Volunteer Service
“Education of the heart is a seed that belongs to the Earth.”
Isabelle Müller
Founder
“Volunteer service is a simple charitable gesture that helps everybody actively push limits in a positive direction. It enriches the lives of all involved in a way that reduces suffering and makes our lives suddenly meaningful.” – Isabelle Müller
How do we react to injustice? Do we look away, or do we look for useful solutions? Social engagement is a way of life. It is also a learning process that involves the communication of values and the expansion of boundaries. As the founder of the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung), I would like to consciously help shape our world and contribute my strengths where they are needed. I help children in need so that one day they might have the opportunity to take their lives into their own hands; for the disadvantaged children of today are perhaps the founders of tomorrow. This fills me with enormous joy.
In this spirit and in the memory of my beloved mother’s life philosophy, I founded the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) in May 2016.
Thank you for your visit and for your support!
May 2016
Rebecca Müller
“The children of today shape the world of tomorrow.”
Long before the publication of her book Lo-Anh – From the Life of a Phoenix, my mother told me about her desire to one day support schools in Vietnam so as to give children access to the education that her mother Lo-Anh (Loan) did not have. A few years later, the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) started to form and I decided to accompany my mother on her first trip to Vietnam in autumn 2015. I’m an amateur photographer and I documented our trip, and in the process I learned about the northern part of the country, its breathtaking landscape, and the poverty of the rural areas.
In Germany, access to education and knowledge is a given for many people, while in other countries it is still a privelege. For me, as a student, education makes it possible to follow one’s dreams and to discover oneself. My conviction is that education not only positively and decisively shapes children’s lives but is also essential for the development of society, since the children of today shape the world of tomorrow. For me, it is especially important to provide children with education so that they may develop their own abilities and interests. For this reason, I will continue to support my mother and the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) to the best of my ability as a photographer and translator.
August 3, 2016
Lukas Funk
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”– Nelson Mandela
We have been lucky enough to be born and raised in a world where our parents did not have to consider how to fund our basic education. In Vietnam, on the other hand, the educational system is a precarious one. If parents are financially and emotionally able to separate themselves from their children, their sons and daughters must assume great responsibility as they move away from their family, friends, and home to then receive instruction in buildings that are often run-down and to eat and sleep in a large group under challenging conditions. In some cases, especially for children from the countryside, the path to school is long and extremely dangerous.
Yet basic education should not be a privilege but rather a given. Only through proper schooling can free-thinking, reflective individuals create a better and more fair society. I didn’t have to think twice about supporting the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) and, by extension, the creation of future centers for knowledge. Providing direct, on-site support helps people to help themselves, which I believe is the most promising, forward-thinking charitable work.
September 9, 2016
Werner Huemer
Education is empowering…
… from dependency and lack of mobility, from economic and mental prisons. No matter the social problem or danger – from poverty and hardship to political populism, from overpopulation to religious fanaticism – a lack of education is always an essential, underlying problem. It is for this reason that initiatives such as the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) are so important and worth supporting.
I met Isabelle Müller several years ago over the course of an interview about her biography “Phönix Tochter” and was delighted when her long-standing desire to create a foundation to promote education in Vietnam came to fruition. For when family history, a knack for making contacts, and energetic determination are combined in one person, as is the case with the founder of the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung), the prospects for the practical and sustainable implementation of an idea are very high.
I’m pleased to support the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) as a filmmaker and journalist and hope that the documentation of the lives and needs of the children in North Vietnam will promote general interest in this country often overlooked by the West and also generate further support.
March 18, 2017
Karin Pfrommer
“Helping together and giving hope”
I have known Isabelle Müller personally for many years and I know with how much passion and dedication she stands up for the disadvantaged children in the north of Vietnam through the LOAN Foundation.
As a mother of two adult children I am aware of how important education is for a healthy development in life and a peaceful world.
Besides the implementation and maintenance of the sustainable projects, leading the foundation is a big challenge for Isabelle Müller and brings numerous tasks with it. I am proud and happy to support Isabelle Müller in some of these administrative functions as a back-office volunteer.
I am constantly motivated by seeing how schools and kindergartens are built on the other side of the world, how hundreds of children get a better basis for life and to see the hope for a better future appear in the eyes of those children. For me, this is genuine aid.
August 2017
Truc Pham
“What can change this world? The education of our children! And what can heal this world? The smile on children´s faces!“ (Truc Pham)
The reasons why I want to commit myself as a volunteer at the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) are endless and cannot be all listed. In fact, I cannot find any reason why I shouldn´t support the goals of the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung).
The children of my homeland Vietnam should reach a better education level, especially the children from ethnic minorities of the poorest, northern mountainous regions. I focus my contribution on these children and want put a smile on their faces.
Being successful in this matter would make my own world much nicer and give my life a meaning. I would be the happiest person on earth! So why should I wait?…
March, 2018
Truc Pham will help our Team from Ho-Chi-Minh City with i.a. translating and building up our Vietnamese Website and Facebook profile.
Nguyễn Thị Hương Diệu
I was born and grew up myself in a poor region of Vietnam. The school war 10 kilometers far from our village. We children had to drive daily on old bicycles on tiny paths, as hungry as we were. This is why I really understand how hard it is to fight against the situation and how brave you have to be in order to realize your life’s dream. More important is getting the awareness that a high education level is the only way for a sustainable development and the best method against poverty.
My deepest wish is that the children of my country get better access to education than me before. This is the reason why it is an honor for me to support this selective aid with my contribution. It makes me happy and gives my life a sense.
August, 2018
Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Hương Diệu teaches at USSH (University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh city) and supports the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) with translations (German-Vietnamese)
Hoàng Cường Quốc
„I just do what needs to be done.” (Hoàng Cường Quốc)
August, 2018
Mr. Hoàng Cường Quốc is a student at USSH (University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh city) and supports the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) with translations (German-Vietnamese)
Lâm Ngọc Trúc
„A child miseducated is a child lost.” (John F. Kennedy)
I could have been that lost child if my parents had not been wholly persistent with their life´s dream: to send all their 6 children to university. I do volunteer work for LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) as, on the journey, I can imagine happiness of many people and myself being created, which I believe is the meaning of this life.
August, 2018
Mrs. Lâm Ngọc Trúc is alumni at the VGU (Vietnamese German University) and supports the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) with translations (English-Vietnamese)
Bùi Thị Thu Hương
“Study while others are sleeping; work while others are loafing; prepare while others are playing; and dream while others are wishing.” (William Arthur Ward)
“I still remember exactly the time when I was in grade 10, my father died. My mother was alone and had to work very hard from dawn till late at night in order to earn money to raise her three children and let them go to school. I am the eldest daughter in the family. Unfortunately, I could not help my mum in anything because my school was very far from home and I only came back to visit my family during the weekends. Therefore, I always told myself that I had to learn hard and learn well to have a brighter future, as my way to reward all hardships and bitterness that my mother had to endure in her life. I understood that keeping learning would be the only way to help me achieving my goals.
As I had a chance to work with Mrs. Isabelle Muller and understood her noble heart for the highland children of the northern, remote areas of Vietnam, I really wanted to contribute with my small part, helping them to have better conditions of living and learning, helping them achieving their own dreams. I also want to spread all good human values of Mrs. Isabelle Muller and the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) to everyone. With my training major, I am always ready to support the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) in the field of English – Vietnamese translation.”
October 10th, 2018
Mrs. Bùi Thị Thu Hương works at the DoFA in Ha Giang province and supports us since we met with interpreting and translating.
Tran Quang Phu
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”– Nelson Mandela
“I want to be together with the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) in order to do good things for poor ethnic minority students in the northern areas of Vietnam. I contribute with my small part, bringing them better chances, helping them to fulfill their dreams. Their smiles are my happiness in life. It is so wonderful to be a member of the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung)!”
October 10th, 2018
Mr. Tran Quang Phu works as a driver at the DoFA in Ha Giang province. Since we met and with a lot of experience, he always brings us safe to the sites we have to survey.
Meliha Benzenhöfer
In Germany many things are taken for granted: We have a family, a home, every day a warm meal and our children have the opportunity to define their own paths of life after school.
Many of it is for families located in the very northern areas of Vietnam a luxury, not to say unimaginable. The ways to school are often long and dangerous for the children. The schools are often dilapidated, permeable wooden barracks without doors and windows. The bedrooms, if available, are usually cold and overcrowded. Sometimes the temperatures in these regions are under zero degree °C. Like all other children in the world, these children also have dreams. Some of them would even like to study at university after school, in order to help shaping the world of tomorrow. But most of their families are too poor for enabling this.
With the access to education we can significantly improve the lives of these children and give them a better future. Through education they can finally use their talents and fulfill their dreams. The LOAN Stiftung stands up for the poorest children of this world and I am proud to be a part of it. Since I actively follow the work of the LOAN Stiftung, I know that many things are not self-evident and that each smallest contribution can achieve great results.
This is why I am happily looking forward to my journey with LOAN Stiftung!:)
Bùi Hoàng Phương Oanh
“If you believe in yourself that you did the right thing today, you don’t need to worry about tomorrow.”
Knowledge cannot be the universal key to all problems in the world. However, knowledge brings its worth to the ones who can seize it. For me, educating people, especially educating children – future generations – is the most practicable und realistic way to bring a better present as well as future, not only for the children themselves but also for the community, and more widely for the world itself.
Furthermore I really believe in equity, that everyone, regardless of the social background and living conditions, should be benefited with equal basic education and living conditions. However my worldview is certainly not the actual reality, as education for children in some parts of the world is still a desired luxury, especially in difficult areas such as the northern, mountainous regions in Vietnam.
Working with the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) will open a new door to my life’s longing goals, helping me to see the world from different perspectives, seeing life from much deeper aspects. Personally, I truly believe home is where we feel happy. I volunteered since early stages of my life and developed since then my way of life. Therefore I will be very happy when I contribute something for other people and the world.
August, 2021
Ms. Bùi Hoàng Phương Oanh is a student at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, National University of Ho Chi Minh City. She supports the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) in the field of online marketing and design.
Nguyễn Thị Hương Giang
“In the end everything will be okay. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.” – John Lennon
“To give is to receive.” Knowledge is the key to developing a person in the most positive way. That’s why everyone deserves a good education. At the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) I would like to support the other volunteers and help the children to have good learning opportunities and a better childhood. In a broader sense, this is also the opportunity for me to learn a lot of good things in life and enjoy happiness.
August, 2021
Ms. Nguyễn Thị Hương Giang is a student at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, National University of Ho Chi Minh City. She supports the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) in the field of online marketing.
Nguyễn Thị Hương Giang
“Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.” – Citation from “Forrest Gump”
Education has always been the basis for children’s later life. To be able to be part of the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) makes a lot of sense to me. In this way I can help society and especially children from disadvantaged backgrounds, to gain access to education.
August, 2021
Ms. Trần Thị Quỳnh Như is a student at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, National University of Ho Chi Minh City. She supports the LOAN Foundation in the field of marketing.
Huỳnh Ngọc Diễm
“We rise by lifting others.” – (Robert Ingersoll)
I would like to be part of the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) to bring education together in the inaccessible areas of Vietnam. In this way we can make the dream of the local children come true to go to school. I am convinced that education is the key to a better future.
August, 2021
Ms. Huỳnh Ngọc Diễm is a student at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, National University of Ho Chi Minh City. She supports the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) in the field of marketing.
Lê Anh Thư
“Education can make you very happy and calm.” – Günther Jauch
When I was a kid, I didn’t like going to school. I didn’t think school was important. Even so, I still went because that’s what my mother wanted. Now I am a student and I am already beginning to be aware of the important role of a basic education in life. The education system not only offers a repertoire of future professions, but also the freedom to lead an independent life. That’s my luck, but unfortunately not all children get the same chance. By getting involved in these voluntary activities, I hope to be able to contribute to the lives of others, create equal opportunities for them and thereby also bring a meaning to my life.
August, 2021
Ms. Lê Anh Thư is a student at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, National University of Ho Chi Minh City. She supports the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) in the field of German-Vietnamese translations.
Would you like to help children in the north of Vietnam with us and make the world a little better? Your full contribution goes directly into the LOAN Foundation’s (LOAN Stiftung) projects and to children in need.
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