In Long Hai, a small coastal town on the edge of the China Sea, handicapped children and infants find a roof

The nonprofit Pour les enfants des rizières (APER) was created in April 2003 on the instigation of adoptive parents and people interested in childhood issues in Vietnam. It wants to set up humanitarian and philanthropic projects, primarily to aid disadvantaged children in Vietnam (orphans or not) and incidentally, their families (sponsoring Vietnamese children, material aid to orphanages and Vietnamese welcome centers, support for health projects, aid for school attendance).

APER also works in favor of sick and handicapped children and young people in difficulty. The first assistance provided by the nonprofit in 2003 went to the children's protection center of Vung Tau, a small coastal town on the shore of the China Sea. Today, the nonprofit is expanding its aid more broadly in favor of the children of Long Hai, in the province of Ba Ria, to meet requests made by the provincial administration, and in favor of the provincial hospital.

More than 3500 persons victims of agent Orange

In Long Hai, many thousand families lived in extremely precarious conditions and cannot feed, care for or send their children to school. These children are therefore forced to work to guarantee the subsistence of the families. A large proportion of the inhabitants of Long Hai are also small fishermen, and nearly 3500 of them are victims of agent Orange (a powerful defoliant used by the American troops during the war and based on dioxin). Despite the efforts of the local authorities, the reception structures of the province of Ba Ria can no longer accommodate the children in difficulty and offer them a real chance to integrate. APER therefore created a Social Home in 2009, a venue for living and learning for these disadvantaged children. The first buildings accommodated the children by day, but a new section was needed to welcome homeless children, handicapped children and infants, and to expand the classrooms so as to meet very strong local demand. Ultimately, the reception capacity of the Social Home will be 300 school attending children under 18 years of age, staffed by 15 to 20 adults. The boarding school will then be able to accommodate up to 30 children and 30 infants.

OTHER PROJECT SUPPORTED

Renovation of a center for children with lung diseases in Vung Tau.

Domain: Social and employment
Country: Vietnam
Endowment: 2006/07/04
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