Photos of the November 2008 Medical Mission in Tra Vinh (South Vietnam) 

Click HERE to view 100 photos of the November 2008 Medical Mission (2nd-7th Nov. 2008)

(Click here for Part II: Photos of Activities and Fun in Tra Vinh, July 2008)

(Click here for Part II: Photos of Activities and Fun in Kien Giang, July 2008)

Fall Medical Mission is accepting applications now!
For information on Medical Mission trip, please click here.

Project Vietnam Foundation Dinner Gala

Dear Friends and Supporters of Project Vietnam:

Our current programs since 1996 include:

1. Free surgeries for children with orofacial deformities and eye defects in rural areas.

2. Medical clinics at needy remote communities to treat and screen for curable medical problems. Patients receive medicines and gifts.

3. Training and updates for health personnel at all levels of the healthcare system, and ongoing collaborative work with main medical centers especially in pediatric specialties.

4. Annual Summer Service camp in July for US students to to work on rural community and medical projects with local students.

In 2005 we started the “Newborn Care Initiative” and the campaign to provide “Breaths for Newborns”in 2006.

Everyday about 100 newborn babies die in Vietnam. Most of the deaths are caused by lack of oxygen and can be prevented by good resuscitation after birth. To date our program has provided training to 40 provinces in Vietnam and distributed 700 neonatal resuscitation kits. In the hands of trained health personnel, the respiratory equipment can successfully save 90% of the babies from death and brain damage.  The CPR kit with training costs only $100 and can be used for about 150 newborns annually, lasting at least 3 years, as our project has clearly demonstrated. Each rural health center needs at least one CPR kit, and Project Vietnam aims to deliver 1000 kits to remote health centers over the next 18months. 

In November 2008, we will begin teaching Neonatal Resuscitation for instructors in partnership with the International Relief Teams (San Diego) as an ongoing program until each of the 64 provinces will have an instructor team. The medical mission team Fall 2008 will be working in Saigon & Hanoi, Tra Vinh and Hung Yen provinces, with mobile teams serving 10 provinces.
This project will affect potentially over 1.5 million newborns annually, and we will need your help to implement it.  Our program has already brought infant mortality down by 25-75% according to a survey of 15 sites where it was implemented. 

We invite you to join us at our annual Fundraising gala on September 21, 2008, 6-9PM at the Royal Restaurant & Banquet  in Westminster, California. The entertainment will be provided by:

- Lac Hong Performing Arts children’s group
- Le Hong Quang children’s group
- Fashion show by Tracy Doan presenting Geraldine knits and evening gowns collection

Once again, we thank you for your past support, and hope that you will be our ongoing partner to work for the newborns and children of Vietnam.

Your contribution to the “Breaths for newborns” campaign will directly save thousands of children every year, and will be an enduring legacy!

Sincerely,

Dr. Quynh Kieu,
President, Project Vietnam Foundation
11100 Warner avenue suite 116, Fountain Valley, CA 92708
(714)641-0850 projectvietnam@yahoo.com

PROJECT VIETNAM FOUNDATION DINNNER GALA
Sunday September 21, 2008 6-9PM
The Royal Restaurant 9743 Bolsa avenue, Westminster CA92683

Thanks For Being Our Partners to save newborns and bring better health to countless children!

In 1996, Project Vietnam was founded as an international health program of the American Academy of Pediatrics California Chapter 4. We have brought teams of volunteers twice annually to remote rural areas, to offer life-changing surgeries for children with birth defects and vision problems, providing health exams and treatment at clinics and schools and training health personnel at all levels from the lead institutions to villages. Starting January 2008, Project Vietnam continues its mission as Project Vietnam Foundation, to expand services to needy children.

As we gained insight into the health needs in rural areas, our specialists developed simple interventions and pilot programs. We discovered that each year almost 15,000 newborns were hospitalized with serious brain hemorrhage and countless babies suffered brain damage because of vitamin K deficiency. An injection of vitamin K administered after birth to 40,000 babies in Ha Tay province eradicated the problem. This successful model was adopted into national policy in 2003. Project Vietnam continued to seek improved health policy for newborns, and initiated a Newborn Care Initiative in 2005. Two pilot programs in the provinces of Khanh Hoa and Vinh Phuc led to training in newborn resuscitation and skills, in collaboration with pediatric leadership in North and South Vietnam. Several projects on newborn jaundice, infection control and respiratory care, have uncovered effective methods to address the problems. To date over 40 provinces have been trained, and a survey of 15 hospitals demonstrated reduction of up to 50% in infant mortality at sites of implementation.

In Vietnam infants represent 51% of child deaths, however almost 2/3 of the remaining mortality could be improved with good pediatric emergency services. In Kien Giang province, it is unsafe to transport children with emergency conditions, and waterways represent a constant challenge to healthcare access. Project Vietnam launched there a pilot program in March 2007. In July 2006, a pediatric cardiology program was started with specialists at Oakland Children’s hospital, because of the thousands of children with congenital heart diseases in need of treatment. Less than a year later, Nhi Dong 1 hospital did their first open-heart operations with great success!

At the request of students eager to participate, we held the first Summer Service Camp in July 2007 which brought 55 students from the US & Canada, to work with Vietnam students to improve their communities through construction projects, rural clinics and visits to orphanages and centers for handicapped children. Many of the volunteers took on medical projects which promoted infection control at health facilities.

In 2008 Project Vietnam Foundation will continue the work by bringing resuscitation kits and training to needy provinces, and seek to update knowledge on vital treatments for children. Besides  medical mission trips to provide operations and medical treatment to children in remote rural areas, we seek to empower the local health professionals through training and innovative solutions which are culturally appropriate. At this time there are 8 ongoing program sites at rural provinces, where our volunteers look into current health practices and pilot realistic changes.

All the achievements of the past happened because of the dedication of our members and the support of our donors. In partnership with our benefactor individuals and organizations, we pledge to bring better healthcare to the children and families in Vietnam, especially children-at-risk and poor communities.

Thanks for being our partners to save newborns and bring better health to countless children!

Quynh Kieu MD
President, Project Vietnam Foundation