BLIND-LINK ANNUAL REPORT 2015

Transcription

BLIND-LINK ANNUAL REPORT
2015
EMPLOYMENT, SUPPORT, AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
FOR VIETNAMESE VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE
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| BLIND-LINK ANNUAL REPORT
BRIGHT FUTURE FOR VIETNAMESE BLIND
Employment, support, and training opportunities for Vietnamese visually
impaired people.
Address: No. 102 Alley 5 Huynh ThucKhang Street,
Dong Da District, Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: (+84) 4 3774 1814
Web: www.blindlink.org.vn
BLIND-LINK ANNUAL REPORT |
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MESSAGE FROM
THE PRESIDENT
Mr. Phan Vũ Anh
President of Blind-Link Social Enterprise
It’s not easy to recognize a blind person on the streets
of Hanoi or anywhere in Vietnam. Unlike visually
impaired people in developed countries who walk
independently and confidently with white canes or
guide dogs, the blind in Vietnam have limited access
to supporting equipment, even as basic as white canes.
Since very few blind Vietnamese still wear black glasses
and use wood canes, society seems not to be aware of
their existence anymore.
The fact is, Vietnam has 5.1 million people with eye
problems and two million of those are visually impaired
or blind, accounting for 2.3% of the population. Only
8% of these visually impaired go to school, 15% attend
training courses, and 20% have jobs. The majority of
the Vietnamese blind lives off their families, rarely
communicates with others in their communities, do not
believe in themselves, and have little hope for the future.
Started in August 2013, Blind-Link’s mission could be
summarized as creating opportunity for the blind. We
strive to develop the full potential of Vietnamese people
with all forms of visual impairment so that they can be
more productive, more self-reliant, and gain self-esteem
as they maneuver through daily life. We offer them
the hope of a job, and with it the pride of being able to
support themselves and their family.
»» To achieve this mission, Blind-Link sets three
strategic goals:
»» To create sustainable employment for the blind by
developing competitive business models and a safe
workplace
»» To support the blind so that they can lead independent
lives and participate in society by organizing programs
for personal and professional development
»» To change the perception much of society has of
blind people’s ability to work, and to raise awareness
and acceptance of society to the blind as they go through
daily life.
Please help us make our vision a reality!
Anh Vu Phan
5 11 2 TRAING HOURS
+ 23,226 = VOLUNTEER WORKING HOURS
18 6
BLIND PEOPLE
SERVED 23 PEOPLE THROUGH MASSAGE TRAINING
86 PERCENT SUCCESS RATE OF MASSAGE TRAINEES
TRAINED 136 PEOPLE IN SPEAKING CONVERSATIONAL ENGLISH
HELPED 12 PEOPLE LEARN JAPANESE TO BETTER PREPARE FOR THEIR JOBS
TRAINED 15 BLIND PEOPLE IN DOING BUSINESS
ECONOMIC ALLY EMPOWERED 23 BLIND ADULT S
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Thanks to your support, we touched the lives
of 186 blind people last year. We helped them
with professional training so that they can
become economically productive. We also
created Omamori Spa, the pioneer in offering
high-quality massage services by blind
practitioners and offering in-office massage
services to provide employment for blind
trainees after graduation, as well as to further
their massage training and to enhance their
basic business and foreign language skills. We
cooperated with the national blind school and
the Vietnam Blind Association to train their
teachers and students in Swedish massage
and in speaking English.
This year’s annual report spotlights some of
the positive change we are working so hard
- with your support – to achieve: to empower
blind people and to make them more resilient.
Please take a moment to read our stories, and
then to consider the changes you can make by
becoming part of the solution with Blink-Link.
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ACCOMPLISHMENTS
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MASSAGE CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSES
»» 12 FULL-TIME STUDENTS received full scholarships to learn Swedish massage, Omamori massage, and Hot Stone massage at Blind-Link. On average, each student needed two
months to learn the basic techniques of each massage modality plus 6 months more on the
job training at Omamori Spa to master his/her skills.
»» 3 BLIND MASSAGE INSTRUCTORS AND BLIND THERAPISTS of the Training and
Rehabilitation Center for Vietnamese Blind, a governmental organization, graduated
from the one-month Swedish massage training course provided by Blind-Link in December 2015.
»» 8 STUDENTS graduated from the two-week in-office massage service training courses
»» 2,811 HOURS of training by professional instructors.
»» 3,744 HOURS self-practicing at OMAMORI Spa.
»» MASSAGE TECHNIQUES TAUGHT: Swedish massage, Vietnamese massage, and Hot
Stone massage, In-office massage techniques.
»» “SOFT” SKILLS TAUGHT: patient care, massage ethics, communication skill and professionalism.
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ENGLISH COMMUNICATION PROGRAM
»» 136 STUDENT entries.
»» 1,940 HOURS of learning with native English speakers.
»» Blind masseurs began with very minimal skills in English and have gradually built up
the skills that enable them to have a basic conversation with foreign English- speaking
customers.
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JAPANESE COMMUNICATION PROGRAM
»» 49 HOURS of learning with native Japanese speakers.
»» The Japanese Communication program started in March, 2015 when Blind-Link luckily
received an outstanding intern, Asahi Motoike, from Japan. Asahi taught blind therapists
to communicate to Japanese clients as many of them did not speak English. The course
produced terrific outcomes. Since the first Japanese client coming in March 2015, we have
had the great pleasure to provide hundreds of services for Japanese clients. Blind therapists who did not speak any Japanese can now communicate in simple Japanese sentences
with their clients.
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Nguyen Thi Nguyet, training
director in Blind- Link
shared her story at the
seminar “Women and Social
Entrepreneurship” hosted
by the U.S Embassy, Hanoi
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION PROGRAM
»» 308 HOURS of business training at Omamori Spa.
»» 4 HOURS of conference on “Desgining and Operating the Customer Relationship Manegement” by SME Hospital on Oct 3rd, 2015 at the National Convention Center.
»» Exhibits at the seminars: “Social Enterprise Start-Ups”co-host by the British Council and
CFVG on September 26, 2015.
»» 1 Blind-Link’s (blind) director made a presentation at the seminar “Women and Social
Entrepreneurship” hosted by the U.S Embassy, Hanoi.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
»» Interviewed 100 blind massage practioners to evaluate their income and working conditions.
»» One of leading voices from social enterprises contributes to the formulation of a governmental decree on Social Enterprise signed on October 29, 2015.
»» Social engagements: blind trainees and therapists occasionally enjoyed entertainment
including but not limited to Japanese Tea Performance, Hope Concert, 2015 Concert Choir
and Chamber Orchestra, Drama “All my sons”, 2015 Warm Winter Charity Concert.
Nguyen Thi Lieu, a volunteer in survey team, was interviewing two therapists in a low-end parlor
in Dong Da district, Hanoi
The blind, Nguyen Hai Yen and Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga, a volunteer from the Foreign Trade
University introduced Blind-Link as one of the prominent social enterprises in formulation of the
govermental decree on Social Enterprise
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BUSINESS
PERFORMANCE
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CREATED FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT for 23 young adults with disabilities, of whom 22 are
blind and visually impaired. Former blind therapists of Omamori Spa, when moving on, have
become the core staff of newly established spas in Hanoi (for instance, 5 of them have been
working in Midori Spa which has been ranked among the five best Spas in Hanoi on TripAdvisor
since November 2015).
CREATED PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT for 6 blind and visually impaired young adults since
January 1, 2015.
PIONEERED IN PROVIDING IN-OFFICE MASSAGE service by blind therapists: 100 in-office
massage sessions have been provided.
OMAMORI SPA has received the Certificate of Excellence 2015 fromTrip Advisors.
AVERAGE MONTHLY INCOME of our masseurs is 1.5 times higher than those with same
working experience at popular low-end blind massage parlors. Average of blind massage workers
in parlors run by the Vietnam Blind Association (VBA) was 2 million dong, according to VBA’s
Annual Report 2012.
< 2-year
experience
2- < 4-year
experience
4 - <6-year
experience
6 –year
experience and
above
Market
2.000.0003.000.000
2.500.0004.000.000
3.000.0005.000.000
3.000.0005.000.000
Omamori Spa
3.500.0005.000.000
5.000.0007.000.000
7.000.0008.000.000
* Income of blind interviewees included tips
Source: Calculated from a survey on the current status of blind therapists working in Hanoi. The survey was
conducted by Blind-Link under the support of Vietnamese Blind Association.
ABSOLUTELY NO VIOLENCE AND NO SEXUAL ABUSE (while the average rate of sexual
abuse at low-end blind massage parlors is 3 out of 10 customers committing sexual assaults on
masseurs).
Our masseurs come to Omamori with strong referrals; and are well respected by colleagues, staff,
and clients.
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OUR STORIES
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NGUYỄN MINH NGUYỆT
(31 YEARS OLD, BAC NINH PROVINCE)
Mrs. Nguyet is providing a new Omamori Head-Neck-Shoulder massage for client.
When you first meet Nguyen Minh Nguyet,
you will hardly recognize that she is visually
impaired. She impresses everyone immediately by her optimism as well as by her openmind. Nguyet was born in Luong Tai, the
province of Bac Ninh- “ alongside the Duong
river”, as mentioned so often in Vietnamese literature. She lost her vision as a complication of
chickenpox when she was a child.
Even though Nguyet’s husband is also visually
impaired, her home is always full of laughter,
her little son bringing big smile to her face
whenever she talks about her family. “ I didn’t
really think of my disability as a hardship until
I gave birth to my son. Not be able to see anything clearly causes a lot of difficulties for me
in taking care of my son, especially when he is
so young.”- said Nguyet.
Nguyet just celebrated her 31st birthday, and
she has been a massage therapist for almost
ten years. “ I was born to become a massage
therapist, I guess”- she said, smiling. Before
becoming Omamori Spa’s therapist, she was
working both as a professional massage therapist and as a massage teacher. Thanks to her
skilled massage technique and her very sensitive hands, Nguyet soon became one of the
therapists with the best massage technique.
Thus, both Vietnamese and international clients set great store by her. Through the internet, Nguyet had learned of Omamori Spa and
it’s social enterprise concept, but she couldn’t
yet imagine she would come to Omamori Spa
to train Swedish Massage technique to new
trainees.
Nguyet has now undertaken the position as
manager of technique at Omamori Spa.” My
tasks everyday at Omamori Spa include involvment in massage training to the blind and
visually impaired trainees, and management
of the daily activities of the spa. One year isn’t
considered long, but I’ve had the opportunity
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to learn so many things when I started working here. I found that I have more skills for facing challenges. Beyond that, directly involved
in management, I get more and more valuable
experience which is very helpful for my professional life as well as for my daily life.”
The things she likes most about Omamori Spa
are its well- organized working environment
and especially the concept of social enterprise,
which has, although very new, the potential to
develop in the future. And she feels that this
job is perfectly suited to the blind and visually impaired. She also shared the hope of helping more blind and visually impaired people:
“From the bottom of my heart, I really hope
this project will reach more blind and visually impaired young people like me, bringing to
them the opportunity to learn Swedish massage for free and to find for themselves a better
working environment.”
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THÁI DIỆU LINH
(22 YEARS OLD, HANOI)
When you first meet Thai Dieu Linh, you can’t
tell if she is blind. Wherever Linh is, the atmosphere surrounding her is brightened by her
pretty face and bright smile. Linh was born in
1994, she is the only child in a family of just 3
members: Linh and her retired parents. They
now live in Van Phuc Village , Kim Ma, Hanoi.
Linh was born and raised with bright eyes just
like any other children. Her life used to be as
normal as the lives of her friends at the same
age: going to school, going out with friends in
the weekend. Her young, enjoyable life would
have continued that way if she hadn’t had a
fever when she was in her 12 grade in high
school, when Linh was diagnosed with tubercular meningitis. Despite medical treatment,
her sightdeteriorated. “During the time I was
preparing for high school graduate exams, unfortunately I couldn’t finish high school as my
friends did. Losing the faculty of sight made
me feel like something was missing, especially
when I was in the most beautiful time in my
youth. Everything seemed surreal and unacceptable for me. I became afraid of going out,
and I thought my friends would stay away
from me. Thanks to the support and the huge
encouragement from my parents, I got the
motivation again to adjust to my new circumstance.” – said Linh.
From a friend’s recommendation, Linh learned
about the scholarship program of Blind-Link,
which is for young Vietnamese blind who want
to be a massage therapist. “At Omamori Spa,
I had the opportunity to learn about Swedish
Massage and Omamori Massage in a deep and
thorough way, which was very exciting to me”.
Besides massage, Linh also enjoyed learning
English with the international volunteers. She
said she had learned some English when she
was in public school, but the tuberculosis meningitis had made her forget most of the words
and phrases, hence, she takes this opportunity
with enthusiasm “I feel like I’m learning a new
thing, and it excites me a lot!”- She explained.
She also said there were still a lot of things for
her to learn in the journey to become a professional massage therapist, but she had confidence in what she was doing and learning,
because “Winner never quit, and quitter never
win!”
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NGÔ MAI HƯƠNG
Mai Huong and Lee Clibrun, a British volunteer teaching English every week
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Born in 1986, Mai Huong is the oldest of 4 children of famer parents. Her family lives in a
suburban area of Hanoi City- Vietnam’s capital. Less fortunate than her younger brothers
and sisters, Huong’s both legs got weakened
after a serious fever when she was just 3 years
old.
The difficulty of walking did not become an obstacle for her at all, and Huong went to school
as many other normal friends did. However,
she soon became aware of her difference in
daily life, people staring at her curiously and
unpleasantly wherever she went, diminishing
her confidence in herself.
“Finding a job was such a huge challenge for
a person with disability like me”- she said, “
they (potential employers) thought disabled
people couldn’t do a normal job, so they were
afraid to recruit us”.
Before working at Omamori Spa, Huong went
to a vocational school for the disabled to study
computers. Unable to find a job suitable to her
condition as well as to her vocational training,
she had done a lot of temporary jobs to earn
money such as selling, garment work. But in
July 2014, when Huong found Omamori Spa’s
recruitment notice on the internet, she immediately applied as a receptionist even though
she had no experience in that work. “The Social Enterprise concept was absolutely new to
me, but I found it exciting and hopeful. Fortunately, I was called for an job interview and
then, after 3 months of training, I became an
official receptionist.”- said Huong, happily.
Her work everyday at Omamori Spa includes
cleaning, managing, making appointments for
customers, greeting them, and introducing
them to the massage services. She was quite
overwhelmed at first getting used to all of the
receptionist’s tasks. The manual work wasn’t
too difficult, even in her disabled condition,
but she found that learning English in order to
communicate with clients was extremely difficult. The very basic English she had learned
at school wasn’t enough to meet the demands
of her job, where 70% of her customers were
foreigners. “ To learn English properly from
the foreign volunteers was also a great opportunity for me. Now that I can communicate
with our clients, I have gained a lot more confidence. I enjoy working here, with its friendly
atmosphere, and I get along very well with the
staff. They are all blind or visually impaired,
some of them having faced hardships greater
than mine, and I feel deeply the connection
between us, as though we were siblings. And
the work here is incredibly well suitred to my
abilities.
“I try to do my best with my receptionist work.
And I hope that I can involve other disabled
people like me in some of my Blind-Link projects, and to help them find their own opportunities like I have.”
Huong said that she would be very happy if the
social enterprise concept become more widely,
providing the hope and opportunity that she
has found to more and more disabled people.
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LÂM THỊ BÍCH
(31 YEARS OLD, HOA BINH PROVINCE)
Bich and foreign volunteers in Japanese and English teaching
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“I was born and brought up in Tan Lac Commune, the province of Hoa Binh ( also wellknown as Muong Bi). Located in the Northwest
region of Vietnam, my beloved hometown is
surrounded by lines of mountains, and covered by the fresh green color of trees, fields and
terraces. It is inhabited majorly by the ethnic
peoples, who are very naive and simple- minded.
by day, I realized that the purpose of my life
had changed: I would work hard in order to
make him a better and happy life, where he’d
be able to go to any level of education, ultimately create a bright future for him. But as
my income from the practical job at the blind
massage center could hardly cover my own
living cost, how would my dream for my son
be possible?
“Just like everyone else there, my family has
done farm work for the living. Although my visual impaired condition was discovered when
I was just 3 months old, I had a very normal
childhood. I was sent to school and was able to
learn how to write and read. I was able to befriend with my classmates and share a happy,
simple childhood. I was even able to help my
parents with the farm work.
“Through one of my friend’s introduction, I
learned about Omamori Spa and the new kind
of blind-massage. I was incredibly interested
and decided to join Omamori Spa’s staff with
mixed feelings of excitement and nervousness.
It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Any
kind of high-quality massages is tremendously
different to “tam quat” and demands such a
high level of technique. It was so new to me! I
know I still have a long journey to go to be able
to become a professional massage therapist,
and hopefully be well- recognized in this new
environment. Besides learning the new kind
of massage such as Swedish, Hot Stone massage, I’ve got the opportunity to learn so many
other things, especially English, which I find
very difficult but very helpful in supporting to
my work at a high-quality Spa chain. To me,
every single day is a new challenge, and I’m
happy to overcome it. As people always say “
No pain, No gain”.
“My visual condition started turning worse
when I was 6, and my life become tougher
and tougher. I tried my best to keep up with
friends at school, to maintain a normal life, but
I became very depressed about the worsening
condition of my eyes. Soon, I hardly could see
anything or anyone, and farm work became
impossible for me. I had no option but to find
a job more suitable to my visual impaired condition. I was very lucky having my family and
friends standing by me, unconditionally supporting me to find the way to support myself.
Thanks to their guidance, I heard about, and
decided to learn, massage professionally. After 3 years of vocational massage training and
practical working, I came back home, got married, and gave birth to a boy.
“Watching my beautiful son growing up day
“Practicing new massage skills has now become my new passion. I hope to become a
professional therapist one day with an international qualification in massage. I know that
my husband and my son will be very proud of
me.
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NGUYỄN THỊ VIỆT CHINH
(22 YEARS OLD, QUANG NINH PROVINCE)
Chinh and her client take a photo for a memorable massage experience.
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My name is Nguyen Thi Viet Chinh, I was born
in 1994, in Bao Khe Commune, Dong Trieu District, Quang Ninh Province. I am the youngest
of the 2 siblings. My dad is a worker while my
mum remains at home to do all of the housework.
Unfortunately, I got in an accident in which I
completely lost my vision when I was 19 years
old. At first, I had great difficulty adjusting to
my condition. The simple activities that I used
to do before all became difficult and challenging for me. Back then I thought that I must be
the most unfortunate person in the world, and
thought always of my friends still moving toward their goals. It made me very sad and I
had lost all of my confidence.
It took me a while to get used to the dark and
to the fact that I would never see again, but
I decided to become a member of local blind
association, and through the introduction of
the blind association, I went to Hanoi to get
the vocational training courses of the Centre
of Training and Rehabilitation for Vietnamese
Blind. I took some courses which were supposed to support my future career, such as Japanese Massage, managing a small enterprise,
and English.
After gratuating from the courses, I was introduced to Blind-Link’s free massage training.
At Omamori Spa, I continue to study professional massage techniques and languages like
English and even Japanese.
Joining Blind-Link has given me the oportunity to make friends who are are also in my situation, and because we can understand each
other very well it is natural for us to share, to
love and support each other. For the first time
since my accident, I begin to love my life again
and to recover my self- confidence.
The model of Omamori Spa and the professional working style of the staff have been the
most important things to me in this working
environment. I am especially grateful for the
support I have found in the English and Japanese language programs and from the international volunteers who teach us. Their classes
have helped me communicate with clients and
with other people around me. I had always
known that massage is one of the most suitable jobs for the blind, but in order to become
a professional and skilled therapist, there are
many other things I have needed to learn and
practice.
In the future, I want to learn more about massage skills and to gather the knowledge that
will enable me to be able to open a massage
centre for the blind in my hometown.
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NGUYỄN THỊ HỒNG NGA
Hong Nga was providing massage to client in Omamori Spa
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Humorous and speak very good English,
there are the first impressions you will probably have about Nguyen Thi Hong Nga – a 45
year-old masseur of Omamori Spa, if you just
meet her for the first time. Nga is the youngest
daughter of a three-sibling family. She is now
living in a collective quarter of Van Chuong,
Dong Da District, Hanoi. Unlike some of other blind therapists got blind since they were
born, Nga got blind sequel caused by diabetes
when she was 36.
“It was the toughest time I’ve ever faced in
my life when I found out I would not be able
to see anymore, everything went black, everything seemed shutting down in front of me. I
was shock at first, then depressed in losing the
direction of life.” Nga emotionally recalled her
difficulties. She was also struggling with moving with no vision, fortunately she gradually
adjust to the circumstance.
Completely losing her vision, Nga couldn’t
continue her job as a tour guide which she
loved so much and passionate about. She decided to find another job that would be suitable
to her disable condition, which was the reason
she took up the traditional massage technique
course organized by Hanoi Blind Association.
After the course, she started to be a masseur
practitioner at The Blind Association of Ba
Dinh District.
“I knew Omamori Spa through Thang’s introduction. Thang is my classmate in the English class for blind people at British Council
in which I’ve been attending for years. Listening to the stories Thang’ve told about the spa,
I was excited and wanted to work here. Even
though I’m working at Omamori Spa for quite
a short time, I am absolutely impressed by the
friendly working atmosphere with lots of tree
creating such a green, quiet space in the middle of bustle and hustle Hanoi, above that, everyone here are truly taking care of each other,
since we naturally sympathize to each other’s
condition. She enjoys very much learning new
massage techniques professionally beside traditional technique.
With a very good skill in English and great
sense of humor, Nga brings cheers and smiles
wherever she is. “ I feel specially attached to
this job, it is not only appropriate to me, but
also I still can use my English skill when I’m
working. Customers are all very kind and they
respect our job, our effort in order to doing the
best massage. It would be great if I can work
here for a long time.”
“Life is too short to be ignored”- It is probably
the message Nga’s sharing to everyone around
her by her optimistic and the determination on
seeing the beauty of life.
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MAI YẾN LINH
(30 YEARS OLD, DIEN BIEN PROVINCE
Mai Yen Linh
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Mai Yen Linh is a H’Mong woman who was
born and grew up in Tà Lèng commune, Dien
Bien Phu City, where she was the oldest of four
siblings in a husbandry family. It’s hard to believe that this small, shy woman is almost 30
year old. She lives with her parents and her
brother’s family.
no way I could avoid cutting my own hands
or legs . The other difficulty is that I always
had to follow someone if I wanted to go somewhere, otherwise, I could only stay at the same
place for whole day long,” Linh remembers.
“One of my siblings finished 5th grade, one finished 6th grade, one finished 10 grade, only I
stayed at home for my whole life, tried to support parents with the husbandry works and
take care of my niece and nephew… Hence,
I’ve never learnt alphabet or arithmetic.” said
Linh.
Linh learned about Omamori Spa from the introduction of a teacher from the Centre of Rehabilitation and Training for Vietnamese Blind,
and she got the scholarship to become one of
the very first students who are beneficiaries
from the Free Massage Training Campaign ( a
fundraising Campaign on Indiegogo from May
to July 2015 launched by Blind-Link). Unlike
other therapists at Omamori Spa, Linh hadn’t
learnt anything about massage when she first
came, and it was thus a totally new and exciting journey for her. “At Omamori Spa, I had
the opportunity to learn the technique of Swedish Massage. Although it’s very hard, there is
nothing harder than working on farm. Beside
that, I also had the chance to meet new people, from the blind and visually therapists to
the young volunteers. Their sincere affection
creates such a happy and cozy atmosphere. I
feel like I’m gaining more and more confidence
now”.
Linh had mostly depended on her family, but
because her parents were getting old and not
in good health, they can no longer do hard
work. Her brother and sister-in-law also have
a lot of difficulties taking care of their children
and must work hard to provide for the whole
family. Linh’s only dream at that time was having a job in order to earn money to support her
family, and reduce the burden on her parent’s
shoulders. She could help her parents sometimes with the farming, but “ I had to work,
but it was extremely hardfor me. I had to touch
everything when I was working, and there was
Linh’s English class with volunteers has been
her biggest challenge. What she likes most is
massage, which she finds interesting to learn
and well suited to her disability.“After a
month of learning, I began to like becoming a
therapist and I was tempt to do it as a career
in the future. In the near future, I really hope
I can learn massage technique well enough to
have a job. If I could work here at Omamori
Spa, I’d be very happy because I really like
this atmosphere and the people I’ve met here”.
Her huge, sincere smile, tells us how much she
believes in her future.
From a lack of Vitamin A, Linh got blind when
she was just three years old. She never had a
chance to go to school to have even basic education, partly because of the stringent economic
circumstance of her family, and partly because
there weren’t any specialized educational programs for blind and visually impaired students
in the mountainous region - where the ethnic
people had only basic living condition, and
where making enough money to live is always
more important than education.
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VOLUNTEERS’
TALK
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As a social enterprise, one of the toughest issues that we’ve
been facing is human resources, and Blind-Link has been
extremely lucky in having the invaluable contribution from
enthusiastic and dedicated Vietnamese and international
volunteers each year.
Our international volunteers come from many corners of the
world and have various backgrounds. An American Veteran
who joined the Vietnam War, a retired American teacher,
a marketing professional from Germany, or a passionate
student from Japan. Our Vietnamese volunteers are young
Vietnamese students who love the English language and
want to contribute to the success of our English Language
Communications Program; a group of volunteers from
Vietnam University of Traditional Medicine who work in
the crowd funding campaign, which aims to raise funds to
give free massage training to Vietnamese Young Blind; or
long-term interns who are volunteers from international
organizations such as AIESEC, who help us with our social
events and programs as well as with the development of
Omamori Spa’s business processes.
In 2014 and 2015, Blind-Link has received the support from:
» » 12 international volunteers
» » 92 Vietnamese volunteers
» » 23, 226 hours of volunteering
We are very grateful for the trust and generous contributions
many volunteers and partners from around the world invest
in our work. Their support moves our mission forward.
Thank you!
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NGUYỄN KHÁNH LINH
(3rd year-student, Hanoi National
University of Education; Volunteer of
the English Communication Program
from July 2015 to present.)
“Volunteering with Blind-Link brings me new experience as well new insights into
disadvantaged people in society. Especially, I had a chance to make friends with the
blind massage therapists here. I could look more deeply into their lives, and can see
the great efforts they’ve been making for a better and happier life.”
EVA FEGELEIN
(AIESEC Marketing Intern, Wurzburg,
Germany)
“I wasn´t sure if I would be able to communicate with the staff as I couldn’t point to things
I couldn’t name. In the end I was surprised how smoothly it went. It’s all about repetition
and being patient. My work for Blind-Link strengthened my wish to work for an NGO in
the future. I want to identify with the work I do and Blind-Link is an organization I totally
identified with. I was sad to leave Hanoi as I have met so many great people here and it
started to feel like home in Hanoi.”
34
ASAHI MOTOIKE
(AIESEC Marketing Intern,
Kyoto, Japan)
“My impression of Blind-Link is quite different from how I had imagined before
I came here. I was surprised to find that blind or visually impaired people are
independent and reliable, and also they have a great sense of humor. They
always help me and we laugh together most of the time. It was incredibly
memorable! Above all, it’s the respect for blind and visually impaired staff
I’ve gained in the six weeks I’ve been here, and my belief in the potential of
disababled people as well…”
LUNA NGUYỆT
(20 years old, Randolph-Macon College, U.S,
English Communication Program, 11/2014)
“I really admire the offorts of the students, who have to overcome so many difficulties. As a
person with disability, I understand the challenge they have to overcome, even just to do such
little things as remembering a new word. I can see that they make great effort to study. It was
hard for them as they could not see but they are doing a very good job. …”
35
PHAN TRẦN HOÀI TRANG
(Freelance Illustrator/Designer
at Media Tenor International AG,
English Communication Program,
11/2014)
“ I was moved by the way they live, so full of sincerity, sympathy and simplicity.
Along with the great connection among all members of Omamori Spa, they themselves
created a cozy atmosphere in which everybody, disabled and non-disabled, are warmly
welcomed…”
MINH TÚ
(18 years old, Buddies Program)
“The masseurs’ life stories give me a different perspective on the blind, which are never told in
the newspapers. I know more about their childhood, how they grew up without seeing anything,
and about their life dreams. I like to tell them stories, because we always have some interesting
thoughts to share. Even simple thoughts can color discussions. They have taught me to appreciate
what I have and to strive not only for myself, but also for my family, and for disadvantaged
people. After volunteering with Blind-Link for just a few weeks, I have learned how to care for
others, even just through little acts.”
36
LAURA
(Global Volunteers- English
Communication Program,
3/2015)
“I came to understand them individually but it was really a challenge and it
would probably been easier if I had a little bit more understanding of their
needs before I arrived. It was great to discover their personalities, to understand
how talented and experienced they really are, and then to be able to work with
that…”
KEITH
TOM LEACH
(Global Volunteers – English Communication
Program, 3/2014- 11/2014- 11/2015)
(Global Volunteers – English Communication
Program, 11/2013- 11/2014- 11/2015)
“I think the word that describes this kind of
exchange is good will, the good will between
the staff of Omamori Spa with the customers,
with the volunteer folk from the US, and
between the teaching assistants. Everyone
came together to support the effort, so it’s
not just about teaching English, which is just
a small part of it. It’s really about respecting
and enjoying each other.”
“Now that I’ve been participated in this
program the second time, I continue to
have a very positive impression of the
Blind-Link organization, especially its
mission. “
37
ON THE MEDIA
38
1. VIETNAM INTERGRATION– VTC 10 CHANNEL: “SOCIAL
ENTERPRISE IN VIETNAM AND ITS SITUATION OF HUMAN
RESOURCES” BROACASTED IN DECEMBER 2014
“Blind-Link is a social enterprise operating to give job opportunities and train therapeutic
massage to blind people in Vietnam. The company has trained dozens of young people and
created jobs with stable income for seven young blind people.
See full video clip here.
39
2. SOCIAL CREATIVITY AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ON
HANOI TV: “VOLUNTEERS IN SOCIAL ENTERPRISE BLIND-LINK”
BROACASTED IN AUGUST 2015
“From the tie of connection between Blind-Link and volunteers, the situation of human resource
was resolved efficiently, and this is such a valuable experience for other social enterprises to learn
and adapt .”
3. SOCIAL CREATIVITY AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ON
HANOI TV: “A STORY FROM SOCIAL ENTERPRISE BLIND-LINK
BROACASTED IN AUGUST 2015
“The story about Thang, a blind therapist of Omamori Spa , is also a lesson about an incredible
fortitude and determination of a disable at Blind-Link… Skillful, being able to communicate
to foreigner clients, never stop learning in order to improve his technique as well as closely
attaching to other disable staffs at Blind-Link, Thang becomes a great and admirable example of
40
a disable who is overcoming hardships to achieve a better life.
4. HUFFINGTON POST: “GOOD AFTERNOON, VIETNAM: A
REVOLUTIONARY SMALL BUSINESS IMPETUS AND I LEARNED
ABOUT IT ON SKYPE (PART 1)” WRITTEN BY STEVE MARIOTTI
(FOUNDER OF NETWORK FOR TEACHING ENTREPRENEURSHIP
EDUCATION (NFTE), U.S.A)
Read here.
5.
TRIPADVISOR:
OMAMORI
SPA
PROUDLY
TRIPADVISOR’S CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE 2015.
Reviews of clients can be find out here.
RECEIVED
41
FINANCIAL
INFORMATION
42
BLI N D-L IN K’ S REV ENU E S AN D E XP E N S E S I N 20 15
MONTH
REVENUE
(1000 VND)
EXPENSE
(1000 VND)
NET SURPLUS
(1000 VND)
1
7494
20672.9
-13179
2
-10255
12868.9
-23124
3
30203
19332.9
10870.1
4
16720
18931.9
-2211.9
5
15363
18459.9
-3096.9
6
16309
18870.9
-2561.9
7
72782
15244.9
57537.1
8
32994
25585.9
7408.08
9
18776
20182.9
-1406.9
10
13458
15214.9
-1756.9
11
25700
20154.9
5545.08
12
17679
23385.9
-5706.9
Total
257,223
228,907
28,316
43
44
DONORS &
PARTNERS
45
WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE TRUST AND GENEROUS CONTRIBUTION
DONORS AND PARTNERS HAVE INVESTED IN OUR WORK. WE COULD NOT
SUCCEED WITHOUT YOUR GENEROSITY.
THANK YOU.
GLOBAL VOLUNTEERS has been a vital Blind-Link partner since 2013, supporting our English
Communication program. Global Volunteers has sent 7 volunteer teams spending 1,300 hours
in teaching English to Vietnamese blind youths so far. In 2015, Global Volunteers launched a
Sponsorship Program for Blind-Link’s trainees.
HANOI INTERNATIONAL WOMEN CLUB supported the refurnishing of our classroom in
2015. Our blind staff and trainees finally have a very comfortable learning and meeting space
with wifi and smart TV for online lessons. It is our pleasure to name our classroom The HIWC
Learning Room in recognition of the Hanoi International Women’s Club’s generous support in
refurbishing the room. Below are images of the classroom before and after refurbishing.
46
Donation of Omamori Spa’s Clients
18,185,000 VND
Hanoi International Women Club (HIWC)
13,550,000 VND
Mrs. Tạ Thị Ngọc Thảo - Cat Tuong Quan (Hue City)
10,000,000 VND
Crow-funding campaign on Indiegogo
$1,871
Mr. Tom Leach
Private
Mrs. Nguyễn Mai Liên - Rainbow Fashion Company
Designing uniform and
cloth donations
SeA Bank
8,000,000 VND
Mr. To Nhuan Vy and his family
5,000,000 VND
Mrs. Caroline Stanculescu
$250
Mrs. Carolyn McGinty
$100
Mr. Vũ Đình Tâm Long
Design flyers, menu,
business cards, reports
for free of charge
Mr. Sơn and Templaza
Assist managing BlindLink’s websites
Volunteers (including the co-founders, the President, the
CEO)
23,226 working hours
HOW TO DONATE
Your generous donations ensure that we can continue to support
visually impaired people in finding their pathway to a brighter future!
You can donate to us via the Sponsorship Program for Vietnamese
blind in Global Volunteers, USA. Your gift is tax deductible.
For Sponsors who want to donate directly to Blind-Link, you will need
to bank it into the VND account. We apologise for this inconvenience.
Bank name: VIETCOMBANK (Vietnam), Ba Dinh branch, Hanoi
Bank address: Handi Resco Building, 521 Kim Ma, Ba Dinh, Hanoi
Account name: Blind-Link
VND Account number: 0611001909023
You can also donate via Paypal under this email address:
[email protected]
47

BLIND-LINK ANNUAL REPORT 2015

Transcription

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