COVID-19 Relief

In recent days, the number of Covid-19 cases in City of Hoi An is increasing. VNHelp received a request for support from Hoi An Medical Center. To avoid overcrowding local hospitals, patients received instructions to monitor their condition at home. On Feb 19, 2022, VNHelp sent 100 oxygen meters to the Center to provide to patients. Patients measure their oxygen level twice a day and report to their doctor for further instructions. When a patient recovers from the illness, the Center will collect the device for continued use.

Duc Quang Pagoda Orphanage

A Sleeping Quarter for Orphaned Girls
A spacious building was built by VNHelp at Duc Quang Pagoda Orphanage, Ben Tren Province. It was inaugurated two weeks before the Lunar New Year. The orphanage is a crowded home for 118 children. The new building is the sleeping quarter for 37 orphaned girls.
This construction project was inspired by Mr. and Mrs. Huong Van Le (San Jose, CA) who called on families and friends to contribute in 2019. The project was much delayed because of some difficult administrative procedures, then the pandemic. Finally, thanks to the determination and perseverance of the VNHelp team, the project was started in June 2021 and successfully completed in January 2022. The children have moved into this spacious and beautiful building with joys. VNHelp would like to thank the benefactors for their financial contributions and patience over the years.

Nguyen Truong To Scholarship Awards

VNHelp Nguyễn Trường Tộ Scholarship Awards

On Jan 07, 2022, for the 20th consecutive year, VNHelp granted 161 scholarships to Hue University students from 11 colleges in Thừa Thiên Huế, each worth $US200. The recipients were from families with difficult circumstances who had achieved outstanding academic results. If these students maintain good grades each year, they will continue to receive the scholarship annually until graduation. This year the scholarship distribution event took on an added significance in the midst of a complex Covid-19 pandemic. Small group gathering, social distancing and mask wearing were observed at the event.

While scholarship recipients in Thừa Thiên Huế gathered in small groups, students at other locations received their grants via electronic fund transfer (EFT) to their personal bank account:

– 271 students from 6 Saigon universities, each received $250-$300 grant via EFT

– 120 students from 2 Can Tho colleges, each received $200 grant via EFT

– 75 students in Ha Noi ($250/grant) and 30 students in Ca Mau ($200/grant) will receive their grant soon, hopefully before Tết (Lunar New Year)

COVID-19 Relief

Emergency Covid-19 Relief program – PHASE I/2021
Over the past few weeks, Covid-19 broke out in Vietnam, many cities are in lock-down, many people suffered from hunger because they totally lost their income. From June 22, 2021 to June 28, 2021, VNHelp sponsors and benefactors contributed to VNHelp’s Covid-19 Relief Fund. Within days, we received $17,000. This entire amount was sent to Vietnam to distribute relief packages to 1,200 families of street vendors, lottery ticket sellers, disabled people, etc. Each gift is worth 350,000 VND (about 15 USD) and will feed a family for about two weeks. We sincerely thank the generous donors for their contribution in time of urgency. Thank you our partner in Phase I, the Missionaries of Faith, who works with VNHELP to carry out Phase I/2021 of our Covid-19 Relief Program. We are asking for your contributions for Phase II/2021 of the Program to bring help to more needy people. Please send your donation to VNHelp by PayPal (send to friend info@vnhelp.org), Zelle/Venmo to info@vnhelp.org, via our website www.vnhelp.org/donate, or send a check to 500 E Calaveras Blvd, Suite 235, Milpitas CA 95035

Tu Hanh Pagoda Orphanage

HAPPINESS FOR ORPHANS IN THE NEW YEAR

In keeping with Tet tradition and to give orphans a spring celebration steeped in the love of their US sponsors, VNHelp representatives distributed “lucky money” (new year cash gifts) at several orphanages that are part of our child sponsorship programs.

On the morning of the second day of the Year of the Tiger, Ms. Phuong Anh, VNHelp Coordinator in Saigon, went to the Tu Hanh Pagoda Orphanage and gave good wish and lucky money to 88 children and caregivers, 52 elderly people, and 24 monks and nuns. Those envelopes each contained 100,000 VND and were an expression of love from many people in the US.

Previously, in the week preceding Tet, VNHelp distributed similar gifts to 76 orphans at the Dieu Giac Pagoda and 12 orphans in the Vinh Phuoc orphanage. In separate VNHelp visits, youths at the Bo De Phuong Duy and Mai Am Hoa Hong shelters each received 1 Million VND because they were older and had been sponsored to attend vocational school.

VNHelp would like to thank our sponsors Tuan-Khanh and Yen for donating the funds to celebrate the Lunar New Year, bringing joy to the children on their New Year’s Day.

[Read Vietnamese text here]

Nangka storm

A new calamity has befallen Vietnam: in October 2020 tropical storm Nangka wreaked unprecedented destruction and misery upon the populations of Southeast Asia. In Vietnam’s central region, the provinces of Thua Thien, Hue, Quang Binh and Quang Tri have been subjected to devastating floods.
As of this writing 23 victims have been washed away by floodwaters and nearly 46,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas; 14 people are still missing, and more than 109,000 homes, 1,443 acres (584 hectares) of crops, scores of roads and bridges have been destroyed. And yet forecasters predict even more torrential rains for the next few days, maybe extending into the weekend.
VNHelp staff, volunteers, and resources have been mobilized to assist in rescue efforts for this monumental disaster. We come to you to urgently ask for assistance, in the form of financial donations, so that we can lend as significant a hand as possible to this initiative. As always we hope that you will open your hearts and generously offer desperately needed help to the hurricane victims in Central Vietnam.
To contribute, please click the donate button.

Ban Tin Toc Schools

Son La is a picturesque, wooded and mountainous region in the Northwest of Vietnam, bordering Laos on its South side. The population is composed of ethnic Thai, Xinh Mun, Muong, Hmong, and Kinh people, whose lives harmonize with and depend on the natural resources of the land. Many families are poor: they mostly subsist from maize crops, but lack many basic amenities such as irrigation for their farms, electricity, clean water, roads, medical facilities, and schools.
Tu Nang commune has 24 villages with 2,026 households (8,721 people). The old Ban Tin Toc school had no classroom; instead it borrowed a space from a community building, and was all that the area’s children (around 77 3-5 year olds) had for many years. While there had been many requests to build a separate kindergarten submitted to local education committees, no budget ever materialized. A fervent wish of parents and community leaders was to have a safe, hygienic school for their children.
Groundbreaking for the new school occurred on August 15th, 2020. The construction was completed for 3 classrooms and a teacher room. The school has a capacity of 75 to 100 students. It was inaugurated and handed over to the teachers and community leaders in November. They, along with the parents and schoolchildren, were elated, for now they had a beautiful, new, safe and hygienic kindergarten, close to where they were living.
Our sincere thanks go to Ms. Mai Dolch in California, who provided the fund for construction, and Gieo Tin Yeu Charity Group in Hanoi, who supplied the new furniture for the school.

Kien Giang

We are very proud to announce the completion of yet another school building project undertaken in Vietnam, even in this difficult COVID-19 time. This is a pre-school in the commune of Vĩnh Phước B, Gò Quao district, Kiên Giang province, a remote and rural area 155 miles South-West of Saigon.
The new kindergarten has 4 classrooms, 1 teacher’s room, 5 restrooms, electricity, running water; all built and furnished according to modern standards. It’ll meet the urgent needs of approximately 155 kindergarteners, 8 teachers, and 2 support staff. The construction started in April 2020 and completed in July. On September 5th the school opened to welcome excited young children and their parents to the first day of 2020-2021 school year. Partnering with VNHelp for this project is Lee’s Sandwiches, who provided 50% of the construction cost, and VNHelp funded the rest. We are delighted and thankful to be able to provide a safe learning facility for the young of this Kiên Giang community for many years to come.

Tu An Orphanage

Tu An Orphanage currently supports 151 orphans, but the space is too small and overcrowded. VNHelp began to raise funds for this project in November 2018 and hopes to receive sufficient funds by January 2019 in order to implement the project in Spring 2019.  VNHelp will construct a two story building to provide 16 bedrooms for teenage orphans and 2 rooms for staff.