Visit from the Go Philanthropic team

Linda met Thuy Hang who she and her mother are helping to go through college in Danang where she is studying administration. Thuy Hang had a chat with Linda, with a translator helping. She then helped with food preparation with her friend Lan and with Lien.

  

 

Linda supervised and guided the drawing and painting session.

  

Nam, Thanh, Truc and Tinh enjoying a meal prepared and cooked by Lien with the help of Thuy Hang and her friend Lan.

Thanh and Tinh playing dominos with Scott and MJ (of Go Philanthropic).

Several children were with us for the afternoon when the Go administration team visited. All the children are USA sponsored with most being sponsored through Go Philanthropic.

Tinh with her artwork.

Binh who is sponsored by Go Philanthropic.

Linda and Tracey of Go Philanthropic.           Linda of Go Philanthropic and Linda of CEF!

Pictures of the Vietnamese New Year in Hoi An

Pot plants are sold along the main street of the town for a few days before Tet (Vietnamese new year) until very late on New Year's eve. Golden plants  particularly are considered auspicious. Golds and yellows represent gold coins. Pink and red plants also are considered good luck.  Shades of red are considered good luck in feng shui by the Chinese; that belief also is here. Kumquat bushes are popular too.

On day one of Tet  many go to visit their deceased family members if they can afford to travel there. This is an important time of year to do this and everyone tries to do so.

My Duyen was visited by a friend of her sponsor

My Duyen who now has a long-term sponsor to help her through her schooling was able to meet a friend of her sponsor yesterday. 

My Duyen comes from an isolated leper community where there is only primary education and as most parents there can't afford to send their children to school in Danang City it has meant that many of the children from this community have only had primary education. To continue her education she has had to move to Danang City where she is doing very well at school. 

Go Philanthropic who have been very supportive, organized her sponsorship.  Linda, from Go Philanthropic was recently over here in Vietnam. She is also a friend of My Duyen's sponsor. Linda was able to meet some of the children from the Hoa Van leper community and have some time with My Duyen and her parents. She will now be able to share her experience with My Duyen's sponsor.

Photos from some of the December home visits

  

Over the last two weekends we have done home visits to the Quang Nam CEF-Vietnam children. A month ago my assistant did home visits to the 14 Danang children while I was in the States.

  

These are some pictures of the lovely Quang Nam children and their families from those visits.

  

Hoa's family now have a solid house, but the kitchen is still very basic. They also have a small bedroom and a small living room-shrine room. They couldn't afford a bathroom so there isn't one.

    

   

Although Huynh is now a nun she was allowed to go home to be with her sister and mother for the holidays. This is very unusual and it might have been because she has only been a nun for a short time.

  

  

Both these girls (above photos with their head nuns), who are nuns, didn't got home for the holidays although they have family still. Once a girl becomes a nun the pagoda is where she lives permanently and that is then her home and the head nun of the pagoda is the person responsible for her life; specifically her spiritual training but also her well-being and education.

Hoa has a sponsor

 

Another of the boys on our waiting list has been sponsored. Little Hoa is such a cute little lad and loves school. He is tiny and looks much younger than his years. He is now doing his first year of school. He couldn't enter school last year when we heard about him not being in school. It's not possible to enter the school system without a birth certificate. His parents were too poor to get him one, but a kind Buddhist nun organized it and payed for it. So now Hoa can be educated!

His mother looks after his little sister and dad is a building labourers assistant. In the rainy season it is hard to get work, but he works whenever he can. But in his job he can't earn much.

I visited recently and to my delight the local government has provided them with some funds for a home. Before they lived in a tiny bamboo and palm leaf shack. The funds were a tiny amount, but as dad has building experience they have managed to built a basic, tiny three-room home with the funds. There is a tiny living room - shrine room and a bedroom and kitchen. Bathrooms are expensive so they still use the back garden for a bathroom.

Linda at Go Philanthropic found a sponsor for little Hoa who is doing very well at school already.

Phuoc is sponsored now

Phuoc is a sweet boy who has needed a sponsor for a while and Linda at Go Philanthropic has found him one. He is not particularly bright, but he loves school, works hard and is as sweet as can be. I am pleased he now will be able to complete his schooling and will have more possibilities in the future.

His parents both are uneducated, have poor health and barely survive. Their lives have been tragic really as they both suffer with terrible health although they are not old, their only daughter was killed in a road accident coming home for school, and they have always lived hand to mouth.

They are thrilled that Phuoc now has help to be educated.