth, two-day workshop is composed of four components, including matching children with foster carers; placement of children into foster families; monitoring foster children; and supervision of foster carers. These four components are the fundamental parts of foster care. As they are so interrelated, the training team included all of them in one workshop.

This workshop took place in September in Thai Nguyen. The training equipped the orphanage staff with the skills and knowledge on how to place a child in a foster family, including:

• The process and principles of matching children with foster families;
• The potential impact of a placement on a child and how to ensure a successful transition;
• The importance and process of monitoring children in foster families;
• The process of providing support and supervision to foster carers.

 Participant quotes:

 “I now understand the importance of matching a child and placing him with a family.”

 “The training was fun and provided us with lots of knowledge. It was also extremely interactive!”

 “I now understand that matching and placement is a long, gradual process to be taken step by step.”

We're excited by how the trainees have grasped the training with enthusiasm, understanding the long term impact that it will have on their work. The aim of the pilot phase is for the two regions to become models of practice for the rest of the country, so the potential impact of these sessions is immeasurable.

Remember, your support make this possible. This training is the first stage in seeing children placed safely into families, and supported well so that they can go on to thrive.

In Vietnam, it costs $70 for an attendee to train one workshop. Thanks to the support of people like you, we can help more people than ever before become family placement workers and transform the future for orphaned and abandoned children across Vietnam.