INTERNATIONAL PROJECT PROPOSAL
PROJECT 0499
Tay Ninh Rural Education
Schooling for poor little ones
— Phuoc Minh, Vietnam —
Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.
Proverbs 4:13
We are a
Catholic ministry
that serves the poorest of the poor internationally by
channeling aid through dioceses, parishes and Catholic
missionaries, cost-effectively helping the poor break the
cycle of poverty while advancing Catholic evangelization.
Rather than create new institutions to distribute aid, we
support existing ministries and churches already serving the
poor. In addition to being the most cost-effective way of
helping the poor, empowering these ministries allows us to
support the Church’s spiritual mission and its important
position of leadership in poor communities.
We consider every gift we receive as a precious resource
from God. We direct every donation to its intended
project, provide honest and accurate reports to our
donors, and keep overhead costs to an industry low. We
handle funds with utmost integrity and hold our ministry
partners in the field to the same high standards by asking
them to document costs and the impact of their outreach.
We invite you to join with us as we seek to transform the
lives of the poor materially and spiritually — ways that
please the Father and glorify him in Heaven and on earth.
Tay Ninh Rural Education | Project 0499
Project Synopsis
Description
Help the Daughters of Charity provide school tuition, school supplies, food and values formation classes for
100 children whose parents are poor sharecroppers and day laborers.
Location
Phuoc Minh, an impoverished, remote village in the Tay Ninh Province in Vietnam near the Cambodian border.
Cost
$13,200 per year or about $11 per student each month.
Highlights
• Sharecroppers and day laborers in rural Vietnam perform backbreaking labor for about $1 per day, and their
families survive on little more than rice.
• Because parents can’t afford the tuition required to send their children to school, boys and girls are
uneducated, become unemployable and are unable to lift themselves out of poverty.
• To overcome the hardships of the poor, the Daughters of Charity provide school tuition and supplies for
more than 100 children in Phuoc Minh while providing character formation classes that teach moral values
and life skills.
• Though religious restrictions have relaxed in recent years, proselytizing is still prohibited in communist
Vietnam, so religious organizations like the Daughters of Charity must find creative ways to teach children
about Christ.
• Cross Catholic Outreach is committed to supporting the sisters’ valuable education and character-building
program and helping them reach out to poor children in Vietnam.
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Tay Ninh Rural Education | Project 0499
The Need
Without an education, children in the Tay Ninh Province will most likely
become sharecroppers or day laborers, earning less than $1 a day and
continuing the generational cycle of poverty.
Up before sunrise, the poor children of Phuoc
Minh reach for rakes and shovels rather than for
school supplies and backpacks. Elsewhere, other
boys and girls may be preparing for work in the
classroom, but these little ones are destined for
hard labor in the fields. Desperate poverty has
forced them to work alongside their parents, and
even then, they barely earn enough to pay for a
daily meal. There is never enough for school fees
or supplies.
Phuoc Minh is like many of the remote villages
within the Tay Ninh Province. The village’s people
work as either sharecroppers or day laborers.
Sharecroppers give most of their harvest to a
landlord. Day laborers earn little more than $1 a day.
Because Phuoc Minh is situated along the
Cambodian border, its population is mostly
Cambodian immigrants, some of whom don’t even
speak Vietnamese. This makes it even more difficult
for them to secure decent jobs and feed their families.
Considering these conditions, it’s easy to
understand why Phuoc Minh parents put such a
low priority on education. Their focus is survival,
and thinking beyond the day’s needs seems
fruitless to them.
Fortunately, the Daughters of Charity have
their future in mind — and the sisters are willing
to fight for the dignity and potential of the poor.
They know that with a good education, these
illiterate village children can experience a
profound change of life. They can gain basic
reading, writing and math skills and escape the
migrant life that has plagued their families for
generations. Through an investment in this
youngest generation, the Daughters of Charity
hope to bring profound change and lasting
blessings to Phuoc Minh and its families.
All your children shall be taught by the LORD,
and great shall be the prosperity of your children.
Isaiah 54:13
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Tay Ninh Rural Education | Project 0499
Project Description
The Tay Ninh Rural Education Program
run by the Daughters of Charity has a twotier, integral approach to providing poor
children with access to a quality education.
The first addresses practical needs. The
second focuses on spiritual formation.
In its educational outreach, the sisters
help cover the costs of school fees and
expenses so 100 rural children can get an
education. They give priority to those in
the greatest need who have also shown a
commitment to their studies.
Because the Daughters of Charity
understand the value of integral ministry
— the combining of material and spiritual
support — their second-tier programs
include Catholic character formation
classes. These teach moral and ethical
values to the children. Straightforward
proselytizing is illegal in Vietnam, so the
sisters integrate their spiritual training into
topics such as etiquette, hygiene, children’s
rights and a respect for others.
A Brighter Future
Kim Ngan’s life provides a perfect
example of the value of the Daughters of
Charity’s mission in Tay Ninh. As a third
grader, Kim Ngan was faced with an abrupt life change. As young as she was, the girl was put in the position of
leaving her studies to help her grandmother, the sole provider in their home. Kim’s mother had abandoned her
at birth and her father was in extremely poor health — far too sick to work. The tuition fees had become a
burden, and the grandmother wanted Kim to work at home.
Hearing about the situation, the sisters accepted Kim into their education program, and her dream of getting
an education was restored. With this schooling, Kim has the opportunity for a better life. She is gaining
knowledge, dignity and the potential to earn a real income. Kim’s experience exemplifies everything the Tay Ninh
Rural Education Program was created to achieve. It has the power to break the cycle of poverty in Vietnam and
prepare a generation of children for a better, brighter future.
For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with
goodness, and goodness with knowledge.
2 Peter 1:5
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Tay Ninh Rural Education | Project 0499
Help Now!
The Daughters of Charity believe a
quality education and Catholic formation
can shape the future of Vietnam’s poor
children, preparing them to be important
future leaders in their communities. The
Tay Ninh Rural Education Program is a
key component in their strategy to break
the chains of poverty in Phuoc Minh and
restore hope to the poor, rural families
who live there.
Though they can’t openly talk about Jesus
Christ in the schools, the sisters can be living
examples of the Catholic life and can expose
these desperately poor children to faith and
spiritual values. Since this important
ministry can only continue with outside help,
Cross Catholic Outreach comes to you on
their behalf, asking that you prayerfully
consider financially supporting their work.
Your gift will empower the Daughters of
Charity, allowing them to demonstrate
Christ’s love for “the least of these” by
providing an education these poor children
wouldn’t otherwise receive, and instilling
character qualities they may otherwise
never learn.
The sisters rely on assistance from Cross
Catholic Outreach for this important work.
Please join us and bless these children in
the name of Christ.
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.
Proverbs 3:27
Our Promise to You!
Proceeds from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred during the current calendar
year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess funds, if any, will be used to
meet the most urgent needs of the ministry.
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800-914-2420 • www.CrossCatholic.org
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