Children’s Hope in Action (CHIA) is an Australian-registered charity founded by Australian woman Robyn Morley in 2006.
Robyn moved to Hoi An in 2000, where she volunteered at an orphanage with disabled and disadvantaged children. While working at the orphanage, she also helped some sick and disabled children still living with their families, who desperately needed assistance to access surgery, medical assistance and disability support. She noticed a large gap in the availability of services in Hoi An for these children, and found that many families were forced by their financial conditions to send their children to the orphanage so that they could access treatment. Robyn felt that if she could help parents to continue caring for their children at home, the children and their families would be happier and healthier, and the burdens of the government would be reduced. In response to this problem, in 2006 Robyn founded Children’s Hope in Action to provide care and assistance for some of the most disadvantaged children and their families in the Quang Nam province.
CHIA first focused their efforts and resources in three key areas – Health and Medical Assistance, Disability Services and Education Support. In September 2009, typhoon Ketsana (the worst typhoon in fifty years) hit the Quang Nam province and left a considerable number of people homeless and with very battered homes. The Water, Sanitation and Housing (WASH) project was set up to provide typhoon-resistant housing for underprivileged families.
CHIA supports over 500 children in the Quang Nam Province and is expanding to reach more disadvantaged children from rural areas, who are otherwise unable to attend school or be provided good nutrition due to their families’ difficult social and financial situations.
Children’s Hope in Action’s office is situated in Hoi An City, where operations are supported by four Vietnamese staff, Family Therapist Jeanne Grant, founder Robyn Morley and numerous international volunteers.
About us
Established in 2006, Children’s Hope in Action (CHIA) is a Non-Government Organization (NGO) operating in Hoi An, central Vietnam. We believe passionately that it is the right of every child to be raised within a nurturing family environment; to have access to essential services taken for granted by people living in the developed world. Children who suffer from disabilities, health issuesor extreme poverty, are at high risk of being relinquished into institutional care. Hundreds of such children are helped by CHIA each month, enabling them to remain in the care of their families.
Children’s Hope in Action seeks to offer culturally, socially and financially appropriate support services to disadvantaged children to provide them with the resources and opportunities they need to achieve success. The services are developed with no political or religious agenda with a main focus on on health, disability, education and housing.
We are registered as a charity in Australia (ABN 88 085 725 085) and licensed to operate in Vietnam. Through our Australian partner Global Development Group, we are able to issue tax-deductible receipts to Australian donors. Our American partner Global Development Group USA has 501(c)(3) approval.