Our principles
We are committed to ensuring that 100% of donations is invested directly in our projects, and that the children and their families and teachers are the sole benefactors. Every single cent is channelled into the project itself. Our close scrutiny ensures that no money is siphoned off elsewhere. None of us involved in the projects is remunerated in any way. We pay for all our own personal expenses, including travel.

We are encouraged by the results of our efforts, and plan to expand our work, building on our solid and proven principles:

• Our lack of bureaucracy and small team ensures that 100% of the money we raise is devoted to our projects
• Our strictly controlled payment procedure ensures that the money is entirely directed to each project. Detailed budgeting and cost control ensures that we stay within approved budgets
• Our careful selection of projects, and personal review of each project, ensures that the investment is totally and immediately effective

There is absolutely no doubt that your donations and our work are major contributors to ensuring a better future for the children in general, particularly those from minorities.

The WETTER Foundation is most grateful for your donations, as are all the children and their families.

Our work
Over the past years we have built more than 40 new schools and renovated and improved the facilities of several orphanages. Most of the schools are situated where the minorities live, in remote areas that tend not to be a priority for provincial governments. Each school has between 180 to 220 children, aged from five to nine years old. Our projects for orphanages comprise extensive renovation, purchasing additional land for agriculture to ensure more self-sufficiency, and building workshops where children can learn computer science, sewing and mechanical skills. We also started assisting orphanages in real need to finance their monthly running costs. Thanks to local donors we are from time to time able to help in providing them with some nutritional products to compliment and upgrade their daily diet.

We are rigorous about the way we go about each project. At the outset, we work with the Vietnamese Authorities as well as the Vietnamese Red Cross to identify the best locations. We then negotiate directly with the local authorities. An important condition to start our work is the involvement of and taking ownership by the local community from the beginning of a project which gives us a certain assurance that they will take good care of the building and its maintenance later on. In practically all cases the local authorities will contribute the land needed and will provide of course the teachers and all teaching material.

Once the project is approved, we release the funds in three stages: at the start, after completion of the shell, and finally for the purchase of the equipment. The structure of each school is similar, so we have a very clear idea of the construction costs. The total construction cost of a school varies from USD 14?000 to 17?000. A relatively small amount of money goes a long way, so as you can see your donations make a big difference.

Once the building is completed and equipped, it is turned over to the local authorities who are responsible for hiring the teaching staff from the Ministry of Education. The official inauguration of the school takes place when the school is fully operational.