Dear volunteers, friends, and supporters,

AusViet Charity Foundation (AVCF) is pleased to announce that the AVCF 2020 Mission will be in Ben Tre in Southern Vietnam and will be from Friday 14^th August to Friday 21^st August 2020.

Ben Tre is situated on the Mekong Delta, it is about 100km south of Ho Chi Minh City and takes about 2 hours to reach by car/bus. Being in the delta means the region contains many smaller rivers and canals, which makes the area good for rice farming but also prone to flooding. The province covers an area of over 2300km², with a population of over 1.6 million people.

During our short time there in August AVCF aims to provide:

• 1500 general medical examinations, which include where appropriate: blood tests, ultrasounds, eye checks, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, medication, medical equipment, and health education.
• 800 dental treatments, mostly for children which include general dental treatment, extraction, fillings and root canal treatments, and dental hygiene education.
• 100 cataract operations by phacoemulsification.
• 200 hearing tests and hearing aids.
• 1000 school gifts packs for children which includes notebooks, pens, pencils and school bag, and
• 350 food parcels for poor local families.

To achieve our goals, we will need the help many hard working, enthusiastic volunteers. At this stage we are hoping to recruit volunteers for the various positions:

• Doctors (10)
• Nurses (5)
• Dentist (5)
• Dental assistants (5)
• Audiologist (1-2)
• Occupational therapist (1-2)
• Optometrist (4)
• Physiotherapist (2-3)
• Pharmacist (8)
• Interpreters – ie able to speak English and Vietnamese (10)
• Support staff (15)

Click here for more information regarding what each job entails.

The week-long field trip is a challenging but rewarding experience. All volunteers are responsible for covering the cost of their airfares, accommodation, land transport and meals during the mission. AVCF will organise all this for you with the cost being roughly $2000 per volunteer based on previous years. This, however, does not include incidental expenses and activities you choose to do in the free time before and after the mission. During these periods you are responsible for your own accommodation, meals and transport.

It is important where possible that you fly out as a group with all the other volunteers from your state. This allows us to use the extra baggage allowances to transport the medical and dental supplies. Travelling together to Vietnam also makes it logistically easier to arrange transportation from the airport to the hotel. Therefore, if volunteers would like to include a holiday period during their time in Vietnam, we highly recommend where possible to schedule this for after the field trip.

So, if you have ever thought about doing something satisfying and of great service for the poor and disadvantage people in Vietnam, I would strongly encourage you to come along! To apply for the trip all you need to do is complete the “Volunteer Registration Form”. We will let you know the outcomes as early as possible.

If you have any queries regarding this mission, feel free to email your state representative who would be more than happy to help:

• NSW – Ms Phuong Dang
• QLD – Dr Chau Matthews
• WA – Dr Nguyen Nguyen
• Other states – Dr Nguyen Nguyen

The Ben Tre 2020 Mission will be particularly special as it will mark AVCF’s 5^th anniversary as a charity, and with your help, hopefully we will be able to make this mission our most successful one yet!

Kind Regards,

Dr Nguyen Nguyen
Organising Committee