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 $9.50 a month to change a child's future through education
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 when she majored in logisctics.
“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’s. 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
$115
Primary school
In Vietnam, the tuition fee is waived for the primary school level. Our scholarship helps with expenses such as:
- uniform
- textbooks
- notebooks
– Depending on the area and the total expenses of each case, a child may receive one or more of these: 10kg of rice per month, health insurance, accident insurance, bus fares, etc.
– If the total expenses are less than the receivable amount, the family receives the remaining amount.
– The child also benefits from several workshops and training organised by saigonchildren, as well as counselling and urgent support.
$210
Secondary/High school
Our scholarship helps with expenses such as:
- tuition fee
- uniform
- textbooks
- notebooks
– Depending on the area and the total expenses of each case, a child may receive one or more of these: 10kg of rice per month, health insurance, accident insurance, bus fares, etc.
– If the total expenses are less than the receivable amount, the family receives the remaining amount.
– The child also benefits from several workshops and training organised by saigonchildren, as well as counselling and urgent support.
$475
University/College
The scholarship package is provided to the student in cash so that they can be in charge of their own spending. This motivates students to make smart decisions about personal finance.
The student also benefits from several workshops and training organised by saigonchildren, as well as counselling and urgent support.
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.
- As a sponsor, you will support a child who lives in a saigonchildren programme areas. 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 base on academic merit, saigonchildren does not take input from a child’s performance at school to decide whether they should get our scholarship. Because we believe every child should have the same opportunity at accessing 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 ScholarshipProgramme select 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.
- You can personally connect with your sponsored child (through our social workers) if you wish and even join one of our field trips to visit them if you would like.
- You will witness the transformation through quarterly updates, and receive a detailed annual report with photos.
Their progress is monitored regularly and appropriate action taken, if necessary. Our team works tirelessly to increasing 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 with 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
