Dear Friends of saigonchildren,
It is now 25 years since Paul Cleves founded Saigon Children’s Charity to help disadvantaged children in Vietnam get an education in order to escape from poverty.
As we have celebrated 25 Years of Impact, we have not only rebranded and upgraded our website but also revisited our vision and strategy. At saigonchildren we believe that every child deserves the right to fulfil their potential and that education is the key to achieving that. Our focus is now not only on poverty (although that is still a very significant part of our work), but on removing barriers to education in all their forms, whether poverty, geography, knowledge or, as is the case for many children we support, disability. We have chosen the new branding to represent the energy, passion, hope and determination of the young people we support.
This has been a year of celebration for us, but I am sad to announce that Tim Mullett, our Executive Director, has unfortunately had to resign after over three years in post, in order to deal with a nasty and debilitating health issue. We are very sorry to lose him and wish him all the very best for a speedy and full recovery. We have already started our search for a new Director and the Trustees are taking an active management role in the interim with Tim’s assistance.
Finally, as we approach the end of 2017 there are still many children in need of support who we would like to enrol in our school scholarship programme, and with the season of giving and good will upon us, we will be writing shortly to ask for your help and support.
Thank you again for your interest in our work and for your generosity. From all at saigonchildren we wish you a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous and successful 2018.
Alain Cany
Chairman of the Board of Trustees