Huy, a Hope System of Care beneficiary, and his mother, in the field where she works.

Our Story Begins With a Single, Unshakable Belief.

We believe that every child, no matter their socioeconomic background, disability, or ethnicity, deserves to thrive. For almost 30 years, this belief has driven us to work with them, their families, and their communities to permanently break the complex, interconnected cycle of poverty.

Vision

A Vietnam where all children, including those with disabilities, achieve their full potential and actively contribute to improving their communities.

Mission

Children of Vietnam breaks the cycle of poverty for children and their families by removing barriers to opportunities and providing targeted, comprehensive support. We drive lasting change by building a collaborative ecosystem of donors, communities, and partners.

Our Values

Compassion

We are committed to providing meaningful and long-lasting care for children and their families in Vietnam.

Collaboration

We recognize that by partnering with communities, donors, and organizations, we amplify our collective impact and create stronger, more resilient support systems.

Transparency

We operate with honesty and openness, ensuring that our actions, decisions, and use of resources are clear and accountable to the communities we serve, our donors, and partners.

Responsibility

We are dedicated to ethical practices by delivering meaningful results, ensuring that every action aligns with our mission to serve children and families in need.

Sustainability

We are committed to creating long-term solutions that minimize our environmental footprint, promote sustainable practices, and encourage the responsible use and conservation of natural resources in our programs and partnerships

Innovation

We look to continuously improve and advance  our services and processes to adapt to an ever-changing world and create a poverty-free future for Vietnamese children and their families.

COV founder Benjamin Wilson, surrounded by children, sitting on a bench in a corridor with a decorated tile floor and yellow walls.

● How we started

Children of Vietnam (COV) began in 1998 by Ben Wilson, Sr., who lived and worked in Da Nang in the mid 1990s and witnessed the needs of many poor Vietnamese children and  delivered food, household items, medicine, and clothing to them - anything and everything a child might need.

Word of Ben’s life-changing scooter deliveries traveled fast. Families with children who needed help sought him out. Ben diligently worked to meet the endless demands. From the beginning, Ben believed in creating partnerships with the communities, finding the greatest needs, delivering aid quickly, and working to provide the support that sustained growth. These principles continue to guide us in our daily operations today.

Brightening each child’s future remains our focus.

Meet Ben

A large group of people, including children and adults, smiling and waving at the camera during COV's 26th Annual Gala, with a blue screen behind them displaying the event details.

● Staff, Administration, & Board Members

Our team is a close-knit group of dedicated folks, including our Vietnamese country director, program managers, assistant staff members, U.S. based executive director and support staff members, Vietnamese and U.S. communications group and an actively engaged, working board.

Faces Behind the Mission

United States

  • Giang Wells-Dang

    Giang Wells-Dang

    Executive Director

    Read Bio
  • Phan Tran Kieu Trang

    Phan Tran Kieu Trang

    Program Coordinator

    Read Bio
  • Chris Brinlee, Jr.

    Chris Brinlee, Jr.

    Strategic Communications Specialist

    Read Bio

Vietnam

Board of Directors

Bright Scholars students participated in a soft skills development training.

Da Nang, Vietnam

Social Equity Statement

Children of Vietnam recognizes  the suffering of Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latin, and other minority communities under the exploitative systems of capitalism, imperialism, and colonialism. We value equity, dignity, inclusion, and social justice because they are central to our mission of lifting children out of poverty. We pledge to continue to be guided by these values in everything we do.

Poverty does not just happen to affect people. Its causes are not only a lack of income and resources. It consists of a lack of inclusive and equitable access to basic needs and opportunities to grow, develop, and follow dreams. Further, discrimination and inequality often coincide with poverty. Every child and adult regardless of race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, gender, mental or physical abilities, or who they love deserves dignity.

We abhor the injustice inflicted, past and present, on the multitude of lives, including Black lives, caused by individual and systemic racism, discrimination, and exclusion.

We stand for equality, dignity, inclusion, and social justice.