Children in Vietnam Need Your Help

Impoverished children in Vietnam need your help tois also beginning to cause cases of poliomyelitis,
overcome the effects of poverty, ill health, lack ofeliminated long ago in the United States. Safe
schooling, unmet medical needs, and unsafe drinkingfresh-water wells can be placed in operation for as
water. Vietnam, a country of 86 million, is desperatelylittle as $700 each.
poor. The per capita income in 2008 was $1,024, andPoor children in Vietnam also need charitable
21 per cent of the population lives below the povertyassistance if they expect to go to school, since
line (US $1.25 per day).families must pay tuition for them to attend.
Children under age 5 have a mortality rate of 19 perCharities at work in Vietnam believe that the children
1000 live births (compared with 7.6 for the USA).of today, particularly those who are orphans or who
Thousands of children live in orphanages. A number ofhave been abandoned, need extra help to grow and
charitable and relief organizations are at work into become productive members in Vietnamese
Vietnam, but still much remains to be done to alleviatesociety. Most charities devote 90 percent or more of
suffering.contributions toward programs to directly aid children.
Areas needing attention are nutrition, basic health, freshContributors to charities that benefit Vietnamese
(safe) water, aid to handicapped, school tuition forchildren often include American veterans of the
children, and support of poor families.Vietnam conflict and naturalized
Problems associated with unsafe water areVietnamese-Americans. Others include religious groups
particularly serious. Fresh water in rivers and streamsand individuals who wish to do something positive to
in Vietnam is often a source of cholera, dysentery,alleviate the plight of orphans.
typhoid fever, and amoebiasis. Tragically, unsafe water