Update

That evening, a friend of ours referred us to SV07, a Vietnamese charity comprising of 20 members. Their group actively fund raise for orphanages, schools and hospitals each month. They had a fundraising event on that night at a local hospital to support 60 quadraplegics, paraplegics and various people with disabilities who would receive prosthetics or medical treatment funded by UNICEF. The problem is that they all come from poverty stricken backgrounds with most not even able to afford the journey to get to the hospital let alone afford the accommodation. Some only carried the clothes on their back and others were homeless and lived on the street. With SV07’s advice and your donations, we managed to purchase the following:

• 60 boxes of dry crackers
• 240 packets of instant noodles
• 300 sachets of shampoo
• 240 packs of milk cartons
• 60 cans of condensed milk
• 60 packs of body wipes

Although the above items seem so simple, we were advised that the shampoo satchets and body wipes would help bring some relief to their nomadic life whilst the condensed milk was used to dip bread in just to bring some flavour into their daily meals…apparently it is a common practice in Vietnam for the poor to dip bread in condensed milk.

SV07 helped us package up the gifts whilst another charity group cooked up a basic meal for everyone. As we delivered the small gifts and meals, you could sense the gratitude from each person. They smiled briefly but, underlying this facade you can sense their grief and their overwhelming thoughts of what their future holds for them.

A few songs were sung by SV07 to lift up each other’s spirits. Everyone joined in and held hands…some were missing a hand so we held their arm. Others were missing an arm… so we held each others shoulders.

We sauntered along the hospital wards collecting the disposable bowls from each patient as they finished their meal. Some were so inconceivably poor that they insisted us not to throw away the bowls so that they could use it for their next meal. It dawned on me that something so insignificant like a paper bowl was often overlooked as part of our daily battle to survive in such a lucky country, yet this is the reality of their situation…their battle is beyond compare and relentless.

Last Christmas you brought a smile and relief to the many orphans and homeless people of Vietnam. We were showered with many thank yous over there and we vehemently insisted them that it was only possible thanks to you that this charity drive could be accomplished.  So thank you all again as we have no doubt that it has made a difference to those less fortunate than us.