Chau Nhat Huynh (front row, third from the right), founder of the "Keep Trying, Kids" project at the SOS Children's Village Dien Bien Phu - Photo: Provided by the interviewee.
To be precise, it was from the CFC classroom at the SOS Children's Village Dien Bien Phu, after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, that the seeds of dreams and aspirations for a long-term commitment to the project were sown.
It's safe to say that the "Keep Trying, Kids" project has helped me appreciate the Vietnamese language and culture much more, forging a special relationship between us and the children participating in the project.
ALLIE (former Stanford University student, project volunteer)
The idea of volunteering to meet.
Although the classes at the SOS Children's Village in Dien Bien Phu were entirely online, they left a deep impression. Not only were the village staff dedicated, but the children were also wholeheartedly supportive of the CFC volunteers. The young woman suddenly thought she should bring this model directly to the children in Dien Bien, even though she knew the procedures would not be simple.
That was also the time when this girl, born in 1997, was about to leave Vietnam for the US under the Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistance (FLTA) program. Nhat Huynh taught Vietnamese at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) to Vietnamese-American students as part of this program. The idea for the CFC class in Dien Bien was temporarily put on hold.
Coincidentally, in early 2022, during a conversation with Lilly – a Vietnamese-American student about to return to Vietnam and looking for a volunteer opportunity in the summer of 2023 – Huynh shared with Lilly his aspirations for helping children in Dien Bien, clearly stating his intention to launch the project as soon as he returned to Vietnam.
“I started writing the plan and it only took me a few hours to complete because everything seemed to be in my head. I sent the plan to the SOS Children's Village Dien Bien Phu and received a response the next day because the village already knew me through the CFC program,” Huynh recounted.
The girl submitted an application for a Fulbright alumni grant for a community project to the US Embassy in Hanoi . However, Huynh still had a month left before finishing her program in the US and was not yet recognized as an alumnus, so her application was not approved.
Although the plan was well-received, with both American and Vietnamese volunteers ready to participate, there was a lack of funding. Huynh called home to tell her aunt about it, and luckily, she immediately supported the idea and provided funding for Huynh to carry it out.
Dreams begin to sprout.
The 2024 summer camp recently had nearly 60 participants. In addition to Vietnamese volunteers, there were also three American volunteers. Each day, classes started at 8 am, followed by English lessons, life skills training, and cultural exchange in the afternoon.
The volunteers stayed at a hotel near the village, walking to class every day, but after a few days, the villagers brought 11 bicycles to make it easier for them to get around. For the young Americans, it was their first time experiencing the feeling of cycling on the roads of a Vietnamese village.
Huynh recounted that upon returning this year, she noticed many of her classmates from the 2023 class were much bolder, more open, and more confident. Explaining her observation, Huynh said that while the assignment required students to draw scenes of a beautiful life, many wanted to excel in their studies, eat well, and not go hungry, but many others said they wanted to go to university and believed they could achieve much more than they had ever imagined.
The volunteers themselves learned a great deal from this place when visiting the Dien Bien Phu Victory Museum and the Dien Bien Phu Campaign Command Post historical site, which broadened their horizons, and they were not just teachers.
Speaking about her motivation for pursuing the project, Huynh said she saw herself in the children at the SOS Children's Village Dien Bien Phu because she was once shy, insecure, and never thought she could do anything for the community.
Huynh said he will develop this project with three main areas: maintaining the annual summer camp, organizing online exam preparation classes for the high school graduation exam (English, math, and literature), and advising high school graduates on applying for university scholarships. For Huynh, education is not just about providing knowledge and skills to help us find jobs and earn a living, but most importantly, it helps change perceptions, starting with each individual.
Therefore, throughout the teaching process, volunteers choose to continuously encourage and motivate the children, designing experiential activities that help each child discover who they are, realize their self-worth, and know how to dream big.
“These young people are like seeds that have been planted so that when they grow up they will carry out projects of giving back, spreading positive values wider and further, creating a greater social impact. That is the value we hope to achieve,” Huynh confided.
"Keep going, kids!"
The first English summer camp in the CFC teaching model at SOS Children's Village Dien Bien Phu in the summer of 2023 had five Vietnamese-American student volunteers participating. All of them were students in the Vietnamese language class taught by Huynh in the United States.
In addition to financial support from his family, Nhat Huynh also raised funds at UCSB to further finance the project. In March of this year, wanting to continue this program, Huynh applied for funding from the U.S. Department of State for community projects around the world and was approved, officially giving birth to the name "Keep Going, Kids!".
The project was designed as a three-week summer program. Students would teach English, life skills, and participate in cultural exchange activities for children aged 12-17 at the SOS Children's Village in Dien Bien Phu. Nhat Huynh took the opportunity to teach Vietnamese to the American students participating in this project.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/khat-vong-gieo-mam-uoc-mo-cho-tre-20241029214707314.htm
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