The birth of the Association ‘Les Enfants De Duc Son’:

In January 2010 during a trip to Viet Nam, several days were spent at the Duc Son to meet the children, visit the premises and to speak with the Reverend Mother Minh Tu about the difficulties they face, their needs and the projects for the orphanage. Speaking Vietnamese myself our exchange was heartfelt, open and fruitful.
On April 22, 2010 a small group of friends from La Rochelle and Douarnenez (France) came together to form an association governed by the French law of 1901, known as 'Les Enfants De Duc Son' (The Children of Duc Son). Its purpose is to organize and finance humanitarian actions for the children at the orphanage of the same name.
Being a founding member of Vietnamese origin, I keep regular and direct contact with the Manager of the orphanage. All monies raised by the association is directly deposited in the orphanage's bank account by international transfer.
Monthly donations are sent to help with the general running expenses of the orphanage or to help finance other projects and expenses (back to school, etc...) or other special projects initiated by the association.

Vu Thi Tu Van
President of the Association

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The Association 'Les Enfants De Duc Son' and taxation:

The not  for profit association governed by French law of July 1, 1901, Decree of August 16, 1901 has been registered as 'Les Enfants de Duc Son' published in the Journal Officiel : on 05/06/2010 under reference no. 248 (Identification R.N.A. : W173003200).
 

Regarding the NON tax deductibility of donations from donors:

Under French law, in order to obtain a ‘tax deductible’ status for gifts and donations the association must -

1. Have a more diverse purpose as to benefit other causes and organisations

2. Provide official accounts to the French government of how the donations have been spent by the orphanage.

The sole aim of the association 'Les Enfants De Duc Son' is to benefit only the Duc Son orphanage therefore, monies or gifts donated to the association are for this reason non tax deductible.
This second requirement could not be met as the purpose of the  association was to not interfere with the independent management of the orphanage that has been run solely by the nuns for the last 20 years.

Therefore in the constitution of the association dated April 22, 2010 the 14 founding members have deliberately limited the purpose of the association for the sole benefit of the orphanage.

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Duc Son orphanage and adoption:
 

The orphanage of the Duc Son does not support adoption for several reasons:
-Adoption would mean involvement and interference by the Vietnamese administration in the independent running of the orphanage by the  nuns.
- The parents who gave up their child to the orphanage have entrusted the nuns to raise the children with traditional Vietnamese values.

The governments only involvement in the orphanage is in regard to the civil status of the children (eg. birth certificates etc).