Wednesday, February 14, 2018

We made it onto the News!




No act too small

January 2018

What a way to end another hugely successful trip. I am truly honoured to end this trip with being nominated by Mr Hai and receiving three awards: a Certificate of Merit from The People’s Committee of Quang Nam Province, a Vietnam Peace Medal and a Humanitarian Medal from the Red Cross in Vietnam. To my embarrassment, the media showed up too! Again, these awards and medals belong to everyone who donated. Every small contribution has been making a difference. I was standing up there next to organisations such as Fred Hollows, Habitat for Humanity, World Vision and Pepsi. Just goes to show you do not need to be a big organisation to make a difference. Thank you. #missionnampossible #charity #humanity #payitforward #makeadifference #noacttoosmall




Humanitarian Medal from the Red Cross in Vietnam. I was told I am the first foreigner to receive this Red Cross Humanitarian Medal.


The Peace Medal from the capital city in Vietnam was to acknowledge our great contribution to the poor in Quang Nam. I am told this Medal "For Peace and Friendship among Nations" is a noble reward for special foreigners who have been engaged in long-term donations for the poor and disadvantaged. These are not offered lightly and internationally, I am the 58th person to receive it. In the Quảng Nam region specifically, I am the second.




The People’s Committee of Quang Nam Province Appreciation Ceremony!!!
I was honoured with being nominated and subsequently selected to receive a Certificate of Merit for what we have achieved in the last two years.
This celebration was held for over 100 NGOs, Diplomatic & Foreign Aid Organisations, as well as individuals who have been working in the Quảng Nam province and contributing towards improving the lives and socioeconomic status of people in Quảng Nam.







Giving is not just about making a donation. It is about making a difference

January 2018

Peace Village rely on both government support as well as individual donations.
This carer, Mung, is amazing with the disabled residents but unfortunately will be out of a job at the end of the month as the private donor has stopped funding her salary.
Mung alone takes care of 17 disabled residents. It’s an insane ratio! Without funding for her, the 17 residents will be absorbed by the other carers making their ratio 1:20 now.
With donations to #missionnampossible, I have committed to her salary for the next six months. For the very hard work she does, she gets paid $170 per month. Many thanks to everyone for their donations. Collectively, it all adds up to make a difference.


"Emily" the Cow changing the future

January 2018

Meet Mrs No. she is 34 years old and whilst farming, her spine was crushed by a falling tree. Due to this, she can only perform limited duties. She also has a slight mental impairment. Her husband died at work farming in 2010. The house she lived in was very dilapidated and on land in an area heavily polluted with agent orange. Due to this, she moved in with her parents in the next village. She has two daughters, Vy (2004) aged 14 and Tu, (2009) aged 9. Their school is over 3km away also, so #missionnampossible purchased them bikes as well so they didn’t have to walk in the heat and rain. ‘Emily’ the cow was donated by the Alam family. Huge thanks for giving up your family Kris Kringle at Christmas and donating a cow instead. This will change their future.









'Betty' the Cow changing lives

January 2018

For me, the most heartbreaking story this trip. Meet Ms Ly and her 10 year old daughter, My. They live in a one room house which has a leaky roof. Ms Ly has placed a tarp to try stop her house from getting wet.
Ms Ly has a myriad of agent orange health issues with the two most critical being heart disease as well as a blood disorder that really needs blood transfusions every month to keep her healthy.
There is no husband/father on the scene.
Ms Ly has no money and instead of going to the hospital every month, she can only afford to go three times a year. She has not been given long to live. When she goes to the hospital, it is six hours away and she must stay there for 20 days. When this occurs, My stays behind with her Uncle. My is an excellent student who loves literature. ‘Betty’ the cow was purchased from a donation from Brigit Rosenmai. Brigit, your random act of kindness has truly changed Ms Ly and My’s life.








For it is in giving that we receive

Meet Mrs Le. She has a stomach disease (agent orange complications) which renders her incapable of work quite often. Her husband died from Cancer two years ago, leaving her with 5 children and a mother in law who is totally blind to care for. The eldest boy and girl who are 19 and 17 were not there as they work to help support the family. The three youngest boys aged 13, 8 and 6, were quiet and didn’t quite know what to do about the Westerner on their doorstep. Many thanks to Christine for donating this cow to Mrs Le. We hope it eases her worries and the burden of financially supporting her #family members.






Physiotherapy Resources

Huge thanks to Gina and Bill Rontziokos for your donation that has helped the #disabled children and residents with their physio therapy. This new #physiotherapy room needed #resources and your #donation has gone into providing the resources and furniture you see here.









Col Col the Cow

22/1/18

Meet Mrs Ngan. She is 25 years old and her husband tragically died in a motorbike collision 4 months ago. She has two girls ages 3 and 6. Her sister also died in a motorbike accident 5 years ago. She had a son. Mrs Ngan took him on as well instead of giving him to an orphanage. She has had him since he was 11months old. This cow has been donated by two men from #Rotary West Pennant Hills and Cherrybrooke Club. Both generous men are named Colin and so this cow is named ‘Col Col’. Thank you very much!









Basic Shelter

22/1/18

Some of you may remember Mrs Ngan and her three daughters. We bought her a cow and support the girls to stay in school. They live deep in the jungle, past all the silvery spider webs on the ground, in a dilapidated ruin of a place they called a ‘house’. This ‘house’ had no floor, walls and no roof. Rainy season was a huge challenge for them, not to mention shelter in general.
What does bidding on Bruno Mars tickets at our trivia night get? A proper house for Mrs Ngan with walls, cement floor and a roof to keep them dry! They even built a second bedroom. Huge thanks to Nick Paras and Kelly Paras for bidding so generously and being able to build a house for Mrs Ngan. #missionnampossible #charity #shelter #house #basiclivingrights #basichumanrights #Vietnam #centralvietnam #ruralvietnam #payitforward










Peace Village Excursion

20th January, 2018

We got as many disabled residents we could and piled them into two buses for their excursion: lunch at Tran Thi Ngoc Hanh’s restaurant and karaoke!!!! A chance to leave their bare four walls had them all excited for days. The carers told me they would not go to sleep for fear of missing out! Well worth the effort to see them all nicely dressed and get a chance to do what others in their community do.