Provide a child
with a scholarship
to sponsor their future!
Support a struggling student by sponsoring their scholarship through saigonchildren’s Child Development Scholarship Programme to help them build a better future for themselves.
It takes as little as $1 a day to change a child's future through education
SCHOLARSHIPS SPONSORED:
School year 2024 - 2025
Born in Dong Nai in a family of four siblings, finance was a major issue for Thanh’s family; they often were in debt due and owed tuition fees.
Thanh received saigonchildren’s scholarship for 8 years, 4 years in secondary school, and 4 years in university where she majored in logistics.
“The first time I came to Saigon, I was also shocked by the high costs. I ate instant noodles almost every day. If I didn’t have class in the morning, I would sleep until noon to skip breakfast.”
In addition to the scholarship, Thanh also participated in extracurricular activities such as skill workshops and foreign language classes offered by saigonchildren. Upon graduation, Thanh was recruited by a Japanese logistics company to work as an intern. With her great effort and a never-ending willingness to learn, Thanh is now the head of the company’s office in Vietnam and is in turn helping other struggling students like herself.
What is "Child Development Scholarship”?
Saigonchildren’s Child Development Scholarship Programme focuses on helping impoverished children stay in school by providing them with scholarships, soft skill training, and personal counselling.
Once a child is admitted into the programme, we try our best to support them until the end of their education journey (university/college). This is a big commitment for us. Therefore, your help, even with just one year’s sponsorship, would mean a lot in ensuring every child in the programme will be supported as long as they still want to learn.
You can choose to support a scholarship in different levels
$300
Grade School/Vocational Training
which costs you ~ $1 a day for one year
Our grade school/vocational scholarship covers essential expenses including tuition fees, uniforms, textbooks, and notebooks. Depending on the specific circumstances and total expenses of each case, additional support may be provided, such as 10kg of rice per month, health insurance, accident insurance, bus fares, and more.
In cases where the total expenses are lower than the scholarship amount, the remaining funds are provided to the family, ensuring they can address other financial needs effectively.
Moreover, the scholarship recipients gain valuable insights from various workshops and training sessions organised by saigonchildren. These programmes are designed to enhance their skills and knowledge, empowering them for future success. Additionally, our dedicated team of professional social workers provides counselling services, offering guidance and support to the students and their families. In times of urgent family emergencies, we stand ready to provide immediate assistance.
At saigonchildren, our comprehensive scholarship programme not only relieves the financial burden for students and their families but also ensures their overall well-being and personal development.
$600
University/College
which costs you ~$2 a day for one year
Our tertiary scholarship offers students a unique opportunity to take charge of their own financial journey. Instead of a fixed package, we provide the scholarship in cash, empowering students to make wise decisions about their personal finance. This approach nurtures their autonomy and independence, preparing them for a successful future.
Our students also benefit from a range of enriching workshops, training sessions, and personalised counselling. We believe in equipping them with essential life skills and knowledge, ensuring they are well-prepared to navigate the challenges of university life and beyond.
By offering a higher value in scholarships, we aim to give students greater freedom and choice in selecting their desired university and major. We understand the importance of pursuing one’s passion and dreams, and we strive to support students in their journey towards academic excellence and personal fulfilment.
Why you should sponsor a child's scholarship
Directly change a child's future
Education is the most effective and sustainable investment you can make to change someone’s life for the better.
Form a special connection
As a donor of “Sponsor a Future” you will be assigned a specific child and learn details about their circumstance.
(For registrations before September, assignments will take place latest in October; after September, cases will be allocated as soon as possible upon availibility.)
Receive yearly updates
Saigonchildren will send you updates about your sponsored child, including one with their study report at the end of the school year.
Inspire others by your stories
Become a storyteller here to connect with more generous supporters like you through your journeys in changing the futures of children in need by sponsorship.
- As a sponsor, you will support a child who lives in a saigonchildren programme area. You will be the only sponsor of that child.
- Saigonchildren visits each child in their home to assess their level of poverty and suitability for the programme.
- After students are chosen to receive saigonchildren’s scholarships, we hold regular meetings with the children and, where possible, with their families to assess and reassess their needs.
- Saigonchildren gets to understand the children individually and maintain contact to ensure that they continue to have what they need to attend school.
- Saigonchildren collects students’ study reports. Although academic excellence is not a criterion for selection or to stay in the programme, we value their efforts in overcoming difficulties to get the most out of their schooling.
Because it works! Established in 1992, the goal of the Child Development Scholarship Programme is to ensure that all children excluded from school or whose education is jeopardised by poverty can attend school untroubled by worries about the cost of education to their families. We choose students with great care and visit them in their homes. Selection criteria include the family’s financial situation (in accordance with the national poverty standard), the family’s ability to earn, other family circumstances, and lack of or limited support from other NGOs or the government.
As a sponsor, you will witness the impact of your support through quarterly updates and you will give a better future to your sponsored child.
Unlike many other scholarships that are based on academic merit, saigonchildren does not take input from a child’s performance at school to decide whether they should get our scholarship. We believe every child should have the same opportunity to access education. Additionally, for children in remote areas, even just one extra year in school means one more year that they can develop in a safe environment, and will contribute positively to their future outlooks.
Our Scholarship Programme selects beneficiaries on the basis of:
- Family’s financial situation (average income is classified as poor or near-poor based on the national poverty line, expenses/debts, possession of assets).
- Family’s ability to earn, including if any family members have no or limited ability to work due to illness or disabilities.
- Family circumstances, including whether one or both parents’ have left, passed away or are working far from the child’s home.
- Lack of/limited support from other NGOs or from the government.
- Thanks to your support, you will take part in our daily work to support sponsored children to live a fuller, happier, healthier, and safer life.
- If you wish, you can personally connect with your sponsored child (through our social workers) and even join one of our field trips to visit them.
- You will witness the transformation through quarterly updates, and receive a detailed annual report with photos.
As a sponsor, you will help transform your sponsored child’s life. Our scholarship packages differ depending on the level of the student. For example, university students receive assistance to pay tuition fees, whereas school students generally receive school supplies (textbooks and notebooks), a new school uniform, and 10 kg of rice per month during the school year. Saigonchildren visits each child in their home to assess their level of poverty and suitability for the programme. We hold regular meetings with the children and, where possible, with their families to assess and reassess their needs. Saigonchildren gets to understand the children individually and maintain contact to ensure they continue to have what they need to attend school.
Their progress is monitored regularly and appropriate action taken, if necessary. Our team works tirelessly to increase their skills, hope, happiness, and confidence. We meet the children and their parents every year, and visit their homes every 2 to 3 years, to reassess their circumstances and to make sure this help is given to those who need it the most. We also check with the family to see if their circumstances have changed for better or worse to see if any change is needed.
We partner with people and organisations at every level of a child’s environment – with family, community, teachers, and sponsors – to guarantee the most lasting impact. Sometimes we provide urgent support to the family as well if there has been an emergency, for example, we supported all of our scholarship children with emergency food packages when Vietnam was in lockdown because of COVID in 2021. We also work with children themselves to provide social services such as counselling for children at risk of dropping out and for children returning to education.
- Saigon Children’s Charity CIO
- 59 Tran Quoc Thao
- District 3, Ho Chi Minh City
- Tel: +84 28 3930 3502
- Fax: +84 28 3930 3503
- www.saigonchildren.com