Orphanage – Disabled Centrum The Sisters of Saint Paul de Chartres

Godparents Currently, all of our girls have a Godfather or a Godmother. For this reason, most of them have already experienced an emotional relationship with that Godparent during a visit to the orphanage via a tourist trip to the area. Some of the girls rarely see their Godparent, either due to the inability to travel as frequently as desired or they no longer have the financial means to do so. Still, the emotional relationship remains in their heart and this is very good for the Godchildren. The procedure for becoming a Godparent is quite simple. Every Godfather or Godmother is invited to contribute a fixed donation or tithing each year. Kim Long is extremely flexible in this regard. Payments can be sent on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. This financial contribution minimally covers the living expenses of your Godchild at Son Ca. Our French association that deals with our Godparents is “Poussière de Vie” - translated as Dust of Life. It is operated by our friend Raymond Wieser and Poussière de Vie who are based near Strasburg, France. Once you have agreed to contribute, each Godfather/Godmother receives a financial receipt every year.   There are Godparents currently in France, the UK, Switzerland, Japan, Germany and Belgium. For Godparents from countries other than France, receipts are sent annually that provide evidence of their contribution to the association. This statement is only relevant for the French Administration (if it is meant to be deducted for tax considerations). Fiscal receipts for local administrations must be issued in the home country of the nationals. It is important to realize that all contributions received from Godfathers and Godmothers are combined into one single common budget that is equally distributed among the entire community of our children. The exception to this rule is when there is a special need for a particular child. Although every effort is made to distribute a Godparent’s contribution to their selected Godchild, it sometimes becomes necessary to re-allocate some funds that will allow us to better cover all costs related to the living expenses of all of our children. Other investments related to the construction of our buildings are exclusively covered by other associations, NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and many other individual supporters.    It is still necessary to bridge this financial gap in order to cover all of these living costs. A recent example is when we had to stop the distribution of milk – which is exclusively available in Vietnam as milk powder - for a yearly budget of €1.500!!! Raising the Godparent’s contribution during the current financial crisis was not an option. Since several Godparents no longer have the means to increase their contribution, we thoroughly understand that we could not ask for any increases. Instead we would like to suggest some alternative solutions for any new candidates for Godparents that would include a cooperative or combined Godparent’s fund, the principle being that any contribution can be no longer regarded as individual. It will be intended for the entire community of our children. This is how we have been allocating recently so basically it is not a change to our method. We understand that some potential Godparents may be disappointed that their contribution will not be directly associated with the emotional relationship of their individual child. But, on the other hand, we anticipate that their intention to help one child can be the driving factor for them to contribute to a general fund. We trust that potential Godparents will understand that their support to Son Ca is essential to the welfare of all our children. Basically, if your Soul has steered you to us, your intention is to provide support to Son Ca, largely for the emotional relationship with regard to ALL of our children. All this being said, we invite you to accept this collective contribution. We will always ensure that this support: - Is ESSENTIAL; - Is exclusively related to the living costs of our children; - Is NEVER meant for any investment projects inside or outside our orphanage. It can still be possible to support one particular child and we will do all we can to support your request. But, we must have the flexibility to allocate funds where needed without harming the welfare of your chosen child. If you are a French national or a citizen of any other country, please contact Raymond Wieser at the following address: Poussière de Vie Raymond Wieser 24 rue des Champs 67290 STRUTH FRANCE Poussière de Vie Summary: a) To sponsor one particular child: All our children already have a Godparent. We are always receiving new children but the waiting list for Godparents is quite long. If you would like to participate and be added to the list, please contact Raymond Wieser. b) To sponsor one of our poor girls: Son Ca also provides shelter for many young girls from very poor families of other provinces and areas great distances from Kim Long. These girls remain at Kim Long for long periods of time and occasionally for many years. These girls are extremely busy with their studies and leave the orphanage as soon as they receive their certification of general or specialized studies or university, which is true in most cases. All their education takes place within our walls, just as it does for our orphans. However, considering the higher cost of their living expenses, only a few of them have a Godparent. This is unfortunate since these girls are similar to our orphans, except that they return to their families during school vacations. We are sure that you are aware of the high cost of education. Even if the parents or the family make any contribution, the costs for all of the girls at Kim Long is still difficult to meet. This is why we need to recommend this collective contribution that will help us considerably. Another characteristic that our girls possess is their maturity and their openness to communication. Thanks to a lot of hard work by our new IT centre, it is now possible to communicate with them via Internet. We have also set-up English language courses to make these communications more fluent. Our girls will be delighted to communicate with you and to build a new emotional relationship. c) You want to sponsor ALL our children: Please, do not hesitate. We really need this! Consider becoming a new collective Godparent and contact Raymond Wieser. He will explain the collective contribution and will try to assist you in finding the best possible method to help us, while keeping with the actual impending needs of the moment or of any special situations. If you would like more details, or an open discussion about becoming a new Godparent of Son Ca and would like to discuss in English, please contact Christian.philippe@skynet.be since Raymond Wieser might not be fluent in English. Christian will then facilitate the communication with them.