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STORY OF THE MONTH

RETREAT 2022 THROUGH THE LENS OF CHILDFUNDERS

ChildFund Vietnam’s Retreat 2022 ended successfully with many memorable moments. Today, let’s have a talk with three members and listen to their sharing and feelings after Retreat!

Nguyen Thi Van

HR & Administrative Coordinator – Hanoi Office

Ha Thi Dao

Administrative Officer – Hoa Binh Office

Ta Doanh Thu Hoai

Provincial Intern – Bac Kan Office

Ha Thi Dao in the role of an MC during the Gala Night of Retreat

To begin with, let's talk with Ha Thi Dao - the Administrative Officer of Hoa Binh office. She really stepped out of her comfort zone, which was in accordance with the message "Shine Your Light" of the Gala Night during Retreat!

Hello Dao! This is absolutely not your first Retreat with ChildFund Vietnam, so what do you consider the differences between Retreat 2022 and the previous ones?

Personally, I think this is a very special Retreat because of the short time for preparation. Perhaps because of this limited timescale, all members were empowered to actively contribute to the preparation process so that we could complete necessary work within the deadline. The way the members work together (from initiating ideas, developing plans to reaching agreements) is implemented in a short period of time. However, everything went smoothly and efficiently. Besides, another difference is the shorter duration of meetings, yet it is accompanied by enormous efforts of the speakers in order to deliver important information to all members in a simplified manner.

So after attending such meetings, in your opinion, what is the most impressive content?

I was very impressed with the sharing of the Country Director about the organisation’s strategy for the next 3 years. I myself feel that I have a broader and more comprehensive view of the upcoming organisational activities, and it also assists me a lot in my daily tasks.

Every member was indeed amazed and impressed by your confidence and enthusiasm as the MC during the Gala Night of Retreat. Can you share with us your feelings when taking on this brand new role for the first time?

Frankly speaking, at first, I was quite nervous I was not confident about my voice, and I hadn’t had experiences as an MC. If something went wrong, I would be embarrassed After that, thanks to the encouragement from other members, I decided to take on this role. During the Gala Night, there might be some slips of the tongue, but I am glad that every member was always there and cheered for me a lot. I have gained a lot of confidence after the Gala Night, thus motivating me to try other new things in life.

Ta Doanh Thu Hoai in a meeting at Retreat

Unlike Ms. Dao, the second member we are going to meet is one of the youngest members of ChildFund Vietnam, Ta Doanh Thu Hoai - a provincial intern in Bac Kan office. Let's listen to what's special about Hoai's first Retreat!

Hello Hoai, nice to meet you! First time participating in a Retreat with ChildFund Vietnam, what are your feelings after the trip?

I feel very happy and impressed! I can vividly feel the dynamism, solidarity, harmony and enthusiasm of each colleague. After participating in Retreat, I feel much more refreshed and ready to go back to work. I also seized this valuable opportunity to know other members from Hanoi, Hoa Binh and Cao Bang offices.

Bac Kan office has won 1st prize on Gala Night with an impressive talent contest. Can you quickly tell everyone about your team’s preparation process?

To be honest, it is mostly thanks to the nature talent and the sense of humour of our members We did have a script; however, we tried to act as naturally as possible to create laughter We spent two days practising before Retreat, with the greeting part being inspired by the “Swan Lake” dance and the talent contest being inspired by Vietnamese traditional fortune tellers.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Van and Ms. Hoang Thuy Hong, Head of HRSS – the two “directors” behind the success of Retreat 2022

For Nguyen Thi Van, HR & Administrative Coordinator, Hanoi Office, the last Retreat 2022 was probably a "familiar but different" Retreat. Let's listen to the sharing of the "director" for the success of ChildFund Vietnam's Retreat 2022!

Hello Van! You are a member who has participated in many Retreats, but this is probably your first participation as the main organiser. Can you share with us your feelings after such a successful Retreat?

Previously, I was only in charge of the brainstorming phase or responsible for organising small activities in Retreat; however, 2022 is the first Retreat that I and Ms. Hong jointly organised. I am very happy and satisfied, especially when I read the positive feedback from members about the recent Retreat. Comments such as “The team building game is fun, helping members break the barriers”, “The feeling of integration and solidarity from ChildFund Vietnam in the Retreat 2022” or “I love Retreat 2022 because of various reasons ranging from informative meetings, funny activities to the Gala Night” and “Having fun together is our great joy after 3 years of the Covid epidemic” are great motivations for myself to prepare better for other Retreats in the near future.

You have mentioned joys and happiness, but surely with the first time taking on this responsibility, did you yourself face difficulties?

The several-week preparation time for this Retreat is indeed very short. In addition to the fact that ChildFund’s previous Retreats have been very successful and left a lot of impressions on members, Ms. Hong and I have a bit of pressure. However, the guidance from the Country Director, the support and understanding of the SMTs, along with the enthusiasm of the organisers have contributed greatly to the success of Retreat 2022.

Do you have any memorable “behind the scenes” stories that you would like to share with everyone?

The things that make me happy and impressed are the enthusiasm and energy from members such as the photography team, the Gala team, the football team, the logistics team, Comms team, etc. All of them pay a lot of attention and effort to their work. There are even members who voluntarily assist me in organising activities. This is solid proof that everyone considers this as their own Retreat, not the own task of the HRSS team.

I did have many happy memories, but there were also unexpected things that made Ms. Hong and I worry and had to timely adjust; for example, the unpredictable weather conditions as well as the relocation of the venue during the Gala Night.

There is another funny story. Because both Ms. Hong and I were too busy for Retreat, the two of us were frantically looking for towels, shirts, slippers, etc. just right before the beginning of our performances. We even accidentally wore each other’s costumes because we played a similar role of mothers in our performances.

Thank you everyone for your interesting sharing!

TIN TIN TICK & TALK

Training course on basic knowledge in monitoring and evaluation in Bac Kan city

News by: Ta Doanh Thu Hoai – Provincial Intern, Bac Kan Office

On 15-16 August, within the framework of the project “Safe and Supportive Semi-boarding Schools for students”…

On 15-16 August, within the framework of the project “Safe and Supportive Semi-boarding Schools for students”, ChildFund Vietnam collaborated with the ChildFund Program Management Unit of Ngan Son district to organise a Training course on basic knowledge in monitoring and evaluation in Bac Kan city.

This training marked the first step in encouraging the participation of stakeholders in project monitoring and evaluation, helping them make decisions based on the effectiveness of project activities and enabling them to mobilise resources effectively.

Baseline survey for the Child Protection project (CP)

News by: Tran Thu Giang – Child Protection Officer

Recently, ChildFund Vietnam cooperated with the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of Kim Boi district, Hoa Binh province…

Recently, ChildFund Vietnam cooperated with the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of Kim Boi district, Hoa Binh province to conduct a baseline survey for the Child Protection project (CP) in four communes of Du Sang, Hop Tien, Nong Dam, and Cuoi Ha.

The baseline survey’s target group consists of representatives from the Standing Committee of CP at the commune level, group of teachers who are the focal point for CP in schools, group of students in grades 5 – 8 and their parents/caregivers. With the support of social workers and CP workers in the commune, more than 250 people in the official community-based CP system has participated in the survey, ensuring objectivity, transparency, and honesty of the input data for the project.

With the enthusiastic contribution of local people, the survey has obtained reliable responses. ChildFund Vietnam and local partners make it our best effort to build an effective community-based CP system, placing children as the highest beneficiaries so that they can develop in a safe and healthy environment.

The workshop to introduce the project “Ready for primary school”

News by: Dinh Thi Thu Ha – Project Officer

On 5 August 2022, the workshop to introduce the project “Ready for primary school” was successfully held in Hoa Binh province. Sponsored by the Australian Government…

On 5 August 2022, the workshop to introduce the project “Ready for primary school” was successfully held in Hoa Binh province. Sponsored by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) through ChildFund Vietnam, the project will be implemented in 6 project communes in Tan Lac district.

This project aims to help preschool children and primary school students, especially children/students with disability and of ethnic minorities, be prepared and supported to succeed in school.

At the workshop, Tan Lac district Project Management unit, the Department of Education and Training and about 40 school managers, commune authorities and parents of students in communes of Tan Lac district were introduced to and invited to discuss on the project.

The Child Rights Working Group (CRWG) held a meeting to share the content on the Rights of the Child in Vietnam

News by: Do Duong Hien – Online Safety Specialist

On 12 August 2022, the Child Rights Working Group (CRWG) held a meeting to share the content…

On 12 August 2022, the Child Rights Working Group (CRWG) held a meeting to share the content of the Supplementary Report on the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Vietnam, period 2019 – 2022. The meeting was attended by representatives of 7 member organisations, the Department of Child Affairs, Department of International Cooperation and Department of Legal Affairs – Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. After studying the list of issues the Rights Commission wishes Vietnam to further clarify as well as based on the professional capabilities of member organisations, the group has selected 6 topics including:

– Child abuse and violence

– Protecting children on the Internet

– Children accessing quality education in the context of COVID-19

– LGBTI+ children

– Child nutrition

– Children using and affected by tobacco and new tobacco

ChildFund Vietnam and the Vietnam Association for the Protection of Children’s Rights are currently co-chairs of the CRWG group, operating under the management and support of the VUFO-NGO Resource Centre.

A series of training and communication activities on online safety for local focal points

News by: Tham Thi Loan – CP Project Officer

During July and August, ChildFund Vietnam cooperated with Youth Unions of Cao Bang City and Quang Hoa District …

During July and August, ChildFund Vietnam cooperated with Youth Unions of Cao Bang City and Quang Hoa District to organise a series of training and communication activities on online safety for local focal points:

*10 training sessions on communication skills, 6 key concepts of the Internet, and potential risks online for children were conducted with the participation of 350 commune secretaries, commune deputy secretaries, and members of online safety core teams.

*01 training of trainers on the topic of Online child protection and Types of online child abuse was conducted for 40 teachers.

As part of the “Swipe Safe phase 2″ project, the training series has given the local focal points in Cao Bang a broader view of the risks children may face on the Internet, as well as provided knowledge and skills to protect young people in this digital age. Let’s take a look at the highlights of this training series above!

Consultancy Workshop on project My right to education – Phase 2

News by: Ly Thi Phuong – Education Project Officer

On August 10, ChildFund Vietnam cooperated with ChildFund Program Management Units of Cao Bang, Bac Kan provinces and related departments to organise “Consultancy Workshop on project My right to education – Phase 2”. The workshop aimed to summarise results achieved in phase 1, thereby commencing solutions for remaining issues and promoting the project achievements in phase 2.

Participating in the workshop were 22 officials representing the Department of Education and Training, the Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs of the two provinces, the Education Center for children with disability in Bac Kan and the Department of Education for children with disability in Cao Bang. The workshop also had the participation of 49 members of the project implementation team, representatives of the Association of People with Disabilities, and representatives of parents of children with disabilities. Thanks to the enthusiastic participation of the members, the discussion sessions were carried out effectively.

The workshop was successful in involving delegates to discuss and provide practical suggestions to develop the phase 2 project framework. Thereby, stakeholders became aware of unresolved issues in phase 1 and the results need to promote in phase 2.

CULTURE CORNER

RETREAT 2022'S DIARY

Project area culture: Welcoming mid-autumn festival

Mid-Autumn Festival is the full moon day of August every year. This is a children’s day, also known as “Moon viewing festival”.

Children in our project areas often celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in very traditional ways. They excitedly prepared together the bamboo-framed star lanterns, wrapped in red and blue cellophane, decorated a tray of five fruits, carried the lights together and immersed themselves in special musical performances on the night of the full moon. The moonlit night air was filled with laughter and joy.

Let’s take a look at the happy atmosphere of the Mid-Autumn Festival in the project area through the following pictures!

DID YOU KNOW?

Retreat 2022 has ended, but surely the memories of meetings, Teambuilding games or Gala Night are still there. Let’s review some outstanding moments at the Retreat 2022 through a few interesting questions below!!!