On 9 October 2026, saigonchildren, in collaboration with the Đồng Nai City Department of Health, officially launched the “Enhancing the Quality of Childcare at the Đồng Nai City Centre for Social Work and Child Protection Fund” project.
With a total budget of nearly VND 700 million funded by Dow Vietnam, the project will run until the end of May 2027 and focuses on three main areas of support: strengthening the capacity of care staff, creating more opportunities for children to learn and develop, and improving aspects of the living environment at the Centre.
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Starting from real needs
The Đồng Nai City Centre for Social Work and Child Protection Fund (the Centre) is one of two public social welfare facilities in the locality, providing care for children without family care as well as a range of other groups in need of care and support. The Centre currently cares for 394 people, including 93 children under the age of 16, 18 of whom are children with disabilities. Of the Centre’s 88 staff members, 69 are directly involved in providing care.
Before developing the project, saigonchildren worked with the Centre to conduct an on-site assessment and identify areas where additional support was needed. This highlighted several priorities: care staff need further opportunities to update their knowledge and skills to better respond to children’s diverse needs; younger children who have not yet started school need more activities to support their development; while older children need to build the skills required to prepare for independent living after leaving the Centre.
Based on these needs, the project was designed with activities tailored to different groups.

Strengthening the capacity of care staff
Staff at the Centre will take part in professional development covering developmental psychology across different age groups, carers’ mental wellbeing, different types of disabilities, and nutrition for adults and children with additional needs.
The programmes will be delivered with the participation of experienced experts with professional expertise in areas related to the care and support of children. Strengthening staff’s professional knowledge and skills will help care staff better understand and respond to children’s diverse needs.
Creating more opportunities for children to learn and develop
More than 20 children aged two to three will participate in eight months of “learning through play” activities, supporting their cognitive development and age-appropriate skills.
Meanwhile, children aged six to 18 will develop practical life skills including effective learning, money management, communication, time management, looking after their mental wellbeing, protecting themselves from the risk of abuse, and staying safe online.
The project will also provide bicycles and basketball equipment and organise physical activities, giving children more opportunities to stay active and develop healthy habits.

Starting together with practical actions
The recent project opening ceremony brought together representatives of local authorities, the Centre, project partners, volunteers and members of the community. During the event, bicycles and basketball equipment were presented to the Centre. Dow Vietnam employees then joined volunteers from Nippon Paint Vietnam, which provided the paint for the refurbishment activities, in giving several wall areas within the children’s living spaces a fresh coat of paint, painting playground games and a badminton court, installing basketball hoops, and organising books in the library.

Mr. Loganathan Ravisanker, Country Director, Dow Vietnam, said:
“Lasting community impact comes from listening to local needs, working with trusted partners and staying engaged beyond a single event. Through this project, Dow is proud to support a comprehensive approach that strengthens caregivers’ knowledge, creates meaningful learning and life-skills opportunities for children, and improves the spaces where they live, learn and play. The opening ceremony is an important first milestone, and our employees are pleased to contribute their time and skills alongside our partners to help create benefits that can continue well beyond the project period.”
By combining capacity building for care staff, support for children’s development, and improvements to the living environment, the project aims to contribute to more practical and lasting changes for children at the Centre. Saigonchildren believes that when those caring for children are better equipped, and children have more appropriate opportunities to learn, play and develop, they can have a stronger foundation to confidently move towards their future.
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