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Vietnam
“Talk is cheap.
Action is expensive.
And there has never
been such a need for
action as now.
Spending money on
children with
disabilities who are
children in especially
difficult
circumstances is one
of society’s most
critical investments
in its future citizens.”
– John Stott, President,
Rehabilitation International,
1995
power to maximise the effectiveness of
their activity. This observation has been
noted in a study by UNICEF in 1994 12
which found that urban projects that worked
closely with people in power (such as the
mayor’s office) were more effective in
protecting children than projects that did not.
• Potential can be demonstrated clearly of
increased knowledge leading to action. Some
of the local and district-level governments
provided buildings to the project to use as
“Children’s Clubs.” This is praiseworthy, as
land is very limited in a place like District 8 in
Ho Chi Minh City; that government provided
a whole building (with ample space) indicates
that they understand the value of children
with disabilities (especially the intellectually
disabled) having informal education.
• The CBR project maximises its effect through
partnerships and volunteers. This increases
local ownership of issues the project seeks to
address, and children benefit from the added
energy and interest volunteers bring to their
roles. Capacity of the volunteer, project
partner and World Vision alike is increased
through the interaction, and through followup
of issues that emerge.
Progress has been made through communitybased
rehabilitation so that Article 23 of the
CRC has more meaning in District 8 in 2002
than it did in 1997. The question has moved
from “what problem?” to how to respond.
Barriers to child protection
and participation
• The project operational environment is a
challenge, due to the many levels of
permission needed from the Government
to conduct a range of activities.
• Holding meetings with volunteers in Vietnam
can be seen as “political” activity, and care was
needed in the beginning. However, with
greater awareness and momentum, meetings
are easily organised. Discussion at communitylevel
meetings, including debates between
government officers and volunteers, is
impressive. This is still limited to community
level and has not happened at district level.
• Support for the intentional inclusion of
children with disabilities in broader
community development projects and
activities is an ongoing internal barrier. These
children are often forgotten; they are very
much hidden, unable to leave their homes by
themselves. Unless NGOs (including World
Vision), volunteers and local governments
actively enquire about the incidence and
treatment of disability in-community, there is
a risk that they will be excluded from
development. We must all review our
attention to these “invisible children”.
• The involvement of volunteers is a greatly
valued asset. However, it does raise concerns
of adequate support. Better planning and
policy regarding their duties and the hours
involved would assist in giving opportunities
for volunteer development and motivation,
and should ensure that they are supported
for as long as the program continues.
• The funding to develop community-based
services for children (or people) with
disability is often in the form of “special
funded” government grants. These special
grants can come with numerous rules,
regulations, guidelines, benchmarks and
indicators that must be pursued and reported
on. Developing grassroots CBR services from
scratch, however, is much more fluid – there
are constantly new learnings, new
circumstances, new opportunities presenting
themselves, new activities needing to be
developed. It can be enormously difficult for a
creative and responsive program to meet
inflexible donor requirements.
• Projects assisting children in especially difficult
circumstances or children with disabilities
need access to more flexible grants, or to
alternative funding. They need greater access
to long-term support funding mechanisms,
such as child sponsorship.
12 Blanc, C S,et al., Urban Children in Distress, UNICEF, 1994
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