In January 2024 we had a special Lunar New Year visit to the Lac Thien Orphanage. Tet is the biggest holiday of the year in Vietnam, and we wanted to do something special for the children. We contacted the nuns at the orphanage to learn what food and general supplies they needed for the month, and asked what special gifts we could bring the children.
Our team of volunteers planned the visit and bought everything on the shopping list. On the day of the visit, they loaded up a van, and made the drive north into Ninh Hoa.
For general supplies, we brought bags of rice, boxes of ramen, sugar, varieties of milk, bottles of cooking oil, rice crackers, lots of dried shrimp, and cleaning supplies.
The Lunar New Year begins in mid-February this year, and we brought lots of special gifts for the children to welcome this special holiday. We brought traditional coconut sweets, ginger sweets, and biscuits. We also brought lots of new clothes for the children to wear to welcome the new year. There were lots of big smiles!
This special Tet charity trip was made possible through the kind donations from JL Support Services, Vien Lam and Kevin Spring, Andre Nguyen, Fred Sims, Bichlien Nguyen, Tri Phung, and Philip Doughty. Thank you!!!
ABOUT THE LAC THIEN ORPHANAGE
Founded in 2006, the Lac Thien Orphanage is part of the Phat Buu pagoda and lies north of Nha Trang in Ninh Hoa district. The orphanage’s origins are endearing. On a peaceful day, a baby was left at the gates of the pagoda. The nuns cared for him, and from that day on they have taken in orphan children from the area. The orphanage is run by the nuns of the pagoda and its head nun, Chon Minh. They rely entirely upon donations, most of which come from people in the community. There are about 30 children at the orphanage, from newborns to teenagers, and Lac Thien also takes in elderly whose family cannot care for them.
