Blue Dragon Children's Foundation (Blue Dragon) is a charitably-funded non-governmental organization based in Hanoi, Vietnam. Its mission is to help children escape from the poverty cycle by offering them chances at education and improved living conditions. It also helps children escape from slave labour, provides access to drug rehabilitation programs and has raised money for storm damaged areas as the scope of its work has widened.
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The foundation was begun by an Australian school teacher, Michael Brosowski. He visited Vietnam in 2002 to teach English at the university in Hanoi. While there he met many street children.[1]
At first Michael, along with one of his language students Pham Sy Chung, offered the children tuition in maths, English, yoga and art. They also formed a football team - "Real Betis Vietnam" which would later be sponsored by their Spanish namesake. The idea was to promote a sense of sportsmanship and teamwork while getting exercise. Initially 3 teenage boys turned up for these games.
By early 2003, Michael had quit his university job to concentrate full-time on the needs of the street children. Word had got round and more kept arriving to seek help. Medical problems, educational needs, somewhere to sleep... the problems were varied. In February 2003, work began on formalising the small group's efforts into a registered organisation.
The process wasn't a simple one, but in March 2004 Blue Dragon Children's Foundation was registered as an Incorporated Association in Australia. In September 2004, it was registered as an Independent Non-Government Organisation in Vietnam.
During this period, on June 2, 2003, The Big Room was opened; essentially a residence for 6 former street kids. It was funded for its first year by a $5000 donation from two expatriate women. Also, a program was launched to try to help keep poor rural children in school and the group continued to reach out to other children in the Hanoi area.
Chung left to study in the US in early 2005, and Michael hired two full-time staff to replace him. With these two staff, a combined office and drop-in centre was opened in March of that year. This office was used until August 2007 when the foundation moved to larger premises to cope with its continued growth.
In late 2005, Michael and a Vietnamese law student - Ta Ngoc Van - rescued a child from central Vietnam who had been trafficked by slave labourers in Ho Chi Minh City. This was the start of another program dedicated to recovering many more children in the same situation. To do this, Michael hired Van and his wife full-time as Vietnam's only Child Care Advocates. As of June 2011, one child trafficking ring has been permanently disrupted and over 101 children have been returned to their families.
In August 2007, Blue Dragon began assisting in the running of a children's home in Hoi An, central Vietnam.
Blue Dragon's main aim is to get children into school and keep them there with the view to improving their employment prospects and long-term goals. To achieve this, many other tasks are undertaken. Accommodation is provided, or repair/refurbishment of their existing home if living conditions simply aren't suitable. Out-of-school tuition is provided to help children study. Books and stationary are given to those who can't afford them.
Medical care is paid for in some extreme cases where it can save the life or lifestyle of a child. To date, two instances of cosmetic surgery (one facial tumour and one hare lip) have been funded or part-funded by Blue Dragon. These two operations have allowed the afflicted children to return to an education that they were previously excluded from because of their medical conditions. Another boy, seriously injured by a gang armed with knives and machetes, was nursed back to health with the help of Blue Dragon and returned to an almost normal life afterwards.[2]
Child trafficking is a major issue in SE Asia, and Blue Dragon now tackles this as a permanent part of its workload. Two staff members work full-time on locating and rescuing child labourers who have been bought, traded or kidnapped by traffickers. The parents of many of these children believe they are sending them to a better life with an opportunity for education and a proper job. However, this is not the case and the children find themselves working 15 or more hours per day with no pay, and living in cramped, unsanitary conditions.
Blue Dragon works with a local NGO (CHIA) to run the Hoi-An Children's Home. Approximately 30 children live and are taught here.
All children who attend the drop-in centre can receive help with homework and/or basic non-school tuition. Healthy meals are provided, as is a place to sleep.
Blue Dragon works alongside many other charities in Vietnam. One of these, KOTO, has accepted several children from Blue Dragon onto its training program.