By Dang Thi Phuong Loan | Project Contributor
Returning from the field trip in Kenh Duong ward (Hai Phong city) since May, everyone in the “Scarlet Sails” project team was still bothered by the story of V.T.T, a boy who has been through a lot of sufferings but never fails to show his strength and efforts. His grandmother’s teary eyes when seeing our team off made us could not help but to clearly remember every word she said: “There is a very good teacher on the other side of the street. Next year, T. will be a middle school senior, I want to let him be tutored by her to enter high school but I don’t have enough money. I feel so sorry for my poor grandchild but don’t know what to do.”
In October 2021, 2 months after T. getting sponsored by the “Scarlet Sails” project, we revisited him and it seems like things have significantly changed. T. is still much more mature than his peers, but his eyes are no longer as sad as before. “He smiles more and often talks excitedly about the Math and Literature tutoring classes that he is taking to prepare for the high school entrance exam. T. also proudly showed the achievements he got when participating in the extracurricular activities of the ward and his school.” - Ms. Nguyen Hai Thanh, President of Kenh Duong Ward Women’s Union, shared with the For Vietnamese Stature Foundation (VSF).
Together with T., two other children, N.H.H and D.M.V, have also been sponsored by the “Scarlet Sails” project since September 2021. Visiting the family of the two children, Ms. Thanh was not able to hide her emotion: “Seeing me, both of them were so eager to share about their new things they’ve got. H. has finally had a new desk after years of having to share the same wobbly desk with her sister. She showed me how she organized her new desk, leaving the most solemn place for her certificates. As for V., she has made a lot of progress in her studying. She and her mother no longer have to worry about monthly tuition and living expenses.”
In addition to supporting education and living expenses for some children with extremely difficult circumstances, the project also organizes training activities and seminars to raise awareness and skills for children, caregivers and stakeholders. On November 28th, 2021, within the "Scarlet Sails" project, the For Vietnamese Stature Foundation (VSF) coordinated with the Vietnamese Women's Union of Hai Phong City to organize a training course on "Prevention skills" against child sexual abuse” for 30 children in Kenh Duong ward, Le Chan district, Hai Phong city. Directly managing the training course are Ms. Dao Anh Hong - Member of the Standing Committee, Head of the Organizing Committee of the Vietnamese Women's Union in Hai Phong and Ms. Tran Hong Diep - Deputy Director of VSF.
"Today I learned what is child sexual abuse”,
“The first time I learned that there is sexual abuse through technology”,
"I learned the underwear rules and 5 finger rule",
"I have been practicing self-protection skills in specific situations"
Those are some of the sharings of children from 9 to 14 years old after finishing the training course.
One day of training helped them understand more about the concept of child sexual abuse; distinguish 3 groups of sexual acts (with physical contact, without physical contact, through technological means); keep in mind the rules of sexual abuse prevention; practice some necessary skills in the prevention of sexually abuse, etc. They all participated very actively, confidently and openly shared their opinions.
In particular, the children also directly participated in the play of situations, coming up with solutions to deal with the risks and signs of sexual abuse. The training course not only equips children with knowledge and skills to prevent child sexual abuse, but above all, it also conveys to them some important messages such as: Children need to be protected from harm and children all have the right to be safe; Both boys and girls are at risk of sexual abusement; the perpetrator can be anyone; and children are never at fault when having been sexually abused.
This meaningful activity has contributed to reducing the risk of child sexual abuse, helping them to live in a safe and happy environment.
This is an activity of the project "Scarlet Sails" - a cooperation between the For Vietnamese Stature Foundation (VSF) and the Vietnamese Women's Union in Hai Phong city - the Vietnamese Women's Union of Kenh Duong ward. In addition to supporting education and living expenses for some children with extremely difficult circumstances, the project also organizes training sessions and seminars with the aim of increasing knowledge and skills to prevent sexual abuse for children and caregivers in Kenh Duong Ward. The project will also develop a short film to raise awareness about this content, and at the same time coordinate with the Vietnamese Women's Union in Hai Phong to spread the film widely in schools in the area and through other information channels.
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