Dear Friends,

As we say farewell to 2016, we are sending you one more message on the last working day of this wonderful year. Thank you for your support in the past year that made our programs possible. Together, we have made lives better for many thousands people in Vietnam. And once again, thank you for accompanying us on the 25-year journey to provide humanitarian and development assistance to Vietnam (1991-2016).

We invite you to view the highlights of our achievements and to meet some of our beneficiaries in a 9 minute video, please click on this link.

It’s not too late to make your 2016 donation today. Every dollar you give will go a long way to help those in need.

Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

Thu Anh Do
President & Executive Director

The VNHelp’s Vision for the Poor Program provided free cataract surgeries to 190 patients in Thua Thien Hue Province (October 2016) and 235 patients in Nam Dinh Province (November 2016). In cataract surgery, the lens inside the eye that has become cloudy is removed and replaced with an artificial lens to restore clear vision. Though it is a simple and common surgery, many poor people in Vietnam can not afford to pay for it. Since 2008, this program has reached out to the poorest of the poor and helped 6,225 patients regain their vision. Thanks to our regular partner – Son Nam Charity Group – who funded 50% of the program cost and thanks to many individual donors who contributed to the VNHelp’s Vision for the Poor Program.

VNHelp (Milpitas, CA) and Compassionate Service Society (Garden Grove, CA) co-funded a disaster relief trip to Ha Tinh, Phu Yen and Quang Binh Provinces in Vietnam from the 3rd to the 6th November, 2016. Combining with the contributions from other sponsors in Vietnam through Thien Tam Red Cross (Saigon), we handed 2,000 gift packages to the victims of these flood-damaged provinces. Each gift package includes a blanket, a jacket, clothes, note books, pens, instant noodles, milk, medicines, and cash. We focused on helping students return to schools. Providing direct assistance to people affected by natural disasters has been a VNHelp’s yearly activity. We are dedicated to helping the survivals rebuild their lives after the disaster.

Every year, disastrous hurricanes hit central Vietnam and it costs so many lives and properties. This October, it is reported that 42 people were killed, 30,000 houses were flooded, 1,598 hectares of agricultural land became useless, 60,000 students had to stay at home. People’ lives and livelihood were devastated by the event.

In the last two weeks, many people called VNHelp and expressed their willingness to help the flood victims. While many organizations quickly provided immediate relief such as food and water to the victims, VNHelp plans to provide assistance to schools in the effected areas. In most of these schools, text books were destroyed, furniture was broken, and classrooms were damaged. Kids had to stay home. Our relief trip to Ha Tinh is planned for November 3rd to November 5th. We will directly hand school supplies (notebooks, textbooks,..), sweaters, and blankets to 2,000 students. And if budget allows, we will help repair some schools. VNHelp will be glad to accept your donation and hope to help the children return to school as soon as possible. Please make check payable to VNHelp, or you can make donation online at this link. http://www.vnhelp.org/donate/. Your contribution is 100% tax-deductible.

The Mua Thu Cho Em 22nd annual concert took place on September 17 in Santa Clara and on September 24 in Fountain Valley, CA. Both events were a complete success! VNHelp is thankful for the generous support from our sponsors and donors, the dedicated volunteers, and all the wonderful audience. Please view the list of the concert sponsors here, the photo album of the concert in Santa Clara here, and in Fountain Valley here.