Boxing Day 2011

As most people in the West enjoy the Boxing Day Sales & (in Australia) the Boxing Day Test I am sitting in my "office" (aka my Lounge) listening to the children upstairs going through their lessons. Who would have thought that Hearing Impaired children could be so noisy! After a few initial teething problems Paddy's Jewel classes are well under way. Many of the parents were reluctant to take their children out of the Boarding School - mainly because they were concerned that we will be a "fly by night" organisation (here one day, gone the next) & their children will be left with no education. I'm pleased to say the parents, & more importantly the children, are now very settled & happy. This is due largely to our fantastic teacher Xuân Thông Phan (pictured below with the children). Thông has shown me that teaching methods in Việt Nam ARE changing for the better. He is a very progressive young teacher who shows great promise.

The teenage girl on the Right of the photo is Nguyễn Thị Lành. Lành, ( also Hearing Impaired). Like the majority of Hearing Impaired children in Việt Nam she has never been to school. Until 2 weeks ago Lành was working 7 days a week, for up to 12 hours a day, making lanterns for the tourists - earning AUS$42.00 a month. Although Paddy's Jewel can only afford to pay her AUS$46.00 a month her working conditions have greatly improved. Lành now works 5 days a week from 7.30am - 4.30pm. During that time she shops for food at the local market, cooks lunch for the children & washes up after lunch. For the remainder of the day she is free to join in the classes with the other children. This child is such a quick learner - if someone had been able to help her when she was the age of the other children in Paddy's Jewel I have no doubt she would now be at University. For the first time in her life Lành is enjoying learning - but not only learning. She is enjoying communicating & socialising with others. Life has changed for one child in Hội An.

The children, staff & volunteers of Paddy's Jewel wish you all a belated Merry Christmas. With Best Wishes, Mái.

October 2011

October 2011

It's been a long while since our first Blog - apologies for the delay. Life has been busy & our Blog has definitely been pushed to the back burner. I have been working in Sydney to earn enough money to pay for the children's educational costs - hopefully for the next 6 months. I'm due to return home to Viêt Nam on November 5th ..... just in time for some huge changes within Paddy's Jewel .......

We have been feeling somewhat dissatisfied with the Boarding School the children are attending in Đà Nẵng. Our intention was always to find a Vietnamese teacher who would teach the children in their hometown of Hôi An. However, for a variety of reasons, this has been an impossible task to accomplish. Recently, thanks to my good friend Lê Nguễn Diệu Trinh , we now have a teacher for the children.

Lê Nguễn Diệu Trinh

This is great news as they will soon be taught in their hometown which means they can remain at home with their families. At the moment our teacher, Phan Xuân Thông is learning Sign Language but we hope to have him start teaching by the end of November. Along with the new teacher we also need a "school". We are currently looking for a suitable house in Hôi An that we can rent as a classroom.

When I return to Hôi An I will finally have some time to begin compiling a Biography on each child. 2012 will be a year changes for Paddy's Jewel & we are looking forward to a fantastic year. Best Wishes, Mái. 

Welcome to the Paddy's Jewel Blog. The website has taken much longer than anticipated to get up & running but we are finally there. We are still performing some fine tuning so please bear with us for a little longer. Over the coming weeks we will be updating our information & photos on our children so please re-visit the Website & Blog or join our mailing list for automatic updates.

April 2011 is a great month to become fully operational as April 28th is International Pay It Forward Day 2011 www.payitforwardday.com

Although our children had hearing tests before they began attending the Boarding School last year I am not convinced of the accuracy of these tests. We have just been given the name of a different hearing service in Da Nang so, next month, we will take the children to be re-tested. On a recent trip home to New Zealand I was fortunate to meet Scott Panter. Scott is the Charge Clinician at Bay Audiology Ltd on the Kapiti Coast. Scott has kindly agreed to offer his support to Paddy’s Jewel & will be assessing the hearing results of our children & offering his expert advice. Thanks Scott, we are very grateful for your expertise.

Our first fundraising event was held in New Zealand in 2010. Organized by my eldest sister Teresa Francis, & our friend Laura van Peer, we had a very successful night selling products from Viet Nam. The night was made all the more enjoyable by the homemade breads & soups also on sale – Thanks also to another 2 sisters, Cait Barrett & Roisin Hannah for helping with the cooking …. & the cleaning up!

School fees are due again this month. Thanks to my lovely sister, Teresa, the money is already in the bank! Teresa has been quietly fundraising over the past year through her numerous craft groups.  

After a rather slow beginning (nothing happens quickly in Viet Nam!) we are beginning to see results. Our three children are very happy at school & are showing great improvement. Now they have a chance at a future. As our funds increase we can look to increasing the number of children we send to school. Our very grateful thanks to those who have helped us to be where we are today. Best Wishes, Mai.