The Global Fund For Children

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – Mr. Hoang arrived penniless in Ho Chi Minh City at the age of 19, and had no idea that eight years later he’d establish and become the head photographer and manager for Studio Anna, supervising a team of staff members, volunteers, and trainees. He started out with little concept [...]

Tay Ninh, Vietnam — When Lan* borrowed 20 million Vietnamese dong from her landlord, she knew she would have to pay over 40 percent interest along with the principal, or lose her home and land, but she did it anyway. Lan lives in Tay Ninh Province, which is about 100 kilometers northwest of Ho Chi [...]

Tay Ninh, Vietnam – My minivan is crawling along while the “caller” leans out the window, shouting to folks standing near the street. His eyes dart back and forth along the curbside, scanning for anyone with bags, boxes, or a flash in their eyes hinting that they might need a ride to Tay Ninh Province, [...]

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – “This is a danger area,” Duoc mentions over his shoulder to me as he carefully guides his motorbike through some narrow and dark back alleys. “This is where the drug users live.” The engine falls quiet, and I hop off the bike, trying not to step in the soapy [...]

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – Baby Hien was born in a Ho Chi Minh City prison in 2002. Her heroin-addicted mother had been arrested on charges of prostitution, and when she was released, she returned to the streets with her baby. After Hien’s mother died of AIDS, street thugs used Hien as a begging [...]

Phnom Penh, Cambodia – The highlight of day two of GFC’s Southeast Asia Regional Knowledge Exchange workshop was the site visit to local Cambodian grantee partners. I went with half of the workshop participants to Women Development Association (WDA) in Phnom Penh. WDA’s executive director, Soreach Sereithida, or Thida, was a gracious and inspiring host. [...]

Phnom Penh, Cambodia – The participants of GFC’s Southeast Asia Regional Knowledge Exchange proved to be a talented bunch on many different levels. We hosted a “culture night” talent show on the first night of the workshop to provide a fun opportunity for participants to bond and showcase their cultures. There was so much talent [...]

Phnom Penh, Cambodia – If there was one word to sum up my impression of GFC’s Southeast Asia Regional Knowledge Exchange workshop, it would be “impressed.” Very impressed, actually. This week in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, has been such a wonderful experience. It is my first time traveling for GFC and my first visit to the [...]

Vientiane, Laos – “You are very friendly. You are so different from Americans,” one of the wait staff in my hotel says to me, leaning in and beaming from ear to ear. Amused by his candid observation, I scan the breakfast room to see what prompted his remarks. There are travelers arguing with a Lao [...]

Bangkok, Thailand – Khun Wassana has a good reason for being late. She rushes in to our meeting breathlessly, sits down, lets out a long sigh, and then drops the news: a novice monk in Chonburi, just southeast of Bangkok, has been charged with sexually abusing a child. She had to convene her team to [...]