2023 Annual Report
This past year has been another amazing year in terms of what we’ve accomplished together in helping impoverished and abandoned children.
With your support, our foundation spent over $23,000 helping 14 orphanages with their basic needs – from food supplies, formula/diapers to cleaning supplies, to providing them with new rice cookers and washing machines (2 to Mai Am Duc Quang, 2 to Mai Am Mai Ngan). We got new mats for the kids to sleep on, and toaster oven for Ms Hong’s shelter for abandoned kids in Gia Lai. We funded for new beds, and new storage cabinets for the staff to store the children’s clothes at Bao Tro Ca Mau, new bikes for the kids at Mai Am Thien An, and contributed to funds for Mai am Tin Thac to buy a new van to help transport the children. We bought new computers (delivered by Rob) to Vinh Son. At Mai Am Trinh Me Kinh 7b (Kien Giang), we helped install a new solar hot water system for the children so that the children can have hot water to wash and bathe. These are all the things we were able to do to help these hundreds of children because of you.
In terms of schools and scholarships, we have directed over $11,000 to students to help the underprivileged attend school, stay in and finish their schooling. Some of these scholarships, in collaboraton w/ the Vietnamese Goodwill Scholarship program, have helped underprivileged university students finish their programs and achieve their career dreams. One of the bigger projects this past yr was in Uminh schools, where we spent $6800 on new uniforms/clothing, footwear, textbooks/notebooks, pencils/pens and more to help the students learn. At the Xe Tang elementary/jr high school in Kon Tum, we provided $1000 work in new library books. We did the same for Sa Tram. And of course, we gifted $2400 worth of new bikes to help some students get to school, as so many of them walk such long distances (sometimes many kilometres) in the scorching heat to get to school daily.
For the community, we’ve provided funds to purchase rice and other needs to kids living in the streets or in shelters in Can Tho. Because we’ve been around for awhile, people know we are here to help, and people reach out to us for help, such as when a nun in Hue was trying to finish building an exam rooms for sick patients to come to from the mountainous area, in need of medical help. Chi Dong was able to rally up an additional $11,000 from our community and our foundation contributed another 8000, to help finish 5 clinic rooms for the poor patients/families to stay when they come in search of medical care. Hoan was able to organize distribution of 7000 worth of gift packages (rice and other basic needs) for a poor community in UMinh to bring a bit of joy to their lunar new year. Our wonderful volunteers travel hours at times to visit places like to the Ha Ca hamlet in Ha Giang to bring the children there warm jackets. The children were even treated to a hot meal. One of the highlights of this past year was when a wonderful gentleman Tom Inglis from Ontario reached out to our foundation and asked if he can donate some of his security savings to our foundation, in memory of his beautiful late wife Suzanne, whose birthplace was in Saigon. Together, we were able to fund for the building of a water well in a remote mountainous community of Dak Plo. It was a difficult build as the weather was very poor through the early months of this year, but the workers worked through rain and mud, and got it done (under the direction of Huynh Anh and the Smile of Compassion organization) as it was so important to provide a reliable source of water for the children/families there. If you can, take a look at some of the pictures and you can see the joy on the children’s faces getting their first taste of fresh, clean running water. This is only possible because of people like you – like Tom – for his compassion and generosity.
As you know, 5% of the funds we raise tonight, will go to a local project. From the funds we raised last year, we directed $2800 to the Bissell centre. Gabby and I got a tour of their facility and learned more about their programs. We know the funds will be helping provide food and shelter for so many homeless and impoverished individuals in our own community. One special request is if you can also consider donating underwear, as it is much needed throughout the year.
And internationally, we also direct 5% of funds raised. This year it went to helping care for over this coming year for two underprivileged infants in Haiti. As some of you may recall, our foundation started collaborating w/ Esther Numfor/Jim Gurnett and Eveline Ngwa as they had been trying to build a well in Mfortya, Cameroon for many years. Finally, because of your help and support, the well was successfully built just this past summer! We are so happy for the children and families in that community. They will speak a little bit more about that.
We can go on and on about all the things our foundation has done in this past year alone because of your generosity and compassion. I was able to visit some of the children at these places back in March. I was able to deliver some books to them, I can see and feel how their faces and heart light up when they receive these gifts. They know they are not forgotten. They know they are loved.
None of this would’ve been possible without you and all the incredible business, family, and friends who continue to walk alongside us. We thank you!