In January 2023 we celebrated the New Year with the children at the Song Lo Orphanage. We spoke to the nuns about general supplies they required for the month, then did lots of shopping at local markets to buy everything on the list. We loaded up a van and our team made the drive out to the orphanage.
When we arrived, we stacked all the supplies in the main common room. We brought sesame seeds, noodles, mung beans, sticky rice, oyster sauce, jello, tofu sheets, seasonings, yogurt drinks, dried bamboo shoots, melon seeds, tamarind, dates, and ingredients to make Banh Tet.
To celebrate the Lunar New Year, we also handed out sweets and traditional Tet treats. Finally, everyone gathered in the courtyard, and we handed out red envelopes of lucky money to the children and caretakers. Happy New Year!
This special charity trip was made possible through the kind donation of Kevin Ngo and an anonymous donor. 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 traveling 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.
