Hi to everyone
Xin chào
Association registration.
Our inaugural committee meeting by telephone conference was on 1 June 2011. The Association was registered the following day. This means that the fundraising group became a separate legal entity. To maintain registration, financial records require to be audited each financial year and an annual report is lodged with the Territory government. Costs of registration, annual document lodgement, financial audit etc were donated.
Charity account
A charity account was opened at St George Bank. This type of account has no bank fees. The account does not allow electronic withdrawals or electronic transfers into other accounts. Withdrawals are restricted to manual type with 2 committee members to sign as a safeguard.
Every dollar that comes out of the account is for taking to Vietnam for specific assistance. This direct-funding model distinguishes us from the big, corporatised charities (they cost money to operate).
A funding agreement and cash receipt form is used for each of our development projects. The idea is to for funders and recipients to see financial transparency and accountability.
Web site.
The web site domain name registration, hosting and extensive design work were all donated by Sam McKeon in Canberra. Thanks Sam!
Orphanage Playground.
Play/exercise equipment for St Vincent Diem Orphanage for Children with Disabilities was designed and costed. The play/exercise equipment project provides a colourful, easy to comprehend project, with immediate results (“low-hanging fruit” project). Each year of fund-raising might include one project of this category. Playground installation scheduled for December 2011.
Women’s tertiary study sponsorship scheme.
Our university study scholarships scheme for women in Vietnam has had amazing progress. In our 6th week since registration, we had 7 sponsored scholarships. For a bit of extra support, I bought 2 good second-hand laptops at Canberra computer fair for delivery to students. One went to students at Hue, and the second went to students at Nga Trang.
The study scholarships project is an investment in “human capital”. It is long-term and has potential benefits for a large number of poor communities in central Vietnam.
Please ask your friends to sponsor a woman to study at university in Vietnam. All the details are under “Assist” in our web site. I am happy to talk to anyone about funding or part-funding, sharing sponsorship costs or ideas for fund raising.
See you soon
hẹn gặp lại
Peter Kabaila