CWS has initiated the new Integrated Development project in Muong Te district, Lai Chau province. Muong Te District is located in the far north west of Vietnam and is one of the poorest areas of the country, with over 97% of the population ethnic minority people. The CWS project entitled “Education and Health Support in Muong Te, Lai Chau” has a budget of over $300,000 and is fully funded by the CWS Social and Economic Development unit (SED). There will be 4 main project components: school improvements, health clinic improvements, water supply and sanitation, and capacity building of partners. Over 45,000 people will benefit from this project, which is set to start in December 2005.

In 2005, the Hanoi Women’s Union College organized several training courses for ethnic minority women leaders. The trainings, supported by CWS, included modules on women’s rights, family roles, community conflict resolution, and women’s and children’s health. Over 180 ethnic women participated in the 4 training courses given throughout the year. CWS also supported the production of a training manual entitled ““Knowledge and Skills for Social Workers”, and 2000 copies were distributed to women in rural mountainous areas. CWS will continue to support the College in 2006, with additional training courses planned and the translation of the training manual into several ethnic minority languages.

In November, Mr. Brian McLeran from the Rose C Stone Foundation visited CWS Vietnam. The purpose was to meet with the Dai Du District officials to discuss the proposed Dai Tu District Education Project. This mountainous district is about 3 hours from Hanoi and is largely populated by ethnic minority families. Students study in overcrowded classrooms with poorly trained teachers. The Rose C Stone Foundation is interested in supporting the district to improve the quality of education services. The proposed project is set to begin early in 2006.

Joanne Fairley, CWS Vietnam Representative, participated in the Rutland, MA, CROP WALK on October 16. This year, the event was dedicated to the 40^th anniversary of Devereux School in Rutland in honor of the schools continued support to the walk. Devereux students designed this year’s theme and logo, which read “Together we can take the steps to change the world”.  The Rutland Community raised $17,700 from the day’s events, which is a record. Joanne expressed special thanks for the warm welcome she received by the Rutland community and the wonderful commitment and dedication of the walk’s organizers.

In September, 70 students and 10 teachers of Ba Vi Ethnic Minority Boarding School attended a performance of traditional South African music in Hanoi. The performance, entitled “Isintu Sa Bantu”, was organized by the South Africa Embassy to celebrate South African National Day. The students enjoyed watching and learning break dancing and South Africa traditional drums. It seemed that there was no difference in culture and language as everyone bonded through music and friendship

Five CWS Vietnam staff had the opportunity to visit the CWS East Africa office from 13 to 28 August 2005. The purpose of the trip was to participate in the CWS Security Training and to visit CWS projects in Kenya. The Vietnam staff reported that the Security Training was well organized with lively lectures. They then visited the Kadjiado, Narok, Nakuru, and West Pokot Water Projects, and the Safe School project in Nairobi. The cross program visit was highly appreciated as it gave CWS staff in different country/regional offices the opportunity to share program experiences and learn from each other.