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Hoi An Orphanage is funded and run by the Vietnamese government. It is currently home to 80 children (the number fluctuates slightly), aged from newborn to those in their late teens. About half the children have physical or intellectual/mental disabilities. The most common are Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome and Hydrocephalous. The government funds available to support the children of Hoi An Orphanage only provide food, shelter and minimal supervision.  The Mulligan Project in conjunction with The Kianh Foundation is funding the major projects at the orphanage with particular emphasis on the children with disabilities. These projects include hiring additional caretakers, providing two special education classrooms for children of differing ability, physical therapy and speech therapy programs as well as field trips for the children with disabilities. Where necessary, we have worked with other NGOs to provide surgeries and healthcare.

Special Education

Special Education is not yet a popular discipline in Vietnam. We support a special education program that caters to children with all levels of physical and intellectual disability. Children who just a few years ago had no opportunity to learn to read, write and talk are now being educated to reach their maximum intellectual capacity.

Physical Therapy

The physical therapy program was the first project of The Kianh Foundation at Hoi An Orphanage. They began with one newly graduated Vietnamese Physical Therapist and a very small, run down orphanage room. Despite such humble beginnings, they quickly began to see positive results. Over the years they have witnessed minor miracles. Children who never walked before began doing so. Children became more independent by learning to feed themselves or go to the bathroom. Of course, not all of the children at the orphanage are able to achieve such milestones. But we get just as excited when one of them is able to sit unassisted for two minutes or make some other breakthrough that will have a profound affect on the quality of life.

Our Physical Therapists are Vietnamese graduates who receive annual training from Kalli Heinemann (Germany) and are supported by the additional training of visiting Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists throughout the year.

Dental Treatment

The children of Hoi An Orphanage have been receiving annual dental care since 2004. This care is provided free of charge by the excellent East Meet West clinic in the nearby city of Da Nang.  We fund the transportation and meal costs.  It can take 10 days to complete all the assessments and treatments. Last year, 86 children from the orphanage received dental care.

On the first visit, the dental staff said that the orphanage children had the worst teeth they had ever seen. Fortunately, we have significantly improved dental hygiene standards and now receive many compliments on the state of the children’s teeth.

Improved Living Conditions

Unsanitary living quarters have been renovated, a bathroom equipped for disabled access has been installed and well-stocked therapy rooms have been established. We provide regular maintenance, repairs and building assistance to ensure that the orphanage is a safe environment for the children.

Social Activities

We have provided countless birthday parties and field trips to the beach, the park, and local restaurants. Not a small thing to children who until a few years ago had not been beyond the orphanage walls.

Speech Therapy

We have a thriving speech therapy program for the children with disabilities at Hoi An Orphanage. Makaton Key Word Signing is being taught to many of the children with disability.

Improved Nutrition

We supplement the nutrition of the children in the special education programs by providing additional milk and fruit.

OUR FUTURE—DIEN BAN DAY CENTER

In addition to maintaining its programs at the Hoi An Orphanage, The Mulligan Project along with The Kianh Foundation is planning to build a Day Center that will help close the gap in services by providing special education, physical therapy and speech therapy to children with disabilities who have parents. These services are minimally available in the local community if at all. As a result some parents of children with disabilities have surrendered their children to the orphanage in a desperate attempt to give their child access to our programs. We’re raising the funds to build a Day Center so children with disabilities can go to a special facility catered to their needs and then go home to their family. There are over 800 children with disabilities who do not have access to essential education and therapy services.  The Dien Ban Day Center will change that.