"Life Journey" - giving wings to dreams for poor children

(Baonghean) - “Journey of Life” is a series of fundraising cycling events launched by AIA Vietnam Insurance Company in collaboration with the Vietnam Children's Fund, the government and the Children's Funds of provinces and cities since 2014. In addition to supporting children in difficult circumstances, “Journey of Life” also aims to promote children's rights, traffic safety and environmental protection...

Mr. Stephen Clark, General Director of AIA Vietnam, presented the support symbol to the representative of the Nghe An Children's Support Fund.

In the first year, 770 bicycles (with a total value of more than 1.3 billion VND contributed by AIA agents, employees, customers and partners) were handed out to disadvantaged children in 22 provinces and cities. This is a very meaningful activity in the context that each year in Vietnam, more than 200,000 children have to drop out of school, one of the reasons being that the distance from home to school is too long. Many children in remote areas often have to walk 5-10 km or more to get to school. They have to wake up at 4 am to get to class on time. These difficulties significantly impact their learning outcomes and their ability to continue studying as well as their future.

Mr. Stephen Clark, General Director of AIA Vietnam expressed: “Launching the “Journey of Life” program, we hope that each bicycle donated will give children another opportunity to go to school, ensuring their dream of a brighter tomorrow.”

Cycling parade in Vinh City.

In 2015, the second season of “Journey of Life” with some new features will be organized into 15 main events from North to South to celebrate the 15th anniversary of AIA Vietnam. The Organizing Committee will present at least 1,000 bicycles to poor children in 25 provinces and cities nationwide.

Particularly in Nghe An, on the morning of April 23, 2015, in Vinh City, AIA Vietnam Life Insurance Company and the Vietnam Children's Fund launched the second "Journey of Life" Program, following the success of the first program held in April 2014.

Mr. Ly Thanh Nhon and Mr. Vo Quyet Thang (left), Deputy General Director of AIA Vietnam, presented bicycles to the children.

At the ceremony, through the Nghe An Provincial Children's Fund, AIA Vietnam presented 50 bicycles and 50 gifts worth nearly VND90 million to poor children in Nghe An province. When coming to the program, each child was also given a red bamboo dragonfly by the Organizing Committee, symbolizing the addition of wings to carry the dreams of poor students to fly high and far. Little girl Dinh Thi Hong - a 7A student at Thinh Truong Secondary School (Nghi Loc) - 1 of 50 students who received bicycles in this program emotionally shared: “My family is very poor, my father passed away early, my mother works alone in the fields to raise us and send us to school. My family has 4 siblings but only has 2 bicycles, one of which is broken. Every day I have to walk nearly 2 kilometers to school. Today, I am really happy to receive a new bicycle. I would like to thank the program and promise to try my best to study well to fulfill my dream of becoming a teacher…”.

The second “Journey of Life” program was launched in Vinh City on April 23.

Also within the framework of the program, in order to contribute to creating a healthy playground for children, the Organizing Committee launched a writing contest on “Life Journey 2015” with the main content being the sharing of students who received bicycles about their journey to school as well as their dreams.

PV