History

Saigon: 1968 - 1975

The Gordon Barclay Vietnam Fund was set up in 1968 during the height of the civil war. Medical and social support was given in hospitals and orphanages around Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh City. Mobile play groups were run, assisted by expatriate volunteers, and a toy making project was set up in a Saigon Pagoda, where a Buddhist monk was head carpenter. When the war ended in 1975 and Vietnam was reunified, our volunteers had to leave.

Thailand and Hong Kong: 1975-1989

In the period 1975 to 1989 GBVF was working intermittently in refugee camps in Thailand and Hong Kong. In 1989 we were invited to visit Vietnam again.

Thai Binh: 1989 - 1991

We were invited by a Vietnamese Government Agency to set up a toy making project for children in the Thai Binh province. Though the further education pupils happily made furniture and toys, it was not a great success. This was partly because UNICEF were giving them away free to socially deprived children and teacher training colleges.

Haiphong: 1991 - The Blind School

In 1991 we started working with the Blind School, the Department of Education and the People's Aid Co-ordinating Committee (PACCOM) of Haiphong City. With funding from EU and DFID a new block was erected, the workshop rebuilt and farm project supported. Here pupils have been taught Braille, music and life skills. This enables them to integrate into mainstream secondary, high schools and university. Due to generous donations the charity has been able to buy specialist equipment, such as computers that work with Braille-embossing printers to produce textbooks. These are essential when pupils enter secondary school. In 2006 our first pupil graduated from university and now has a government contract teaching IT skills.

Hanoi: 1991-present

Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, is our centre for meeting other NGOs, the British Embassy, and the headquaters of the People's Aid Co-ordinating Committee (PACOM).

Cao Bang: 2002 - present

In 2002 two Hmong boys from Cao Bang, near the Chinese border, began at the Haiphong School for the Visually Impaired. This is the first time the school has had any ethnic minority students. Despite language problems (the boys speak Vietnamese only as a second language) the new students have settled in quite well.