Dragon House

Blue Dragon Children's Foundation

Blue Dragon Children's Foundation

I’ll be cross-posting this to the other blogs shortly so apologies for duplication. I just heard from Mike at Blue Dragon about an author, John Shors, who’s written a novel based on street kids in Vietnam. Mike read the draft and has approved it – which is impressive given the usual stereotypes of street children. Apparently Shors has avoided all of these and Mike should know, given the fact he’s been working with these kids for so many years.

The book, Dragon House, is published by Penguin and available pretty much anywhere. You can order an autographed copy direct from John at the official web site… or if you go to Blue Dragon’s page and donate upwards of $100, John will send you a free one! Either way, part of the proceeds from the novel will be wending their way to the kids in Vietnam.

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Blue Dragon – keep it rolling in!

Blue Dragon Children's Foundation

Blue Dragon Children's Foundation

I may possibly be heading to Vietnam again later this year and of course, if I do, one of my priority stops wil be Hanoi to see the kids at the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation again. I’ve been chatting to Michael there recently (we’ve had a couple more generous donations via the 1000 Mile Walk page), and he’s currently in Australia doing some much-needed fundraising.

Thing is, as everyone worldwide pretty much has to tighten their belts as the money dries up. People can’t afford to give cash away. Sadly, though, the need for this money doesn’t abate. Children still need help, education… rescuing.

Mike recently posted the following video on the VietnamStreets blog. It shows a young boy who has just been rescued from a sweat shop. He simply didn’t believe that Michael and the team were there to free him from the slave-driving filth who were making him work 16+ hours a day for nothing. They handed him a telephone so his mother could explain herself.

Now you tell me. Isn’t his reaction – the tears, the relief, the knowledge he was once again free – worth a few pounds, dollars, yen, euros or whatever? Please, please, please – spare a few bucks. I know times are tight. But the price of a couple of pints can make a huge difference to these children.

Donations can be made via this page on the Blue Dragon site.

Thanks.

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Rhino Car Hire – thank you!

A slightly sideways post this one. I have been dealing with Scott from Rhino Car Hire over the last few days. He came across the 1000 Mile Walk site, and has made a very generous donation to the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation. I know that site doesn’t get the traffic it did, so I would like to post this quick message here for him.

Look at it this way – every time you rent a car from Rhino, a small amount of the proceeds will be winging its way to Michael and the kids in Vietnam. And Rhino’s prices seem pretty reasonable to me as well. You can’t go wrong!

Again, a massive “thank you” on behalf of BDCF to Scott and his wife, Julie. If I ever get to Cyprus I may well look you up!

And don’t forget, folks, Blue Dragon can always make use of any spare cash you have kicking about. Please, please click on the link above and check out the instructions for donations. Unlike “western” charities, their administration costs are around 10-15% of the money brought in. So well over three quarters of the money raised will go directly to the projects that need it. That’s pretty much a complete reversal of the figures of most charities run over here.

In addition, don’t forget to check out the instructions if you’re donating from the US or Australia which will allow your cash to be passed over with tax exemption.

I’m off to school again tomorrow and then to Geneva on Sunday. More updates then.

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Buy a book!

BDCF Book coverNot one by me (yet!), but one that will benefit the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation. Rather than just direct you over to Mike’s Blog post about it, I’ll repeat the details here:

Quotations for Positive People is a collection of inspiring quotes that has been compiled by Larry Welch – and he’s offered to donate all of the profits to Blue Dragon! Thanks, Larry!

We’re going to use the funds for some of our most positive work – providing homes to children who live on the streets. So, buy the book! Give it to your friends! Pay your staff in copies of the book rather than boring old cash!

Click here for more info: http://www.trafford.com/07-1419

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