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In a country which is still poor despite significant economic growth in the last decade, handicapped people and disadvantaged children in Vietnam are still marginalized and abandoned to themselves. Most of them can't read or write, particularly in the countryside. Children born from poor families are the first casualties since they receive no education and are either induce to beg for food or money in the streets, doing odd jobs like shining shoes and selling CDs, and sometimes fall into prostitution.
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In order to break this chain of poverty, a structure has been progressively created within Maison Chance. Its goal is to shelter the orphans and street children, but also to give to both of them and to the under-privileged children in the neighborhood a free basic education. From this education, hopefully they can go on to higher education or continue with acquiring the skills with a special training and later on get a decent job with their specialization.
As a result of this project, hundreds of pupils and apprentices are at present part of different classes according to their age and knowledge: they are learning to read and write, from grade 1 to grade 5 of primary schooling.
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The End of last term was special as the classrooms were transferred to the Village Chance. This new premise offers more space to the children (especially to attend sports courses and to play during the breaks), and a new canteen.
At the Village Chance, the children are taken care of during the day. They receive a small allocation with which they can buy some food before going to classes. After the morning classes which finish at 11am, they receive a nourishing lunch prepared by the Maison Chance kitchen to complete their daily dietary needs. After the lunch, the children are encouraged to relax and take a nap in the Village. After the noon rest, another learning session begins in the afternoon until 4:30 pm when the classes finish and the children can go home.
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Results for the school year 2010-2011
143 children received tuition and passed the exams to be admitted to the higher level. Of these 143 children, 50 received excellent results and 71 students had good results. Only 7 children had to retake an exam to pass to the next grade. Moreover, all the 23 students of grade 5 received the diploma of completion of primary school. Six of them got excellent results (including 2 who obtained the highest grade in literature and mathematics) and 17 had good results. These official results are administered by the Education Department of the District of Binh Tan.
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Complementary to the basic education that they received, the children also participate in art, sport and language activities throughout the school year, such as paintings competition, martial arts, music and dance.
Maison Chance also provides financial support to the successful students for their ongoing education at the secondary or even college levels. This is achieved through grants for higher education.
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In 2010, among the children and adolescent living in the shelter, 12 are pursuing higher education. Among those, 3 are currently pursuing university degrees. For the first time, Maison Chance has sent abroad a young performing student to study in Houston, Texas for a major in Administration and Health Management (read the story here).
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