Education Support Program: To the Border Area of Bù Gia Mập, Bình Phước 9/2015

I/ PURPOSE AND MEANING OF THE PROGRAM

Over the past year, we have tirelessly made trip after trip by truck, carrying school supplies, rice and used clothes to the villagers of the Bù Gia Mập border area in Bình Phước. We came to this land as if by fate, then grew fond of it, then came to love it without even noticing when. We care because of the hunger and poverty that cling to people here all year round, because of the innocence of the children, and because of the warmth and simple sincerity of the people.

The new school year has arrived and the Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon. We, the members of Y Tam Charity, will together organize a start-of-school-year volunteer program called: To the Border Area of Bù Gia Mập, Bình Phước. The program both welcomes the new school year, giving children a boost on their way to school, and shares the joy of the Mid-Autumn Festival with the children of struggling ethnic minority communities.

II/ PROGRAM CONTENT

1/ Long-term scholarship sponsorship for 7 high-achieving students in especially difficult circumstances.

We will continue to sponsor the school costs of 7 students who were thoroughly assessed on their academic results, their families, input from their schools and, most importantly, their diligence and love of learning. We keep a separate file for each student so that we can regularly follow their progress and encourage them to study and become useful people in the future. However, this sponsorship is reviewed every year, with students removed or added. The sponsorship amount is based on actual needs: tuition, school supplies and other fees.

The 7 students selected for full scholarship sponsorship in 2015:

1/ Nguyễn Thị Kim Duyên: grade 5 student, estimated total tuition 1,200,000 VND + 15 notebooks + 2 fountain pens + 2 boxes of ink

2/ Mai Đại Thành: grade 5 student, total tuition: 900,000 VND + 10 notebooks + 1 ruler + 2 fountain pens + 2 boxes of ink

3/ Thị Tuệ: grade 4 student, estimated tuition for full-day schooling: 2,200,000 VND + 10 notebooks + 1 ruler + 2 fountain pens + 2 boxes of ink

4/ Vương Tiến Thành: grade 5 student, estimated tuition: 500,000 VND + 10 notebooks + 1 ruler + 2 fountain pens + 2 boxes of ink

5/ Nguyễn Thị Phước: grade 3 student, tuition for full-day schooling: 2,200,000 VND + 10 notebooks + 1 ruler + 2 fountain pens + 2 boxes of ink

6/ Trần Thị Hồng Nhung: grade 6, estimated tuition: 3,200,000 VND + 5 notebooks of 300 pages + 15 notebooks of 100 pages + 15 ballpoint pens/year

7/ Đinh Thủy Tiên: grade 6 student, estimated tuition: 3,210,000 VND + 5 notebooks of 300 pages + 15 notebooks of 100 pages + 15 ballpoint pens/year

Total education support fund and school supplies for the 7 students:

– Funding: 13,410,000 VND
– School supplies:
+ 10 notebooks of 300 pages, 85 notebooks of 100 pages with 5-line ruling
+ 10 fountain pens + 20 jars of ink
+ 7 rulers
+ 30 ballpoint pens

Tuition differs from student to student because each school is different: some schools receive state tuition support, so their fees are lower, and all the students' textbooks are provided through a project, so they don't need to be bought. Y Tam will post each student's profile in the details section, one by one, so you can easily follow along.

2/ A Mid-Autumn Festival day for the children at Đăk Á Primary School, Bù Gia Mập, Bình Phước

– Give 300 gift packs to the children, each including: 5 notebooks of 100 pages with 5-line ruling + sweets + milk + a Mid-Autumn lantern: in total 1500 notebooks + 7 cases of milk + sweets + 300 Mid-Autumn lanterns

– Hold a festival day of fun: group games, activities and time together with the Y Tam members

– Hold a Mid-Autumn lantern procession and a campfire: the lantern procession will go around Đắk Á hamlet, followed by a campfire and a music and performance get-together with the children.

III/ TOTAL ESTIMATED FUNDING AND IN-KIND DONATIONS FOR THE PROGRAM:

– Scholarship funding: 13,410,000 VND + school supplies estimated at about 1,500,000 VND

– Funding for 300 gift packs:

+ 1585 notebooks with 5-line ruling, about 5,500,000 VND
+ Milk + sweets: 3,000,000 VND
+ Estimated cost of organizing the Mid-Autumn festival day and campfire for the children: about 5,000,000 VND

+ Estimated incidental costs: 2,000,000 VND
As for the 300 Mid-Autumn lanterns for the children to play with, our members will make them themselves from beer cans, which is both safe and saves money.

– TOTAL ESTIMATED FUNDING FOR THE WHOLE PROGRAM: 30,410,000 VND

III/ TRANSPORT, TIME AND LOCATION

1/ Transport: 45-seat coach

2/ Planned schedule:

– 3 a.m. Saturday 26/9/2015: depart from Saigon for Bù Gia Mập, Bình Phước
– Around 9 a.m. on 26/09: arrive at Đắk Á Primary School
– 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Mid-Autumn festival day: group games and activities, scholarships given to poor students.
– Late afternoon and evening: prepare the lantern procession and campfire, play together and give gifts to the students
– 9 p.m.: internal get-together for Y Tam members
- Sunday morning 27/9/2015: check and pack everything up and head home, stopping on the way to visit and climb Bà Rá Mountain
– Evening of 27/9: expected arrival in Saigon at 6 p.m.

3/ Meeting point: No. X1, CMT8 apartment complex, Thép Mới Street (near the Hoàng Hoa Thám - Trường Chinh intersection), Ward 12, Tân Bình District, Ho Chi Minh City.

IV/ REGISTERING FOR THE PROGRAM

The program really needs many volunteers to sign up and join hands with Y Tam to make this a truly meaningful Mid-Autumn Festival for the ethnic minority children of the Bù Gia Mập border area, Bình Phước.

1/ Registration and cancellation

– Registration period: 17/8 >> 20/9/2015

– Deadline for paying the participation fee: 22/9/2015

– If you have registered but something unexpected comes up, please cancel before: 22/9/2015

– To register and pay the fee, please contact Ms. Nguyệt: phone: 0985674772-0934197772

2/ Participation fee

- The participation fee for each member is: 300,000 VND (covering transport + meals).

V/ SUPPORTING THE PROGRAM

Y Tam places great importance on investing in education, because it is a long-term, sustainable investment that leads to change and to the development of people and communities in the future. It is a way of giving “a fishing rod” instead of “a fish”. That is why Y Tam truly needs the support and sharing of donors near and far.

ALL KIND CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PROGRAM, PLEASE SEND TO:

Y Tam Charity

Office address: No. X1, CMT8 apartment complex, Thép Mới Street (near the Hoàng Hoa Thám - Trường Chinh intersection), Ward 12, Tân Bình District, Ho Chi Minh City.

Phone: 098 567 4772 – 0934 197 772

Bank accounts:

1/ Đông Á Bank: Account number: 0101607577 – Account name: Đào Thị Minh Lệ, Branch: 343 Lê Văn Sỹ – District 3 – Ho Chi Minh City

2/ Vietcombank: Account number: 044 1000 664 969 - Account name: Đào Thị Minh Lệ, card issued at: 188B Lê Văn Sỹ, Ward 10, Phú Nhuận District, Ho Chi Minh City, Tân Bình District Branch.

3/ Vietinbank: Account number: 711AA7741285 – Account name: Đào Thị Minh Lệ, issuing branch address: 207 Lê Văn Sỹ – District 3 – Ho Chi Minh City

Note: When transferring, please clearly write: Donor's name + Support for the Bù Gia Mập program

Sincerely
Y Tam Charity