On the morning of November 10, 2018, FV Hospital held the closing awards ceremony for the children’s drawing programme “Give A Child A Chance In Life”, organised by the Children of Vietnam Charitable Fund.

Invited guests included: Director of the Children of Vietnam Charitable Fund Ms Nguyen Thi Le Thu, painter Le Thanh, representative of Thanh Nien Newspaper, Ms Tran Phuoc Duc Thang, and other media units, plus the winning children and their parents.

The painting programme took place from June 15th to September 15th, 2018, to provide a creative platform for children to help raise funds for the Children of Vietnam Charitable Fund, which provides treatment for underprivileged children suffering from disability and disease.

A total of 86 entries were submitted by 32 children under the age of 16 years. Among them, Nguyen Ngoc Diep Quynh, aged seven, was the first contestant to enter the competition; French youngster Enzo, aged 11, contributed 11 paintings.

At the ceremony, Ms Nguyen Thi Le Thu thanked the children and parents for supporting the programme to help underprivileged children.

A highlight of the contest was seeing these fresh-faced, socially minded youths standing proudly next to their compelling creative works. Thanh Le, a representative of the jury, commented, “What surprised all of us is how their expressiveness goes far beyond how adults usually perceive children’s paintings. In addition to meticulous composition and striking ideas, those kids bravely used contemporary art materials and concepts, such as oil paints, with great skill. This made it very difficult for us to reach a final decision.”

The organisation board thanked and presented prizes to the children who won first, second and third prizes and honourable mentions, and commended all other contestants. In addition, FV Hospital’s PR and Marketing Manager Ms Nguyen Thi Thanh Truc also awarded VND 2,000,000 for the twelve pictures selected for the new 2019 calendar design, half of which was donated to the Children of Vietnam Charitable Fund and half to the artist.

During the closing party, children were given bubbles by a clown and mixed with their fellow artists. Tran Thuy Truc Ly, who painted Lavender Field, explained her process to attendees: “I have never seen any lavender flowers in real life, so I searched for them on the Internet and started to make this work.” Truc Ly said she was excited to attend and contribute to the Children of Vietnam Charitable Fund, adding words of encouragement to other artists.

This was the first time Truc Ly has participated in a competition and won a prize. She decided to donate the entire value of her prize, VND 1,000,000, to the Children of Vietnam Charitable Fund.

In addition, Le Ngoc Thuan, who also won a third prize of VND 1,000,000, and Le Diem My, whose painting The Earth Day was selected for FV’s 2019 calendar, also contributed their prize money to the Fund.

Vo Nguyen Hue Anh, age nine, who submitted three paintings – The Stream, Home and Baby Watching The Moon – was a little shy at participating in such a big show for the first time, but says he is already planning to register for the second painting contest.”I feel sympathetic towards friends with disabilities and really want to help them” he explains.

When Ngo Manh Tien, who won a second prize for his work Stars At Night, was on stage to receive his award, we noticed a happy smile on his father’s face. Mr Ngo Quang Thai explains:

As you can see, parents have been very supportive of their children participating in this programme as it speaks to the youngsters’ creativity while at the same time helping them realise how they can have a positive effect on the lives of other children suffering from disability and disease.

This sense of social activism motivated Nguyen Truc Thao Lam, aged eight years, to design and made handicraft bracelets for sale to raise funds for the Children of Vietnam Charitable Fund. To date, Thao Lam has contributed VND 5,580,000 to the Fund from the sale of her bracelets. Her idea to create small things with a large impact deserves a great deal of admiration.

From October 22 to December 31, 2018, all works will be put up for auction at the Exhibition Hall at the ground floor of F Building, FV Hospital, for visitors to enjoy and bid on their favourites. Fifty per cent of sale price will be donated to the Children of Vietnam Charitable Fund to treat underprivileged children; the remaining fifty percent will be given to the artist.

When this lively, meaningful day came to an end, the organisation board once again congratulated and thanked all contestants for submitting their works, and thanked the parents for encouraging their children to participate.
We hope that we will see these young artists again at the awards ceremony for the ” Give A Child A Chance In Life II” programme, which launched on September 15 and closes on December 15, 2018.

Here, some memorable moments from the awards ceremony:

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