In January 2020, we partnered with a local charity and brought Tet gifts to families in a poor community. The Lunar New Year, Tet, is the biggest holiday in Vietnam, with traditions that include foods such as Banh Tet and wearing new clothes to welcome the new year. These traditions are rare in the poorer communities, however. Also, every year prices skyrocket on everyday goods, making this time of year even more painful for those most in need.
This year, we joined the local charity, The Guiding Light Group, and endeavored to bring the Tet spirit and much needed gifts to a poor community. We chose the community of Suoi Cat, in the mountains to the west of Nha Trang, as we have become very familiar with that area as it is where the Suoi Cat Charity Home and the Suoi Dau Charity Home reside. The community is composed primarily of the Raglay ethnic minority and has many families in poverty.
The Guiding Light Group coordinated with local community leaders to identify 200 poor families in the area. Each family received new clothes, essential foodstuff, and a Tet bag with Banh Tet and other traditional foods. We set up at the Suoi Cat Charity Home, and families came to collect their gifts. Our team then got in a truck and drove out to the homes of families who were not able to come. Children gathered around the truck and were rewarded with some gifts and treats of their own.
Our ability to provide these gifts to those most in need was made possible through the kindhearted donations of Chau Bui, the McDuffie family, and Father John in loving memory of Wolfgang Fischer.
