The NSW coastal town of Tuggerah is a long way from Bac Ninh province in Vietnam.

But the two regions have become linked through the efforts of Tuggerah Public School students who are helping to make the lives of their peers in the Vietnamese province better.

Over the past three years the Central Coast school has raised about $3,500 for the Vietnamese charity Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation and sponsored 11 children from poor rural families – who are at high risk of dropping out of school – under the foundation’s Stay in School program.

Tuggerah Public principal Evan Campbell said the school’s support of the foundation gave his students, who receive photos and messages from the Vietnamese students, a global perspective.

“It gives them a greater understanding of the world beyond their borders and the opportunity to help others in different circumstances to their own,” Mr Campbell said.

The school holds an annual fundraiser for the foundation with students dressing in blue mufti for the day and paying to participate in activities such as origami and ball skills.

The foundation was established by former department teacher Michael Brosowski in 2003.

Mr Brosowski had moved to Vietnam to teach English at the national university but found himself instead working with Hanoi’s shoeshine boys, who have little or no family support and no schooling.

The foundation currently works with about 800 children and coordinates four programs for homeless children, children with disabilities, children living in extreme poverty and trafficked children.

Mr Brosowski was guest speaker at a Central Coast primary schools leadership forum at Tuggerah Public School earlier this year and shared stories about the foundation’s work.

“The students finished the session with a much clearer idea about good leadership and the idea that if you strongly enough want something to happen and you focus on it, you can make it happen,” Mr Campbell said.

Mr Brosowski said Tuggerah Public’s support of the foundation was something the community could be proud of.

“While the Central Coast is far wealthier than rural Vietnam, I know that many of the students and families are not rich by any standard. And yet they have continued to use their resources for the betterment of our world. They are truly setting an example for broader society to follow,” Mr Brosowski said.

For more information go to www.bdcf.org