About  VIETNAM

The lifesaving fund for poor children with heart defects in Vietnam

There are thousands of children in Vietnam who are waiting for a chance to be a normal, happy child. Children with heart disease miss out on childhood. They can't dance, they can't run, and many can't walk across the room without help. Without surgery the child's life is full of medicines, constant doctor visits, and hospital stays. Every episode puts the family deeper in debt. Every year without surgery puts the child further behind in school … and in life.

At any given time, there may be as many as 10,000 children waiting to receive surgery in Vietnam. Many of these children die while waiting for help.

Heartbeat Vietnam began in December 2005 with a gift of $31,500 from VinaCapital. Over $900,000 has now been donated to help poor children who need heart surgery and more than 1,400 children have been saved.

The cost of heart surgery in Vietnam ranges from $400 - $4500. With matching funds from provincial government organizations, Sponsoring Association for Poor People, and VinaCapital, Heartbeat Vietnam can help many more children.

For example:  a surgery that costs $3000. This is a serious and urgent case that we choose to place at a small private hospital because the waiting list is too long at the Heart Institute. A donor would give $500. The VinaCapital Group would match that donation 100%. Heartbeat Vietnam would forward $1000 directly to the hospital at the time of admission. The local province would forward 30% ($900) directly to the hospital and the Sponsoring Association for Poor Patients would forward 30% ($900). We have this four-way match on 60% of our cases. In others we have a three-way match.

VinaCapital has made a commitment to match 100% any donation to Heartbeat Vietnam, and the matched donation goes directly to the child’s hospital bill. Moreover, VinaCapital covers all of the foundation’s overhead expenses, so 100% of your donation goes directly to program work. No deductions, no costs, no middle man.

Please join us in this lifesaving program for poor children. You donation will change the life of a child forever!

Other  Programs

	Outreach Clinic Program (where we send volunteer doctors to the provinces to examine children for heart conditions and, if necessary, schedule them for surgery
	Heart surgery program
	Family Grants (additional funds given to children and their families while they’re in the hospital for surgery)
	Continuing care for Heart Children (where we support the family with a small grant for up to one year after surgery to help them get back on their feet, as long as the child returns to school)