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Teachers Training - Social and Emotional Learning

9/10/2013

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This week Mr. Hans Julius Hansen and Mrs. Dang Van-Khanh are in HCMC to brush up on the previous Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum for our Trainers.

SEL consists of materials that teaches children about emotions and social skills (e.g. sharing and patience). Most importantly, it teaches a non-violent approach to conflict resolution and are particularly beneficial for children from vulnerable backgrounds and their care-takers.

Our group of SEL teachers are social workers and teachers who hold work-shops for their network and thereby spread the awareness of children's rights to self-expression to adults and caretakers across South Vietnam.

Our SEL workshops are state-of-the-art and produced in cooperation with the Danish Institute of Social Pedagogy. 
To book a workshop for your network - or even better to sponsor one for teachers in rural communities - contact us here.

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Founder's Thoughts: Personally involved or professional distance?

7/10/2013

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I have been thinking a lot of how much I know about the single girl at the shelter. My idea is that if I know and feel the personal story of the children I would be a better fundraiser and be more motivated. On the other hand, the risk is that one might feel a too strong commitment that goes beyond the professional project manager work, that I need to do. I have limited resources in terms of time and money. I experienced last week, that Mr. Michael from the Northern-Vietnam NGO Blue Dragon personally knew about all the children they were helping.

I have read all the cases of the children at Little Rose Warm Shelter. Mrs. Thien writes it in the report every 3rd month. But one thing is to read their stories, another is to hear the stories from the girls themselves.
I experienced this yesterday.

A new girl arrived a month ago, and I asked Mrs Thien about her. What circumstances brought her here? Her background is not as dramatic as some of the other children - nevertheless it made me feel very sad because I could relate to her story.

H.'s father had died few years ago, and she was left alone with the mother. Unfortunately her mother was an alcoholic and brought home many new men, and much of the time H. was not taken care of.

Being from a family myself where one of the adults was an alcoholic made it easy for me to relate. Our family didn't suffer from any material shortcomings, and every day food was served. Nevertheless a child experiences the missing care and attention from an adult that is an abuser. 

So this short incident made me think more thoroughly about whether to involve myself more personally or keep a professional distance. I would like to relate more on a personally level, but I am afraid that it puts me in a difficult situation where I want to help more than I actually can, and I haven't found the answer of the balance between personal relation and professional distance to the children yet.

Of course I cannot show a picture of this particular girl so I attach one a photo were we trained people from the Youth Union in April 2011.

- Ole Riis
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Training at Little Rose Warm Shelter

6/10/2013

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The staff at LWRS always look for a reason to train the girls in soft skills. Some of the older girls have received so much training that they are now involved in planning the training for the younger girls - under supervision.

The 3 girls responsible for this week's training had prepared all week, and they looked very confident - confidence and composure are important when teaching such a difficult subject as child rights.

On many training occasions LRWS invite children from the neighbourhood to participate in the training. 3 teenage boys were present today and they seemed to enjoy it.

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Founder's Thoughts: Ole Riis at the Danish Consulate

4/10/2013

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At the recent networking event at the Danish Consulate, I used the opportunity to present The Shelter Collection. I had prepared a little speech because I feel more comfortable using a manuscript:
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I am from the Danish Vietnamese Association. We help supporting disadvantaged children in Vietnam. And I could talk long time about how miserable life is for some children in Vietnam despite high economic growth. But many of you have lived here for years, and you already know.

So let me instead talk a little about who we are, what we do, and what our ambitions are.

It is our ambition that the Shelter Collection should be the first-choice of development project for Danes and Danish companies in Vietnam. We want to be your transparent and efficient CSR partner. We have a long-standing experience in working with multinational companies and multi-lateral government partners.

Since 2004 we have supported Little Warm Rose Shelter with help from the Danish Aid Development agency but the funds will run out this year.

We know that transparency is a big issue when you want to fundraise in Vietnam. Therefore we are at the moment setting up procedures for monthly narrative and financial reporting that meet the requirements of private sponsors. We have already receive advice from some companies here in Vietnam on this issue, but it is an ongoing process and we are open for suggestion, because we want to be THE Collection that a Dane think of when donating to social issues in Vietnam.

We are a group of volunteers operating mostly from Denmark, but we also have a country coordinator based in Vietnam. I am a teacher on a daily basis and previously working in insurance, so I am not a typical NGO person, and I think that time has come for more innovative thinking between NGOs and the private sector.  
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That was the speech. Let me add, that Denmark is now phasing out the development support. But it is still possible to get NGO project money for disadvantaged areas or target groups. I think, that both the privater sector and the NGO sector has an obligation to try to benefit from all what has been build up thanks to the Danish support over the years. We have an obligation to leave no stone unturned in order to identify new and relevant mutual projects.

There is a new CSR fund, but their is also possibilities in designing development projects with income generating activities. These kind of development projects can form the foundation for new innovative poverty reducing projects, and Vietnam could be a role model for Private Sector - NGO cooperation.

Please contact me if you have any ideas for a mutual project.

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    Author

    Ole Riis.

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