In celebration of the Lunar New Year (Tet in Vietnam), we made visits to all of our causes. It is the biggest holiday of the year in Vietnam, and there are many lovely traditions that we wanted all of the children to enjoy. These traditions include special holiday sweets and red envelopes of lucky money for children. Also, costs for everyday items skyrockets around Tet, and we wanted to make sure the orphanages and charity homes had everything they needed.
For Anh Dao, we contacted the head nun and made a list of essential supplies for the orphanage and arranged to bring a Tet party to the children. When our team arrived, all the children came out and helped carry everything into the common room. Chairs were brought out for all the little ones, and our team stacked everything in the front of the room.
On this visit, we brought bags of rice, boxes of instant noodles, rice paper, rice crackers, vegan meat pies, varieties of mushrooms, silk tofu sheets, packages of sausages, canned pork, canned pate, canned sardines, bottles of cooking oil, seasonings, laundry detergent, dish soap, shampoo, body wash, bath towels, washcloths, bed sheets, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and baby powder.
Special gifts for Tet included watermelon seeds, sunflower seeds, ginger sweets, tamarind sweets, jackfruit sweets, peas sweets, mung bean sweets, and sweet potato candy. When all the children were gathered together, everyone got red envelopes of lucky money.
Afterwards, the children took our volunteers on a tour of the gardens behind the orphanage. Such a lovely visit!
This wonderful charity visit was made possible through the kindhearted donations of Tien Le, Hung Pham, Dieu-Thuyen Dinh, Suruchi Khemka, Henry Tran, an anonymous donor from Price Waterhouse, Bichlien Nguyen, Tam Luu, and KTD Services LLC. Thank you!!!
ABOUT THE ANH DAO ORPHANAGE
Founded in 2004 by the Buddhist nun Thich Nu An Son, a large group of orphans are cared for at this wonderful home in Ninh Hoa, 62 kilometers north of Nha Trang. Visit the orphanage and you’ll find a well-organized and loving environment. The children are happy, and it’s a joy to sit, talk, and play with the little ones. To help provide nourishment to the children, and as a small means of earning funds, Sister An Son tends a small farm behind the orphanage, in front of the girl’s living quarters. The children eat the vegetables that are grown here, and the surplus can be sold to help pay for monthly expenses.
