Campaigns

A Trusted MCNV Program in a New Form: A Sustainable Future for 300 Poor Farming Families in Huong Phung and Huong Lap

News, News Center, Ongoing Campaigns

For many years, we’ve made a real difference together in the lives of people in Vietnam. Thanks to ongoing commitment and perseverance from our donors and other sponsors, countless families have been able to make a fresh start. Now, it’s time to take the next step.

In January 2026, a new three-year program will launch in Quang Tri province. In this remote region, the majority of families live in poverty, often with little hope for improvement. Our focus will be on 300 households in the villages of Huong Phung and Huong Lap — families from ethnic minority communities with limited access to jobs, education, or healthcare.

The challenges are real, but so are the opportunities. Thanks to the experience gained from previous initiatives like PROSPER (a forestry program in Quang Tri) and BIJPO (creating jobs and income for the poorest women in Phu Yen), we know where the strength lies: in the people themselves, in working together, and in making the most of local resources such as bamboo, rattan, honey, medicinal herbs, and other valuable forest products.

We are building on a strong foundation

This new program will offer 300 households intensive support to develop and strengthen small-scale farming, along with additional income-generating activities such as sustainable harvesting of forest products, animal husbandry, cultivation of medicinal plants, and processing and selling local goods.

This will always be done in close collaboration with local partners and village communities, ensuring the approach truly meets the needs and opportunities of the region.

The program is sustainable, inclusive, and built on lessons learned from past success. As a result, families can not only increase their income, but also gradually move towards more independence and a stable, dignified life.

Help 300 Households Build a Self-Reliant Future

As a committed supporter, you know how MCNV works: practical, thoughtful, and always in close cooperation with the people involved. This new program follows the same path — giving families in Huong Phung and Huong Lap the opportunity to build their own income and escape the cycle of poverty. It’s a proven approach — offering fresh hope to a region that still urgently needs support.

Preparations are already in full swing. To be ready to start in January, we need some additional financial space.

Every extra donation, big or small, gives these families a real chance at a better future.

Thank you so much for your support — past, present, and hopefully, in the future as well.

With warm regards,

Karin Vlug

MCNV SUMMER CAMPAIGN 2025

Campaigns, News, News Center, Ongoing Campaigns

A healthy start for children in Sepone and Phin

Dear donors, June 26, 2025

Life in Sepone and Phin is tough. Most people in this region in Laos, close to the Vietnamese province of Quang Tri, make a living from agriculture. However, the poor soil yields little and the yield is not very nutritious. As a result, children do not get enough to eat and lag behind in their physical and mental development due to malnutrition. They are also vulnerable to diseases. Their parents are very concerned about this, but they do not have the knowledge and experience to improve the food situation for their children and themselves. Schools and health posts are difficult to reach for the people in these municipalities due to the great distances. MCNV has developed a program that successfully tackles these problems. We also want to realize the structural improvements that were previously achieved in Nong in Sepone and Phin.

Successful multidisciplinary program

More than ten years ago we started this program in the municipality of Nong and in the ten years since then we have broadened and deepened the program together with the AFAS Foundation and with our private donors. This broad, multidisciplinary approach and the collaboration with local partners (health service, agricultural organizations, village health workers, schools and -last but not least- the villagers themselves) has positively changed the situation in Nong and Sepone.

Continue in Sepone and Phin

Last year we made an agreement with the municipality of Sepone to continue the collaboration in this project for another three years. The neighboring municipality of Phin joined in. The goal is to improve the food situation and the health of more than 700 young children and their families (2850 people in total) in those three years. We will do this, just like in the past ten years, with the same multidisciplinary program.

Triodos Foundation will participate for the next three years and the AFAS Foundation will also remain our permanent partner until the end of 2027. All income and donations together mean that we can really do a lot, reach more people and realize more structural improvements.

Our question

Will you join us to give the children in Sepone and Phin a healthy start? Every donation is very welcome.

Many thanks in advance for the (extra) gift!

Warmest,

Karin Vlug

MCNV 2025 Campaign

Campaigns, News, News Center, Ongoing Campaigns

Disabled, and still going to school

In recent decades, there has been an incredible improvement for children with disabilities and their
parents in the provinces where MCNV has given its support. All kinds of activities in the field of
education, patient associations, rehabilitation, but also support in improving the income of the
poorest families for basic necessities such as food, clothing and medicine.

We have continued this economic and educational approach and activities -from the beginning of
2000- to this day. As a result, children feel more accepted because they have acquired a place in
society, because they can communicate and exchange their experiences with peers in their own
village. The parents are also proud and see how important it is for the children to belong and no
longer be excluded.

Our plans for 2025 and 2026.
Building on the results of the project in 2023 and 2024, and to strengthen the impact and
sustainability of these results, MCNV and Hy Vong Special School Quy Nhon plan to continue their
collaboration in 2025 and 2026. The ultimate goal is to improve the quality of education for children
with disabilities at this school, but also for children with disabilities who live and go to school
elsewhere in Binh Dinh province. This can be achieved by joining forces and working closely with the
education sector and health services.

Objectives
• improve knowledge and skills in setting up early detection and providing appropriate help to
children and their families as early as possible;
• improve knowledge in the field of early detection and treatment for regular schools so that
children with disabilities can also be admitted;
• raise awareness in the communities and among local partners, school staff and educationists in
Binh Dinh province.

The organisational costs and management of the schools and rehabilitation centers are fully paid by
the Vietnamese (provincial) government. MCNV offers material support to these schools and
rehabilitation centers by providing the necessary resources and teaching materials for learning basic
skills such as reading, writing and playing. And by increasing the knowledge and skills of all those
involved – children, parents, school staff and local partners – we provide the breeding ground for a
caring environment.

In remote areas like Binh Dinh, the same problems are playing a role and it would be wonderful if we
could support more schools and children on their way to a hopeful and independent future with our
MCNV experience and MCNV approach!

Many thanks in advance for your (extra) donation!

Pham Dung, MCNV Director Vietnam & Nguyen Thanh Thuy, Education specialist MCNV

MCNV December Campaign

Campaigns, Previous Campaigns

Dear donors, December 10, 2024

On November 18, MCNV celebrated its 56th anniversary! What an ‘old age’ for the last country committee in The Netherlands still alive. Thanks in part to your loyal support, we can continue our work in the coming years and provide help where it is (still) indispensable.

These are our plans for 2025

Laos: together in action for clean water, hygiene and food security in Laos, 2025 – 2026 – 2027

Last October, we received the green light from the AFAS-Foundation to continue for another three years in Sepone, Nong and a new municipality of Phin. The program ‘Together in action for clean water, hygiene and food security in Laos’ will start in January 2025 and that is great news and very important for the people who lack clean water and where the food supply is insecure.

Vietnam: improve income and further develop rehabilitation training

Improving livelihoods is complex and requires a multi-faceted approach. For example, creating jobs for women is a point of attention. Improving food yields and introducing different and more suitable agricultural products also receive full attention. Jobs and income are inextricably linked and hence the broad approach that MCNV supports and develops together with local partners and the people themselves.

Partly thanks to financial support from USAID (United States Agency for International Development), MCNV has been able to set up two national training courses over the past four years: Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy. These two disciplines did not previously exist in Vietnam and they now form an important part of care for children and people with disabilities. University-trained Occupational Therapists and Speech Therapists provide training for healthcare workers in various provinces throughout Vietnam.

Collaboration between MCNV, local partners, donors and donor organizations

MCNV develops its activities based on demand from and in collaboration with local partners. Donors and partners such as the AFAS-Foundation and USAID recognize the expertise that MCNV has built up and therefore contribute substantially to projects in Vietnam and Laos. One of the conditions for this support is that MCNV must guarantee a percentage, for example 20% or 25% of the total program budget. We can only meet this obligation because we receive donations from our private donors in The Netherlands. That is why I would like to let you know once again that all donations, no matter how small or large, are crucial to the implementation of our work for the benefit of the people in Vietnam and Laos!

Our question to you

MCNV wants to continue the above projects and programs in both countries in 2025 with the aim of further strengthening the care and well-being of vulnerable people. An important and wonderful mission in which the involvement of our donors in the Netherlands is and will remain indispensable.

Many thanks for your (extra) gift.

Beautiful December month & with kind regards,

Karin Vlug

Field visit to Nong and Sepone in Laos: What wonderful developments!

Campaigns, News, News Center, Ongoing Campaigns

Positive developments in Nong and Sepone
Last May, I traveled to Laos together with Marloes Zwagerman from the AFAS-Foundation to visit the municipality of Nong and Sepone with my Laotian colleagues – Joy, Fine, Sivone and Done. We particularly visited the villages where MCNV and the AFAS Foundation support the Mother & Child program. A special visit because a private foundation such as the AFAS-Foundation has never visited the program before. The responsibility for clean water, latrines, medical care and attention to nutrition is taken seriously not only by the local partners we work with, but especially by the villagers themselves. They have gained the experience that they can contribute to these positive developments themselves and that is the most important condition for success.

Nong will continue on his own from 2025
In 2006 – at the request of the border province of Savannakhet (in Laos) – we started providing assistance to the municipality of Nong. The activities at that time were mainly aimed at improving food security. Gradually it became apparent that more was needed and so we started looking for new financing. In 2016, we submitted an initial application to the AFAS-Foundation to realise multi- year plans for food security, better child health and structural changes for the families in Nong. The application was honored and the program was successfully implemented. A second application followed in 2021 and we are now in the final year of our second partnership. Bringing about changes requires a lot of patience and a lot of money, this is a good example of that. At the end of 2024, we will transfer responsibilities to our local Laotian partners in the municipality and the province. We have thus achieved our goal in Nong and we are convinced that the program with all its activities is strongly rooted and will continue to develop.

Sepone would like our support and cooperation for the coming years
In the Municipality of Sepone, we started the Mother & Child program in ten villages almost three years ago, a similar program to that in Nong. Developments are moving rapidly and major steps have been taken. The villages we visited looked clean, equipped with latrines, running water, and vegetable gardens. Clean water in particular is such an important basis for health and hygiene and makes growing more food close to home possible. We received a great contribution from our MCNV-donors for this purpose in December last year and this money was well spent!

Our question to you
The head of the villages, village health workers and other key figures explained in detail what has been done, how people experience it, how important knowledge and skills are, that there is more shared responsibility and of course they also indicated what else is needed.
We therefore want to continue with the activities in Sepone in the near future. We are currently working on a new application for financial support from the AFAS-Foundation. Your contributions are also indispensable.
That is why we ask in this newsletter to make an extra donation to continue these activities in the field of water and sanitation, care for mother & child and food security.
Many thanks in advance for the extra gift,

Karin Vlug, also on behalf of Joy, Fine, Sivone &Done

Independent future
The experience that MCNV has built up with successful projects means that the government in Laos is gradually showing the willingness to continue and co-finance these activities. It is one of the objectives and principles of MCNV that government involvement in more remote areas increases and that the government increasingly recognizes the importance of a healthy population, even where people are difficult to reach for existing national programs. such as vaccinations. With our interventions, MCNV wants to bring about change in the health system.

By investing now in training and resources, developments can be sustainably integrated into the existing (health) system, ultimately financed by the local and national Lao governments.

2024: Special school and multi-rehabilitation center in Binh Dinh

Campaigns, News, News Center, Previous Campaigns

In 2000, MCNV worked for the first time in the Dak Lak province to establish a special school for children with disabilities. A great adventure that turned out very well. The school, essentially a multi-rehabilitation center, turned out to be a perfect fit with the province’s request for children with disabilities to go to school. Not only that, they could also live there and play and live together with other children. The children came from poor families and lived in more remote villages where there is nothing for children with disabilities.

The positive news spread and other provinces asked MCNV to help realise a multi-rehabilitation center. This is how three more were created. It turned out to be the solution for children who had never gone to school before. It was a starting point for them to gain a place in society. The Vietnamese provincial government sees the importance of these centers and supports them as much as possible.

2024: Special school and multi-rehabilitation center in Binh Dinh

Last year, the Hy Vong special school in Binh Dinh asked if we could help ‘transform’ the special school into a multi-rehabilitation center for children with severe sight and hearing impairment, where parents can also go for help and advice. Based on the experience and knowledge we have gained in other provinces, we can contribute to a better life for the children in Binh Dinh.

Give children the right education, in a nice place where they can play and learn!

Binh Dinh is a province on the south-central coast of Vietnam, with a population of 300,000. It is one of the provinces in Vietnam that were heavily bombarded by the US Air Force with the poisonous defoliant Agent Orange during the war. The consequences of this – misbirths and disabilities – are still visible. According to official figures, there are more than 3,000 children with disabilities in Binh Dinh.
One of the most effective approaches to reducing the impact of Agent Orange is to focus assistance on services, such as health, education and social services, that aim to improve the quality of life of children and adults with disabilities to improve.

It’s possible in Binh Dinh!

Every year, Hy Vong School receives 160 to 180 children with disabilities between the ages of six and 16 from across the province. MCNV has been supporting children, teachers and parents for several years to ensure that children learn to read and write and can play with peers. Exchanging experiences is very important for parents so that they feel less alone and can learn from each other how to deal with daily care. They also learn to deal with the stigmas that make their children’s lives more difficult. Since September last year, visually impaired and blind children have also been welcome at the school.

Taking a big step forward

Providing care and education to such a large number of children with disabilities is a difficult task for teachers, caregivers and the school director. As in other provinces in Vietnam, most children come from poor families. The circumstances in which they live leave little room to devote attention and money to health and education. In addition, the provincial government does not have sufficient resources to invest in the school. Another point of attention is the poor condition and lack of all kinds of teaching materials and equipment. In order to achieve positive results, the school wants (and must) make a significant step forward in terms of quality.

The Hy Vong school has asked MCNV to help make this step. This concerns:

Creating specific care for the children so that they can actually follow their education;
Improving the knowledge and skills of management and teachers to provide ‘tailor-made’ care and education to children with disabilities;
Improving the knowledge and skills of teachers in regular schools in the areas of early detection, early intervention and inclusive education for children with disabilities;
Cooperation and coordination between special schools and regular education in Binh Dinh so that children with disabilities can also attend regular schools.

What is needed for this?

Learning aids, such as Braille books for blind children and visual learning aids for children with hearing and intellectual disabilities;
Meals for the children.
Continuing training for teachers, employees and management.
Advanced training for teachers in regular schools in the field of dealing with children with disabilities.
Transforming Hy Vong Special School into a multi-rehabilitation center so that more children with disabilities and their parents can receive support.

Price Waterhouse Cooper-Vietnam (PWC) has financially supported the school until 2023. There is still some money left, but it is not enough to continue the activities in 2024 and 2025. That is why we ask you to contribute to the step that the Hy Vong school wants to take.

Thank you in advance for your (extra) donation.

Warm greetings from Hanoi,

Nguyễn Thị Thanh Thủy

MCNV program coordinator and educational expert

Christmas campaign 2023: emergency plan for clean drinking water in Sepone

Campaigns, News, News Center, Previous Campaigns

In this newsletter we ask your attention to the people living in eight remote villages, high in the mountains in Sepone district. The villages are involved in our Mother & Child-program and with the support of the AFAS Foundation and our MCNV-donors we have been able to achieve a lot over the past two years.

Continue Mother & Child program in 2024

The program will also be continued in 2024 and that is of course very nice. But during the past period, a situation has arisen that we previously had insufficient insight into: the shortage of clean drinking water in both municipalities. Especially the eight higher villages in Sepone

have no wells, no water pumps or they are broken. The women and children have to walk for many hours to get water from the river. But that water is unsuitable for drinking water. From April to November is the dry season and there is very little water in the river.

The little water in the river is not drinkable, it causes diarrhea and other infections, especially for young children, but it is the only water that is available.

Clean water needed for 1766 people

The situation is really severe and that is why we want to provide this emergency aid in the coming months. It would be great if we could dig wells in the eight high-altitude villages, repair water pumps and install a water system so that clean water is available to all people who depend on (dirty) water from the river for months during the dry season

Clean water is a basic requirement for good nutrition and good health. We hope for a total amount of 32,000 euros that is needed for 1766 people living in the eight villages.

We need a significant amount of money, but it is so important to tackle this thoroughly and ensure that our Mother & Child-program is optimally successful!

You can read the whole story on pages 2 and 3.

Thank you very much for your (extra) contribution!

Karin Vlug

A GREEN GIFT

Campaigns, Previous Campaigns

Thanks to your support, in over the past three years, MCNV has devised and applied groundbreaking methods with the PROSPER project, which has resulted in long-lasting positive effects in Vietnam, including: responsible forest management and CO2 storage, stimulation of the local economy and local tourism initiatives.
We look forward to your support in the time to come, so that we can continue it and focus further on preserving nature and supporting poor farmers.

Pioneering changes in the forest areas of Quang Tri

Dear donors, October 12, 2023

The story in this newsletter was written by Nguyen Thanh Tung, my colleague from Dong Ha. He is a program coordinator and has been working for MCNV for 20 years. He was born and raised in Dong Ha and is very passionate about improving the living conditions of poor families. And he is committed to preserving the forests in Quang Tri province. He can therefore fully express himself in the forestry program (PROSPER).

Since the start of the forestry program in 2020, Tung has seen a change in thinking and doing how farmers want and can preserve the forests, resulting in improving their own income in a structural way and preserving the trees. This may sound simple, but the program consists of so many different aspects and facets that take a lot of time and efforts. How beautiful it is to see these results! “The farmers are convinced that a different approach leads to a better and healthier future for people and nature and that is what matters to us.”

Tung has a lot of contact with Ho Van Chien, head of the Community Forest Management Board of Chenh Venh village. “In the past, locals randomly harvested bamboo and cut down various types of trees. This situation led to deforestation and major risks for people and nature.”
With the help of MCNV, a lot has changed in this area. The forest is better managed and protected. People’s lives have been improved by experimenting with new things that we did not dare to think of before, such as participating in forest certification, developing ecotourism, making bamboo handicrafts and planting suitable trees.”
Our question to you
Over the past three years, MCNV has devised and applied groundbreaking methods with the PROSPER program, resulted in:

• Responsible forest management and CO2 storage
• Stimulation of the local economy
• Local tourism initiatives

We would like to continue this and start new collaborations with local and international partners who share our mission. The continued support of our loyal donors in the Netherlands enables MCNV to achieve long-lasting positive effects in Vietnam with these groundbreaking changes.

Thank you in advance for your (extra) gift.

Xin chao, warm regards also on behalf of Tung from Dong Ha,

Karin Vlug

GIVE A GIFT

Campaigns, Previous Campaigns

Gifts from donors are and will remain indispensable for our work in Vietnam

In 2023, we want to pay attention to both Vietnam and Laos. This time Vietnam is in the spotlight.

At the beginning of April, we organised an online meeting with our colleagues in Vietnam and the editors of the MCNV newsletter. The common thread in the contributions from Vietnam was the importance of our private donors. All MCNV-employees in Vietnam are aware of the unique significance of MCNV. “There are still more than 3,000 Dutch people who are loyal to Vietnam, often from the very beginning. There is no second MCNV, that is special and we are very grateful to everyone for that. It inspires and encourages us to make the best use of your donations.”

The important role of private donors

To be able to implement a plan, we depend on several parties who want to support a program financially. Some funds, such as the EU or USAID, cover 75% of the budget. The condition of these large funds is that we contribute 25% ourselves, so we have to look for another source of financing. With the donations from our regular supporters we can add that 25% and the entire program is financed with that.

The contribution of the donors can also help to increase the number of participants in an existing project. As a result, every cent goes to the target group, because no additional office or staff costs are then required.

Things are going well in Vietnam and there are also government programs for the remote areas. But there is too little connection with the people there, there are facilities and rights (education, care) that they do not use out of ignorance. Partly thanks to the donors, MCNV is responding to this by focusing on capacity building in order to involve the villagers more in the programs and to promote that they know what facilities are available and what they are entitled to.

Food provision for children and support for the disabled

Vietnam director Pham Dung particularly emphasizes the major role of donors in the programs aimed at providing food for children and supporting the disabled. Two programs that the MCNV wants to continue to support in the coming years.

And finally, we can name the moral support and involvement of the private donors themselves as a value.

The loyal and generous support is so important to us, for which we are so grateful to all our donors. We can’t really put that into words.

Many thanks for your (additional) gift.

Pham Dung, Nguyen Dinh Dai, Tu Phi Yen and Karin Vlug

Looking back, making new plans and moving on again!

Campaigns, Previous Campaigns

Last year, in our December newsletter, I told you about the programs and projects we have planned for the period 2021-2025, focusing on nutrition and food security, maternal and child care and people with disabilities, poverty alleviation and improving living conditions. The continued focus on these topics will lead to longer and more intense involvement in the projects and enable us to live up to our commitment – starting small, handing over, pulling back and continuing elsewhere where the need is also great.

Building partnerships and finding donors willing to support the programs is a big job at a time when there are lots of applications to large and smaller funds. But with our experience and concrete results in the field, we can show that we are a valued organization with specific knowledge and expertise.

We realize that there will come a time when the focus of activities and of the organization will be even more in Vietnam than now, including fundraising. And you may be wondering what your value as a donor to MCNV will be then. That question is very easy to answer: you are vital to our programs and projects because there is always a contribution to be made by the organization itself, often up to a quarter of the grant to be received. The gifts and donations of donors like you are the source of those own contributions and thus a prerequisite for working with partners and donors.

Our great desire is to continue to partner with you in 2023 and support our colleagues in Vietnam and Laos. The work is not yet finished and both financially and morally MCNV desperately needs you to continue with our mission. We feel privileged with your unconditional support and thank you very much in advance for your (extra) donation!

On behalf of all colleagues, I wish you good holidays and a healthy 2023.

Karin Vlug
Senior Advisor Fundraising MCNV

For more information (in Dutch) see page 4-5 of our magazine.

Campaigns

A Trusted MCNV Program in a New Form: A Sustainable Future for 300 Poor Farming Families in Huong Phung and Huong Lap

MCNV SUMMER CAMPAIGN 2025

MCNV 2025 Campaign

MCNV December Campaign

Field visit to Nong and Sepone in Laos: What wonderful developments!

2024: Special school and multi-rehabilitation center in Binh Dinh

2024: Special school and multi-rehabilitation center in Binh Dinh

Christmas campaign 2023: emergency plan for clean drinking water in Sepone

A GREEN GIFT

Pioneering changes in the forest areas of Quang Tri

GIVE A GIFT

Looking back, making new plans and moving on again!

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Looking back, making new plans and moving on again!