British charity foundation Kianh has recently started construction of a Day Centre for children with disability in Dien Ban District of the central province Quang Nam, which is planned to provide services for 80 children with disability and their families.
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| Design of the Day Centre in Quang Nam Province which is now under construction |
The $200,000 centre, which is due for completion in early 2012, will also offer much-needed education, physiotherapy, speech therapy and support for local children in the war-torn locality.
Dien Ban, on the coast of East Sea and only 6 km from UNESCO World Heritage Site Hoi An, has a population of approximately 200,000 with nearly 50% of households make their living from the agricultural, forestry and aquaculture sectors.
Dien Ban has one of the highest proportions of disabled and disadvantaged children in the province due to the fact that the area was heavily bombed and sprayed with defoliants during the war with the United States, according to local authorities.
The district has over 900 children with disability, the majority of whom do not have access to essential education and therapy services, authorities attributed.
RMIT University in Melbourne is the principal donor for the construction costs and is supported by Melbourne NGO, Architects without Frontiers, who are providing project management support and are involved in the design concept and preparation of the design development drawings. Australian lawyers Allens Arthur Robinson, in Ho Chi Minh City, have provided pro bono legal advice.
Nick Keegan, Kianh Foundation’s business director and project manager for the Centre’s construction, said, “This project is an excellent example of what can be achieved through the collaboration of international donors and the Vietnamese government”.
Kianh Foundation has been providing health and education services in central Vietnam since 2001 as training local staff, equipping and operating special education classrooms and a physiotherapy room inside the Hoi An Orphanage for 9 years.
It also provided medical assistance and funded surgeries such as cleft lip and palette for children.