Vietnam has a long tradition of philanthropy and community assistance, reflected in such folk sayings as “Whole leaves wrap torn leaves,” which is a beautiful culture and goes deeply into the bloodstream of Vietnamese.
Although we are in difficult circumstances, but when the opportunities are given to us, we are willing to participate to share the love to everyone. That was evident during social activities of all the students and the teachers of Maison Chance on May 29th, 2014 at the Thien Duyen Shelter, Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City.
Thanks to funding from the generous donors and sponsors, Maison Chance made a meaningful trip. This support is really precious because it also offers the students have a better understanding about the means of facilities into social life. Furthermore, our students realize that how lucky they are because there are still many disadvantaged Vietnamese more than them in society. The Thien Duyen shelter is founded by Mrs. Giang Cam Tran, usually is called by “Má Mười.” This charity takes care of 125 orphans, handicaps, and seniors. Most of the children there are due to cerebral palsy from dioxin; it’s really difficult for them to move, and intelligence is not normally developed.
Our group all 181 people (167 grade-schoolers, 14 teachers and volunteers) departed from the Village Chance to Cu Chi district. The pupils were ardent and enthusiastic under the intense heat of Saigon to transport 600 kilograms of rice, boxes of ramen noodle, and many other necessities to help the shelter. In the short time, the shirts drenched in sweat, but we were happy and excited because of doing helpful work.
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After two hours driving, we finally arrived to the Thien Duyen Shelter. All pupils were guided to visit and hand small presents to the resident of the Thien Duyen shelter, in turn by teachers and volunteers. Their relatives have abandoned them. Especially, the children here were cheerful. They waved their arms and gave us a warm welcome when we came over the shelter. A smile was always shining on their faces. Our group was touched by these beautiful pictures of people at the shelter. The intimate atmosphere was full of love, and it seemed like we had known each other for a long time.
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I hope that Maison Chance will continue to create more opportunities for us to help many disadvantaged children. The meaningful purpose behind this trip provides the students of Maison Chance a practical lesson about sharing love with less fortunate people. Therefore, we educate the students about traditional philanthropy of Vietnamese.
We said goodbye to the Thien Duyen shelter in attachment and wished everyone good health. Our second destination was the Cu Chi Water Park, so the students could have a great time after a busy school year.
Here are some pictures at the Cu Chi park
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