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.

Clean Water & Games

In Que Son, Central Vietnam, there is a little preschool who get their water from this muddy little puddle. Clearly unhygienic and unsafe for the children.
The pump we connected to the underground water source now comes through a filter and out from the unit made possible via donations to missionnampossible.
Donations also allowed me to turn their bare tiled room into something more fun! We played #games and introduced them to snakes and ladders, LEGO, matching games, threading, puzzles etc. I’m always fascinated to see the children try throw the dice for the first time! Huge thanks to all who donated toys as well that made this possible.

Connecting to the world of the internet

A bumpy 75km into ‘the jungle’ as I say, you will find a #highschool with 137 students, in an area with a 4000 population. The #students never touch a #computer when they take this subject: rather, the teacher has one computer, a screen where they see what she is clicking and they write down step by step how to open word, create an excel etc. #Rotary helped me connect these students to the outside world! They can now physically touch computers to learn how to use them as well as use them for learning English and to enter science and maths #competitions with other #remoteschools.

Huge thank you to #Rotaryinternational and #glenhavenrotary who purchased the computers, tables and chairs for them. #missionnampossible #charity#education #connectingthemtotheworldoftheinternet #futureopportunities

The People’s Committee of Quang Nam Province Appreciation Ceremony!

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.

Again, this goes to every single one of you who have donated to missionnampossible and have truly made a difference to the lives of disadvantaged communities. I also need to thank Hai Tran from Union of Friendship Organisation for spending time on my nomination and submitting paperwork for me. I thank you.

Peace Medal

It is with great honour that I have been nominated and subsequently, granted a Peace Medal from the capital city in Vietnam 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. 

This medal is for all of us. Every single one of you who have donated to #missionnampossible and have transformed the lives of many living below the poverty line.

The freedom of a bicycle...

Just because I am not in #Vietnam physically, it doesn't mean the #support stops. #Children go back to #school next week and so we found 11 children who lived over 3km away from their schools and needed a #bicycle to help them get to and from in the heat and in the rainy season. These children come from the poorest families in their commune and usually get to school by walking the 3km each way in the heat or rain or "hitch hiking" on the back of a bike from a caring child who would stop for them.
Thank you so much to Alex Hezari and Emanuele Capello who donated to #missionnampossible for this project.

Here is Truc from our previous blog receiving her bicycle. See her story here from July 2017: 

http://missionnampossible.blogspot.com.au/2017/07/start-where-you-are-use-what-you-have.html

Paul Harris Fellow!

I am completely humbled and feel privileged that my club's  Rotarians and President chose me to be a Paul Harris Fellow. I was gobsmacked when they presented me with my medal, pin and certificate for 'service above self' and for making a difference with the work I do in Vietnam. This is a huge award to receive! I accepted this on behalf of every single person who has supported me and contributed to mission:nam'possible. Thank you for the honour.