We are officially half way done with our trip!!!
I know details are hard to come by and hard to share,
but I wanted to update you on how things are progressing here in
Vietnam. We are at day 50 and it seems like so little has been done, but
at the same moment it seems like we have accomplished so much. Below
are the main areas of work that we have been pouring ourselves into as
well as an update on where we are so far in each area.
Building: As a team, we have met with several builders and
received quotes on building costs including labor. These quotes have
ranged from achievable to astronomical. We are excited because as we
have continued to work out the details of our building, we have been
able to narrow in on a cost so that we now have a figure to move forth
with in planning capital raising for the project. One major update we
have is that we are no longer moving forward with a plan to build one
large building to serve as an “orphanage” but rather we are planning on 8
smaller houses to accommodate the children in a family style
environment. We are excited about this because it is going to allow the
children to grow up in a family rather than in a building.
Licensing
: Currently we are in the very beginning of theprocesses of getting a license to be an organization here in Vietnam. We
have met with the People’s Committee here in our village of Mang Thit
and they have asked us to prepare a letter to request a license. The
Committee Chair has agreed to be our representative with the Committees
of the province and even higher up. He has approved us at the village
level and he is now sending us to the “county” level and then to “state”
level. We are working on the letter and proposal to get to the higher
up Peoples Committees, but this process can take a long time, so we are
hoping that our process is smooth and short. We are always in a search
for more information on this process, so we are looking for people with
more information on getting a license in Vietnam and who are willing to
share with us their knowledge.
Feeding ministry: One area of need that we have discovered here
in Mang Thit is the lack of proper nutrition in that getting 3 square
meals a day is not a common occurrence for everyone of Mang Thit. We
have begun a fundraising campaign to raise the initial capital to get a
feeding ministry started. We are going to prepare bags that cost
approximately $20 USD each that will feed a family of 5 for a good
portion of a month. We are currently raising money for this ministry, so
if you are interested you can visit our blog with more info or to
donate directly, click here.
To check out our blog about our feeding ministry visit You Can Feed A Child!!
Or if you want to donate directly towards our feeding ministry, vist our Razoo page!!
Land acquisition
plot of land that is almost 8,750 meters squared. This is the land that
we are using to build our houses and village center upon. As we are
building, we will use the land not currently in use to continue growing
rice for food as well as to sell if surplus exists. One desire of VOHF
is to be a self-sustainable organization so we are always on the lookout
as to how to achieve that. We are wanting to purchase extra land along
the way in order to continue to grow crops on it so that we can sell the
rice in order to help fund VOHF. We have been in talks with a land
owner that has land that connects to ours about purchasing his land. We
are hoping to hear from this land owner letting us know how much it will
cost to acquire the 3,000 meters squared. This land addition will be
such a blessing towards our endeavor.
Community
: Community is an important focus of our time here in‘Nam. We want to be intentional about our time, making sure we are
getting to know the people around us and allowing them to get to know
us. We want to make sure that we are not just a group of white people
moving into the village looking to open up an orphanage. We want to feel
at home, and we want the village to feel like we are a part of them. We
have made several friends including the children who come to English
class, people who live around us in the village, as well as business
people who work in Mang Thit. We want to continue to get to know many
more people so that as we establish ourselves more and more here, we
will have friends who are willing to work alongside of us.
Fundraising: We are currently in the process of formulating 6
separate fundraisers. We are going to be rolling them out in waves so
make sure you keep an eye out for what is going on. We are going to be
fundraising for 2 different projects, building and feeding, as well as
our general operating costs. We would love for you to be involved with
each of these fundraisers so stay tuned to see how you can help.
Language acquisition: Vietnamese is not an easy language
to learn to say the least. It is a tonal language which means each word
can have 3 or more meanings depending on the tone of your voice as you
pronounce it. Heather has been practicing lots and lots with everyone
she meets in order to try to get the tones down. She has a phrase book
that she has been learning words from as well as practicing with our
translator and house family.
50 days down and so much done, 50 days to go and so much more to accomplish yet!
