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Last year, Jackie Wrafter was presented with an MBE by Prince William. She was recognised for the establishment and long-term management and support of the Kianh Foundation Day Centre for disabled children in Central Vietnam. In 2000, Jackie and a friend were back-packing through Vietnam. They were living the care-free life and enjoying all the aspects of the country that normal tourists would enjoy. But, she said, behind the facade something less attractive lurked. She stumbled upon the Hoi An Orphanage where disabled children were housed in a single room. They were receiving a minimum amount of care. To Jackie, it was a distressing sight but it immediately sparked a sense of deep compassion and a pressing need to do something. Jackie got a job at the orphanage in 2001 and stayed there until 2010. During that time, she established the Kianh Foundation which was originally set up to address an urgent lack of services for children with disability living at the government orphanage in Hoi An. Some of her achievements included: Setting up 2 special education classrooms and a thriving education program for the children with disability Setting up a successful physiotherapy program Ensuring that all children (with and without disabilities) and the staff’s children received regular dental care Arranging and funding various surgeries (for example cleft lip and cleft palette surgeries, shunt and heart surgeries) Providing basic healthcare Training and up-skilling government employed staff working at the orphanage Supplying additional staff in order to roll out various programs throughout the orphanage Renovating unsanitary rooms and buildings
Due to the success of the programs, many families in the Province who had children with a disability began to bring them to the orphanage in order to access the services. This is what led Jackie to set up a Day Centre in the nearby district of Dien Ban, a large catchment area for the Hoi An Orphanage. Dien Ban has one of the highest proportions of disadvantaged children and children with disability in Central Vietnam. The local government authorities attribute this, in part, to the fact that the area was heavily bombed and sprayed with defoliants during the war with the United States, a legacy that continues to this day. Many of the children with disability in this region are considered to be third generation dioxin victims. Dien Ban was amongst the top 10% of districts most heavily bombed. Poverty and poor medical care are other contributory factors to the high percentage of disability here. Based on government records, there are over 1,000 children with disability and special needs living in Dien Ban, the majority of whom do not have access to any kind of support services. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact number of children with disability in this area as they regularly encounter children who are not listed on any government list. To address this need, the Kianh Foundation built a custom-designed Day Centre for children with disability which was completed in 2012 thanks to the generosity of many investors including RMIT. It now caters for 100 children who are supported by 40 staff and many volunteers including Australians. The centre is the first of its kind in Central Vietnam to provide an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to the development needs of children with disability. It builds local capacity by providing special education, physical therapy and speech therapy, access to dental care and life skills to children with disability in the local community. It also provides training, development and respite support to the parents and families of the children attending the Centre. The Centre is now in high demand and, due to its outstanding success, there is a long waiting list of families wanting their child to be admitted. But unfortunately the facility can't cope with any additional children. That's why Jackie is in Australia to lobby organisations such as Rotary to provide financial assistance to support ongoing programs and to expand the building to cater for additional children. You can assist by providing a one-off payment to the Foundation or by sponsoring a child, Click here to visit the Kianh Foundation website. Footnote: Jackie will be appearing on ABC Radio this Thursday with Jon Faine in the Conversation Hour from 11am to 12pm. If you missed her presentation, it would be well worth tuning in. 
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