Helping Vietnam’s street kids by the book
Buying a book in Wellington next weekend can help a Vietnamese child in need.
The Blue Dragon Book Fair – to be held at Ngaio Town Hall next Saturday – is an annual New Zealand fundraiser for the Blue Dragon Children’s Education Centre, a Vietnamese charitable organisation.
Blue Dragon was set up in Hanoi by Australian teacher Michael Brosowski in 2004 to give children there a better chance at life. It helps street kids, trafficking victims and families in crisis.
The New Zealand leg of the organisation, the Blue Dragon Children’s Trust, was established by six Wellington women in 2010 to support Brosowski’s Hanoi centre.
A Dominion Post story in 2009 about the Blue Dragon Children’s Education Centre in Vietnam helped bring Chinh Van Do to New Zealand to live.
When the Taupo Language and Outdoor Education Centre read that newspaper article, it contacted Blue Dragon and offered a three-month scholarship to one of its students.
Van Do, a former street kid who shined shoes on the streets of Hanoi to survive, was selected to come to Taupo. He has been studying and working in New Zealand ever since.
The 28-year-old has studied both English and IT here, and recently moved to Tauranga to take up an electrical apprenticeship.
For the fifth year in a row, he plans to travel to Wellington to help at the Blue Dragon Book Fair.
Describing the Hanoi centre as a ‘‘home of hope’’, he says he always visits Blue Dragon on trips to Vietnam. ‘‘They always make me feel so welcome. I try to help them out by playing soccer with the kids and helping them with their schoolwork.’’
The work Blue Dragon does is vital, he says. ‘‘They are helping the kids and giving chances and creating opportunities for them. It’s like home for the kids.’’
All proceeds from the book fair will go to the Vietnamese charity.
Blue Dragon Book Fair, Ngaio Town Hall, Ottawa Rd; 9am4pm on May 20.