As we mentioned in a previous post [see our fund raising campaign for Nam Vi kids], Handspan recently supported a charity project. We joined a group of young people committed to helping some of the most disadvantaged populations of North Vietnam. This September, on the occasion of the mid-autumn festival, a trip was organized to visit the community of Nam Vi in Dien Bien Phu Province to bring them some support. Two Handspan staffs joined the expedition with few others from Koala Schools in Hanoi and from the project itself [Anh Sang Nui Rung].

Friday morning, the journey started. We knew it was going to be long journey. It ended up being a veeery long one. So, first day, bus ride to Son La. Second day, we keep driving North, enter Dien Bien Phu province and reach the Muong Nhe district. This is probably one of the most secluded districts of the whole country. Tucked away far from any big roads and in a sensitive area close to both China and Laos borders. Third day, motorbike pillion ride on a terrible bumpy muddy track. Some parts were to be walked. But we finally arrived in Nam Vi. And the way locals welcomed us quickly erased the sores of the travel.

We visited the school built by the Anh Sang Nui Rung project and held a small ceremony there. Kids were offered clothes, equipment, hats. We cooked cakes and made up some lanterns to celebrate the mid-autumn festival. Food was supplied as well as some goats to some families. They will breed them and start a new enterprise that is supposed to sustain another source of income for the community. We had a great time.

In total, we traveled over 1500 kilometers to light up some smiles, make sure kids of Nam Vi will have something to eat every day of the coming year and provide the community with the means to create and sustain a new source of income. We truly hope that this project we participated in will ignite a better future for the entire population of this little remote commune.

If you want to know more about charity projects in Vietnam, please contact us through info@handspan.com.