Vietnam

Almost half of the deaths and disease among the country’s youngest children in Vietnam are caused by poor sanitation and hygiene, and the ingestion of contaminated drinking water. Less than one third of Ethnic Minority Villagers in rural areas have adequate sanitation facilities.

COCOA has been drilling bores to provide clean water to Minority Villagers in Binh Phuoc Province since 2005. An Phu Village in Binh Long District was provided with 15 bores and tanks which will provide water for the 105 families located there. Dong Tien Village and Dong Tam Village have each received 6 bores and tanks. Cement tanks are constructed at each well site.

Many villagers live in a bamboo thatch cottage with a dirt floor. The house has no bathroom or toilet facilities. COCOA began a housing construction program in 2006 with an agreement to provide 60 houses. To date, 30 houses had been completed. COCOA has been providing a toilet in each house, as a way to help improve sanitation. 

Profile

Population: 86,116,560
Languages: Vietnamese, English, French, Chinese, Khmer & local languages  
Literacy: Males: 74.33%. Females: 68.52%
Average life expectancy: around 71.33 years
Major religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Indigenous beliefs, Muslim
Economy:
Industry: food processing, garments, shoes, machine-building
Agriculture: paddy rice, corn, potatoes, rubber, poultry, fish, tea, coffee.
Exports: crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, tea, rubber

Vietnam is located in Southeast Asia. It is 331,114 square kilometers in area and stretches 1,600 kilometers from the
north to the south, but is only about 40 kilometers wide at its narrowest point near the country's center.

The Red River delta lowlands in the north are separated from the huge Mekong Delta in the south by long, narrow coastal
plains backed by the forested Annam (Central) highlands.

Hanoi, the capital, is the main city on the Red River in the north and Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon, is the main city on the Mekong in the south.

Churches of Christ Overseas Aid in Vietnam

Churches Of Christ Overseas Aid Vietnam (COCOA) is registered in its own right in Vietnam. The registration permit allows COCOA to carry out Aid and Development Programs in Binh Phuoc Province which is 150 km north-west from Ho Chi Minh City.

John and Lan Dean work together to oversee the ministry being carried out in Binh Phuoc. John is a Herbalist originally from the Tweed heads Church of Christ. He is also a Vietnam veteran who vowed he would never return, but God had other ideas.  In 1994 he felt called to return to Vietnam to help “the people” and taught English for ten years.  While living there he met and married Lan. They have been managing COCOA projects since 2004. Lan is able to interpret for John on each of the visits to the province.

Housing Project

There are many poor villages in Vietnam, especially amongst the Ethnic Minority Tribes. Many villagers live in a bamboo thatch cottage with a dirt floor. The house has no bathroom or toilet facilities. Binh Phuoc People’s Committee estimated in 2004, that the overall needs of the poor in the Province was around 40,000 houses.

COCOA began a housing construction program in 2006 with an agreement to provide 60 houses. To date, 30 houses had been completed. COCOA has been providing a toilet in each house, as a way to help improve sanitation.

Clean Water Projects

Almost half of the deaths and disease among the country’s youngest children in Vietnam are caused by poor sanitation and hygiene, and the ingestion of contaminated drinking water. Less than one third of Ethnic Minority Villagers in rural areas have adequate sanitation facilities. Of those who have access to sanitation, only 17 per cent know how to use these facilities hygienically, which increases the children’s risk of contracting water-borne diseases.

COCOA has been drilling bores to provide clean water to Minority Villagers in Binh Phuoc Province since 2005. An Phu Village in Binh Long District was provided with 15 bores and tanks which will provide water for the 105 families located there. Dong Tien Village and Dong Tam Village have each received 6 bores and tanks. Cement tanks are constructed at each well site.

In Tan Xuan Village in Outer Dong Xoai Township a 1 Km pipeline was installed to bring water from Dong Xoai to the Village.

Food Distribution

The current economic crisis means many Minority families all over Vietnam are finding it hard to buy the basic food items. They usually rely on growing Cassava (Tapioca) as a cash crop. Recently the price has plummeted from around 50 cents to about 5 cents a kilo, if they can sell it. China has stopped buying any so there is heaps of it going mouldy around the country.

Through-out 2009, John and Lan have been distributing several hundred gift packs to poor minority villager families in Dong Tien and Dong Tam villages. Even though the content is not much (10 kg rice, 10 packets of instant noodle, 1 litre of fish sauce, 1 litre of cooking oil, and salt) they have been very much appreciated. Since International experts are forecasting this recession/depression may continue for another one to two years or longer, John & Lan are seeking to establish a Monthly Food Aid Program.  In this they hope to provide 200 poor Binh Phuoc Minority families with a $15 food package each month for one year. Their prayer is that God will work through this crisis and those who are suffering will come to know the love and comfort of Jesus.

Education

Having an education means a better chance of getting a good job after leaving school. More than 2,000 classrooms will be needed in Binh Phuoc Province over the next ten years. Two classrooms have just been built on an area of land in An Phu Village. The School will educate children from Prep School age to final Primary level.

Vocational Training Programs are very limited in Vietnam and Minority children have limited access to this type of education. In 2006, COCOA finished the construction of the first Mushroom Growing Laboratory at the Dong Xoai Township Ethnic Minority High School. This is the first such structure of its kind in the Province and its completion was welcomed by Minority leaders and families. The Province has five Minority High Schools, and the hope is that we can raise funds for mushroom labs in the other High Schools.

The Government of Vietnam has recently been calling for International help in the construction of Vocational Colleges in rural areas to train poor Vietnamese and Minority workers in agriculture and farming skills. These skills are much needed to improve their chances of getting employment. 

Prayer Points

Pray for John and Lan Dean especially for John’s health and their continuing ministries in Vietnam.

Visit the website http://www.cocoa-s-e-asia.org to view the COCOA Project videos of the work in Vietnam.

Sources: Wikipedia, UN website

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