Dear Dharma friends,
Below is a letter that I recently received from Anh-Huong. A Dharma
teacher in the Thich Nhat Hanh tradition, she is also his niece. As some
of you may remember, she and her husband, Thu, have co-led retreats with
me in Florida in past years. As this is the time of year when many of us
are contemplating ways to express our appreciation for our good fortune, I
wanted to bring the activities of the Committee for the Relief of Poor
Children in Vietnam to your attention. Obviously, from reading her letter,
gifted monies of any amount will be of significant help to our brothers
and sisters in the third world.
in the Dharma, Fred
Dear Friends:
Twelve years ago Thu and I and some friends created the Committee for the
Relief of Poor Children in Vietnam (CRPCV). We were aware of the suffering
of so many poor children and their families in Vietnam, and we wanted to
reach out to them. Working with Plum Village, we focused our attention on
the needy children of Quang Tri province in Central Vietnam. Monastics and
social workers told us that educational and nutritional support for
pre-school and school-age children was a priority need. Over the years we
have raised funds, and contributed our own money, to build nursery
schools, pay for nursery school operational costs (including the costs for
hot meals for the children), and provided scholarship support to
school-age children.
At the beginning of 2007, CRPCV helped provide food and schooling for 220
nursery school students and scholarships for more than 200 elementary and
middle-school students. In early March, I made a trip to Quang Tri
Province to visit the children, teachers, and nursery schools we help
support.
Often, I was taken on mopeds to visit nursery schools because the roads
were too poor to travel by car. In the remote areas of Quang Tri, the
land is very much like beach sand and is not suitable for any forms of
cultivation except growing rice. The children’s hearts opened through
their eyes, and each child’s eyes had a story to tell. Innocence was
still there intact on their baby faces, yet the clouds of joy and sadness,
love and fear, strength and vulnerability were floating in the morning sky
of their eyes. My mind was saying, “If I were born 45 years later, I
could be one of them” —my grandmother was born in the district of Gio
Linh, in Quang Tri. Every time I said goodbye to the teachers and the
children, my heart sang “No coming, no going. No after, no before. I
hold you close to me. I release you to be so free. Because I am in you
and you are in me. Because I am in you and you are in me.”
The recent big typhoon caused great damage to the land and brought much
suffering to all of Central Vietnam. The water of the Fragrance River in
Hue rose to 4.5 meter, even higher than it was during the big typhoon in
1999. Many homes were submerged in the water or blown away by the wind.
Monastic and lay rescue teams have brought blankets, instant noodles and
rice to flood victims. Several CRPCV nursery schools were badly damaged.
After my return, we decided that we had to do more. We will expand our
programs, allowing us to increase the number of nursery school children
supported from 220 to 400. We will also fund the construction of two new
nursery schools: one with 2 classrooms and a toilet in Hai Khe Village and
one with 3 classrooms and a toilet in Hai Thanh Village. To support 400
pre-school children and 200 student-age children and build the two
schools, our 2008 costs will be about $45,000, $10,000 more than we raised
in 2007. Additionally, we have been asked in 2008 to begin taking over
responsibility for the salaries of the teachers and staff in the CRPCV
schools. (Until now the salaries were paid through funds raised by Plum
Village.) It is only $35 per month per teacher, but with over 30 teachers
and other staff, it increases the amount we must raise by at least another
$12,000 per year.
I fervently wish we could support every needy child I saw while I was in
Quang Tri. Even now, months later, my eyes moisten when I think of them.
Please join with us in opening your hearts to the poor children of
Vietnam.
$100 will provide lunch for 20 children for a month.
$1,200 will provide lunch for 20 children for a year.
$2,500 will build a new classroom for a school.
$10,000 will build a nursery school complex for 75 children including
three classrooms, kitchen, and toilet facilities.
CRPCV is a federally recognized charitable organization – all donations
are tax deductible. Further, 100% of the donation supports poor children
and their families in Vietnam. There is no overhead—all of the
administrative time and costs are borne by our limited staff. Donations
can be sent to CRPCV, 10413 Adel Road, Oakton VA 22124.
On behalf of the poor children and their parents in Vietnam, we are
sending you warmest wishes and deep gratitude this Holiday Season. May
each of your days in 2008 be filled with ease and joy.
Many blessings,
Anh-Huong Nguyen
for The Committee for the Relief of Poor Children in Vietnam
Website: www.crpcv.org
Email: info@crpcv.org
