As a member of the board of directors, I again had the privilege this summer to visit COV operations in Vietnam and participate in several field trips. I came away with two primary impressions. First, COV has "heart". It starts with the founder, Ben Wilson, and the Country Director Luong Thi Huong, and flows down through the staff. Their deep compassion for those in need permeates and drives the organization. Theirs is a labor of love fueled by the desire to enable those they assist to acquire a better quality of life. And Second, COV practices the highest principles of charitable assistance: they enable the downtrodden to help themselves improve their quality of life, while maintaining their dignity throughout the process.
I was especially impressed with how, in their daily operations, they verify need to an established norm and then leverage their resources by acquiring the involvement and assistance of local officials and the surrounding community.
I left Vietnam with the positive feeling that COV is exercising truly good stewardship over the precious resources of our donors and benefactors in the way it carries out the charitable objectives of the organization. I can state unequivocally that COV is indeed bringing hope to the hopeless and improving the lives of so many needy Vietnamese children and their families.