In celebration of the Lunar New Year (Tet in Vietnam), we made visits to all our causes. It is the biggest holiday of the year in Vietnam, and there are many lovely traditions that we wanted all the children to enjoy. These traditions include special holiday sweets, new clothes, and 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.
We coordinated with the nuns at Song Lo before our visit. We when arrived, the children helped carry all the supplies into the main common room of the orphanage. We brought mushroom varieties, vegan meat pies, vegan chicken, yogurt, sriracha, cereal seasonings, toothpaste, toothbrushes, bathroom towels, washcloths, floor soap, laundry detergent, dish soap, diapers, and toiletries.
Special gifts to celebrate Tet included traditional sweets and new outfits for the children to welcome the new year. Finally, our team handed out gifts to the caretakers and envelopes of lucky money to all the children. It was a lovely visit!
This charity trip was made possible through the kind donations of Elaine Nguyen, Rita Marinucci, Brian Huynh, Rosario Casas Gonzalez, and Paul Baty. Thank you!!!
ABOUT THE SONG LO ORPHANAGE
The history of the Song Lo Orphanage’s beginnings is heartwarming. As the story goes, a Buddhist monk was travelling in the countryside when he encountered a woman who said she could not care for her 2 children. She left the babies with the monk and fled. Not expecting to have 2 babies to care for, the monk made his way to the Song Lo pagoda, and the head nun at the pagoda, Sister Cat, agreed to care for the children. From that point on, orphans have been either brought to the pagoda, or abandoned at their gates. Formed in 2012, the Song Lo Orphanage cares for a small group of young children. Located adjacent the Son Lo pagoda, it’s a small facility deep in the countryside west of Nha Trang.
