I know I am not the world's best blogger, twitterer or social networker and should do a lot more of this. However, I prefer to post things that matter than to inundate you with trivia :) Please accept my apologies for feeble social networking but...
I mentioned that whilst in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam, last year I came across a person working for an oil company that was helping an orphanage in his spare time. We talked about whether or not we could work together to the betterment of the kids of lives but in a way that would not promote abuse of children or slave labour. It is clearly a difficult balance to strike in a desperately poor environment. Unfortunately children do go to work earlier than they do in the west. This has bothered me ever since until I was recently contacted by the people that run the orphanage.
We will shortly announcing the DreamAid shop opening of FFSC (Friends For Street Children) where the DreamAid Charity will assist the orphanage to sell their products on the DreamAid website. We will handle the sales on their behalf and send the proceeds to them directly.
FFSC helps about 1000 children that have no homes and are forced on to the streets to try to scrape a living. This leaves them open to all kinds of abuse and sickness. FFSC is supported by donors and the Dominican sisters who administer health care and education programmes. Amongst these education programmes are handcrafts lessons where the older children are taught skills to help them earn a living.
It is a lovely thought that we can reach out to them and encourage their development by purchasing their work and letting them realise that they are not alone. We will announce their products soon and hope you will help us to help them shortly.
Hoping little dreams become big ones and that they come true,
Peter McAteer
