In celebration of the Lunar New Year (Tet in Vietnam), we made visits to all of our causes. It’s 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 decorations, special holiday foods and sweets, new clothes to welcome the new year, and red envelopes of lucky money for children. 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 caretakers at Thien Tam, and combined a regular visit with essential supplies with a Tet visit. When we arrived, the children helped carry everything from the truck to the orphanage common room. They stacked it all nicely and were excellent helpers. We brought bags of rice, boxes of ramen, packages of sausages, dried shrimp, fresh pork and beef, seasonings, sriracha, cooking oil, soaps and shampoos, and cleaning supplies.
For Tet, we brought traditional decorations for the children to put up around the orphanage, Tet sweets and candies, and new clothes for all the children to wear on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Our team then handed out red envelopes of lucky money to each child, and brought some special Tet gifts for the caretakers. It was a lovely visit!
This charity trip was made possible through the kindhearted donations of Michael Nguyen and Binh Quan. Thank you!!!
ABOUT THE THIEN TAM ORPHANAGE
Founded in 2004, the Thien Tam Orphanage lies 20 minutes south of Nha Trang’s city center, in Phuoc Dong ward. The orphanage is run by Nguyen Dinh Chi and his wife Nguyen Thi Kim Lien. A former orphan himself, Chi set up the orphanage in his home as a place of love and sanctuary for orphans in the community. They currently care for 13 young children.
