An Accounting Alto in Hoi An

Whilst reviewing and advising on financial procedures is important on assignment, it’s great to take time out and see how the generous donations are helping at grassroots level. In my first week I was invited in to the local home of twins who are being supported through their education, and their older sister has also been funded through medical school.  Their mother has mental health issues so the father has to look after her and the boys but is unable to therefore earn a living.  The condition of their house is also very poor but the father does his best cleaning and tidying for his family every day.  You can see on the walls the level to where the floods rise and cause so much damage. I was greeted very politely in English and the boys looked so smart and proud in their school uniforms.  Despite all the hardships the boys were just so happy, and thrilled with their new toys plus hats and scarves ready for the winter.

Can't believe a week has passed already!  Time to continue(!) shopping plus a leisurely wander around the ancient town which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Hoi An is situated by the Thu Bon River, so an ideal location for a South-East Asian trading port, and known for it's well-preserved timber houses, architecture and street plan of the 15th to 19th century of Chinese, Japanese and later European influences. I was also invited to a fundraising event for CHIA, held at the Silks Resort hotel, by the Hoi An Expats, where 200,000 Vietnamese Dong was raised through raffles and a silent auction.  Prizes included dental treatment, tailoring, kayaking, and yoga lessons (which I won, and I never win anything!). There was quite a big distraction that evening - Vietnam beat Malaysia to become the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) champions.  It seemed like all of Hoi An swarmed the town centre on motorbikes and any form of transport really, in mass celebrations mirrore...

Due to generous donations, CHIA are able to offer children with disabilities daily access to education.  Also therapy treatment has been in place since 2013.  The floods have died down (for now!) so up to 10 children benefit from the lessons as well as amazing toys and musical instruments that are kindly donated from all over the world, and the progress reported by the teachers and  therapists is immense! It's heartening to hear of so many stories of volunteers coming, they may have simply googled the internet to find charity work in Hoi An, or walked past and seen the sign.  Volunteers come as part of their holiday, career or educational placements, also ex-pats, offering vital skills from teaching, therapies, finance, IT, even handy-work, and can be long-term or just an afternoon. It's all invaluable for the kids who otherwise would have none at home as there is no social welfare or official support. Here are pics of these happy kids with Nicole an occupational ...

I'm so enjoying the daily working life at CHIA with the friendly and insightful locals and volunteers. Staff are in early, having dropped off their children to school at 7am on a standard motorbike commute, and may have traveled from 50km away.  I backpacked in Vietnam many moons ago but had to be reminded of walking confidently across roads otherwise one would be waiting a while to let all the motorbikes pass, some with families of 4+ including kids! It's tempting to stop at one of the many street vendors and cafes along the way for breakfast, serving the French influenced Vietnamese baguette called banh mi stuffed with flavour-some meat, veg and herbs, or pho which is the soup of rice noodles and usually beef or chicken.  In between a bit of barefoot budgeting in excel (my favourite spreadsheet!) I hitched a ride to the historic centre for a spot of lunch-time shopping and intense bartering, finding myself ordering 6 items which I doubt will be the end of it! There are a...

After weeks of anticipation, I have finally touched down in central Vietnam for a voluntary assignment that I obtained through AFID   https://www.afid.org.uk/page/1/About  i.e. Accounting for International Development.  They are a UK-based social enterprise that organise vital financial capacity management to  various non-profit organisations.  Since 2007 they have   placed over 1250 accountants from more than 50 countries from 2 weeks to several months in around 500 non-profit partners globally, that's beyond  250,000 hours.   I am hoping to add 70 hours to that number! It's Day 1 of my two weeks at CHIA  -  http://www.childrenshopeinaction.org/ .   This inspiring NGO offers life-saving programs on health, disability, housing, and water and sanitation to  disadvantaged children and families in the Quang Nam province that are barely surviving on less than $3USD a day. My usual London train commute is great...