Yesterday while visiting Andy Keating at Hoa Binh Hotel (Long Xuyen, An Giang Vietnam) on another charity initiative, we connected with Tad Kincaid and to learn some excellent news about Khai Tri Orphanage. So we will be visiting the 8 am computer class this morning to see the library Winnetka Rotary & Library Project Vietnam helped built in action.

 Yes. I just ran into Tom. I am here with a team of HR and recruiting experts from Facebook and Box who are here supporting Orphan Impact to improve the "career preparation" component of our project. We are visiting orphanages in 3 provinces.

Side note: We started teaching our computer class at Khai Tri in June 2014. Going well so far. 6 classes each week. 54 participating students.
If you guys are free tonight or tomorrow, stop by.
Tad
____________

Tad Kincaid
Orphan Impact
Founder & Managing Director
Vietnam Mobile: +84.121.4965.103
US Mobile: 503.453.9947
Email: tad@orphanimpact.org
www.OrphanImpact.org

Meeting with AGU RCCD and New School in An Giang Province

Two years ago we asked Library Chuck to drop off a Classmate TabletPC (CMPC) with An Giang University's Resource Center for Community Development (RCCD) -- click here for the posting in this blog. We also donated the same Classmate TabletPC (CMPC) to Dr. Jade Stanley @ NEIU.edu for her to bring to a primary school she works with in Jamaica. By having two centers focused on community development, we hope they can combine resources in both countries.

The kids in Khai Tri Orphanage are truly amazing but the administration is not mature enough to accept donations from an NGO in a trustworthy manner for us. On this trip we connected with the largest primary school in Long Xuyen, Le Qui Don. The school has well over 1,600 students serving 1st through 5th grade. We believe there are 38 classrooms and the 3rd grade class we visited had 52 students. Talking to the 3rd grade Teacher, Vinh Mai, we learned that the class size is supposed to be 35 students per teacher but it's such a popular school for parents to send their kids that 50 kids per room is common.

We decided to let Vinh borrow our Classmate TabletPC we brought to the RCCD in April 2010 for the next 6 weeks so he can experiment using it with the kids at Le Qui Don. Here are some photos from this trip:

Here is Tom showing CMPC to Vice Principal at Le Qui Don Primary School.


3rd Graders using CMPC at Le Qui Don Primary School (Long Xuyen, An Giang Vietnam)



RCCD visit by Teacher from Le Qui Don Primary School where we gave them a CMPC to borrow for six weeks to experiment with his students.

We have our next trip planned for June where we can jointly determine if this school would like to work on this e-Learning For Kids project with us.

Next Visit to Khai Tri Orphanage is Planned for April 2012

We have several projects in Vietnam and will definitely stop by Khai Tri in our next trip planned for April 2012.

Checking In at Khai Tri (Novemeber 2011)

20111016_KhaiTri_Pic_03, a photo by learningexecutive on Flickr.

RightStart4Kids October/November 2011 SE Asia Trip -- November 14, 2011

Visited Khai Tri Orphanage & e-Learning For Kids Library today. We cooked a big meal and threw a party for the 90+ kids with meat & milk to make sure everyone had lots of protein.

We are still waiting for new management with less corruption before donating more.

Checking in at Khai Tri (November 2010)

Library Chuck visited Khai Tri Orphanage three times in less than twelve months (Dec 2009, April 2010 & October 2010).

During my November 2010 visit to Khai Tri we continued to hear that many of the donations (for example cash, personal and school supplies) are not going to the kids. Also, on April 15th the An Giang newspaper published an article with very serious issues that appear to still be under investigation.

Library Chuck's LOV Delegation Summer Visit to Khai Tri

Library Chuck Visits Khai Tri & An Giang University

Library Chuck and Miss Le continues are good work partnering with An Giang University and stops by the library built with donations from RightStart4Kids and Rotary Club of Winnetka.

Storage Room @ Khai Tri Orphanage OVERFLOWING with Donations

During our December 2009 visit to Khai Tri we were pleased to see all of the extra supplies they had. We heard that all of the donations are not going to the kids so we are interested in learning more before giving more.

Santa Visits Khai Tri Orphanage for an Early Christmas Party

The Khai Tri Kids had a great time with Santa earlier today when Santa visited the kids with Library Project of Vietnam & Rotary Club of Winnekta Northfield who sponsored this Christmas party. We had wonderful support and help from the community who brought amble food for the 160 hungry kids.

More photos are upload to our Helping Khai Tri Kids facebook group.
Click here to see more photos on facebook.

Kids Reading in Library

We have been in An Giang province for a few days and stopped by Khai Tri this afternoon. Everything seems peaceful. One class was in session; the older kids were at the public school; a group of kids were watching a movie; a few kids were resting.

We noticed that the library door was open and about 15 kids were reading.

We also talked to the new Principle and assistant running the school and told them that Library Chuck is planning on visiting on Dec 2nd to give the kids a Christmas Party.

Memo of Understanding

The equivalent of a contract in Vietnam is an M.O.U.

You can click here to print a copy of the M.O.U. that was signed by Khai Tri Administration before we did the work.

On our last trip to Khai Tri Orphanage (Summer 2009), I gave my flip video to some of the kids and then uploaded a dozen small vldeos to my YouTube channel.

Today's visit was to provide some basic medical aid for the kids

We visited the Khai Tri orphanage today with some medical supplies. We think most of the cuts and infections are a result of poor hygiene and lack of proper adult supervision.



Currently there are only three full-time adult staff (Mr. Thi, Mr. Son, Ms. Nguyet). Mr. Son is in charge of the medicine cabinet and clearly is not trained with the skills that most Mother's in the U.S. learn the first year of raising a kid. The kids scrapes and bruises are much worst than last year or the year before.

Last July, we had a bus load of Doctors, Dentist & Nurses from Medical Aid for Vietnam and the kids were healthy. In 2007 on our trip, we noticed the kids were spotless and washed their hands before each meal. Now the lack of adult supervision is causing the kids hardship which could be easily resolved with more staff.

Spring 2009 Update from Vietnam

I am in Vietnam and taught a workshop on emerging learning technologies at An Giang University this week. There are several learning technologies that we discussed would be good to research for elementary classrooms.

We have purchase some of the classroom learning technologies for donating to a needy school in Vietnam that will be able to provide teachers skilled and able to teach with technology. Next week, I will visit Khai Tri Orphanage and publish my status report on this blog.

e-Learning for Kids Announces New Advisory Board Member

E-Learning for Kids (EFK, www.e-learningforkids.org), a global nonprofit foundation dedicated to providing free online learning for children 5-12, today announced the addition of Dirk Tussing, the Executive Director of the Learning Executive Exchange in Chicago, to its Advisory Board.

To read the press release which includes a reference to our project at Khai Tri, click here.

"Mr. Tussing has been involved with e-Learning for Kids for more than a year now and has supported the organization in numerous ways. These include championing the foundation with the Rotary Clubs from around the world, implementing the EFK courses in Vietnam at the Khai Tri Orphanage, building a social networking site for the foundation (http://elearningforkids.ning.com/) where one can join a group, view photos from schools around the world using the EFK courseware, download a poster about EFK in over ten languages, teleport to an Orientation Center for the foundation in SecondLife, read a blog, or informally learn more. "

Chicago fundraising event with e-Learning For Kids founder, Nick van Dam

e-Learning For Kids founder, Nick van Dam, visited us in Chicago from Amsterdam while he was in the United States for work. Nick shared information on the free and fun computer-based learning programs that now has grown to over 150 courses to 250 executives who help provide learning programs to companies.

Photos of this e-learningforkids fundraising Chicago event are available on facebook: visit
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=176856&l=9e7ca&id=668525312 to see pics.

THANK YOU DONORS FOR OUR PROJECT: An Giang University & Rotary Helping Homeless Children at Khai Tri in Vietnam

We have raised enough money for purchasing two SMART Boards through their Seed Program and eight www.ClassmatePC.com with Solid-State-Drives.

Our Chicago Volunteers helping in the Kitchen

Newest young visitor from Tom's home town in Long Xuyen (thanks to Dillon International)

Our Team Expressing our Thank You to Our Donors

We had a wonderful turn out for our 2nd Annual Vietnamese Benefit Dinner at Hadley School for the Blind (Winnetka, IL). We have raised enough donations (nearly $5,000) to start working purchasing the new state-of-the-art technology for Khai Tri Orphanage & An Giang University Foreign Language Department to help build English skills by adding creativity curricula in rural elementary education. You can click the SMART Board below and take a flash tour of the wall-mounted version we plan to donate two SMART Boards: one at Khai Tri Orphanage and one at An Giang University in the Foreign Language Department (English). Now that we have the funds donated we will need to next work on the Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with the help of the Library of Vietnam NGO (www.LibraryOfVietnam.com).



We still need to find donors for two LCD Projectors (required for each SMART Board) and eight more CMPC with SSD to complete the desired next phase. Please contact me via email at Rotary@learningexecutive.com if you want to help.

Emerging Technology Fair for Kids Learning (Oct 9th, Chicago)

As I get to know Nick van Dam better and have watched the ways our network of thought leaders have been helping kids around the world, it’s amazing to learn about the new technologies that are now available. With my travels this last year to remote corners of the earth, I have been able to collect several hard to find emerging technologies. For example, have you heard of MIT’s $100 OLPC laptop or the new Intel-powered ClassmatePC – would you like trying to use them? If you would, then join us at this emerging technology fair for kids.

We are hosting this session at SMART Technologies’ downtown Chicago office; they are helping us secure a state-of-the-art interactive whiteboard for the Khai Tri Orphanage Innovation Center we helped built with the Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield and Library Project of Vietnam.

We also will be dem9nstrating Nick van Dam’s e-LearningForKids free and fun educational computer software for kids ages 5-12. You can watch a recent global CNBC broadcast on July, 12th 2008 of Nick’s foundation directly from YouTube:



For more information, click here.

Khai Tri Kids Doctor's & Dentist Report (hum .. or "Football" Report)

Tom suggested that the www.MedicalAidForVietnam.org July 2008 mission stops by Khai Tri Orphanage to check on the kids. Our understanding (which we receive contradictory information) is that the kids probably do not have access to quality medical and dental care. Well when the doctors and dental teams arrived the kids we so healthy that the spent most of the time of playing football (which we call soccer in the United States) with the boys. The kids were great and gave the medical team an amazing workout. Thu (an English teacher at An Giang University) shared that Khai Tri played football in a tournament with another school the week before and won too.





A few days later, the medical mission returned to give the Khai Tri kids a gift. Four of the dental & pharmacy team members from Vancouver bought a ping pong table for the kids to have more fun. After the team returned to the North American, Tom and I sat down with Khai Tri's principal and he agreed to put the ping pong table in the Innovation Center we built since there was plenty of room. We'll ask our friends at An Giang University for pictures to share and make sure the ping pong table is not locked up and not used.

Summer of 2008 will be remembered by the Khai Tri Kids - Their 1st Talent Show

Tom headed back to Vietnam this summer to help with another mission for the http://www.medicalaidforvietnam.org/ I joined him to experience the raining season and visit the Vientiane Capital, Laos. One of the unexpected surprises was to notice the kids English was significantly better than in January '08. We also met Thu & Will (visiting faculty at AGU.edu.vn from Michigan). Thu explained the kids had a five week summer camp which was lead by an American from California. We also found out Khai Tri had their first talent show and we were given a two hour DVD. I'm trying to upload the video to the internet, but the video file is HUGE ... Stay tune and i'll replace the screen shot below with a link to Google!video when I have everything sorted out.