FVSO
Friends
of
Vinh Son
All operating expenses paid by the Board of Directors so 100% of your donation goes
to the children.
Our November Newsletter tells the how the sisters and the children are adapting to the new school year. There have been several changes, often reversals of rules that have kept the Sisters on their toes. We also continue our story with the Happy Baker, Y Thuan. VS3 has a new chapel and multi purpose building, Sr Gabrille is most happy.
We are closing in on the end of another challenging year. In early October the kids and the nuns celebrated their version of Thanksgiving called The Moon Festival. Your generosity helped make it a joyful event despite COVID. In late October, with kids worldwide, they celebrated Halloween although limited by tight COVID lockdown restrictions. Of course December is a big month with the Christmas celebration coming soon. Through all of the ups and downs of the last 19 months the kids and nuns have shown amazing resilience. The children have kept up with their studies despite constant distractions and have maintained their farms and livestock. Your support has made the impossible possible. The children and the nuns are most thankful. They keep you in their daily prayers
Fund Raising 2021
As of the end of October we have reached almost 47% of our goal of $150,000. 2021 was a real budget stretch for FVSO. The kids stayed "home" and were home schooled for much of the last 20 months. The shortage of proper buildings and food resources became acute. This year we sent over $120,000 just for capital improvements.
Your generosity in November and December of previous years gives us confidence we will reach our 2021 goal
Don't forget to use Smile.Amazon for your holiday shopping !
Clyde Lewandowski
Personal Experiences and Reflections of Vinh Son Montagnards Orphanage
Since 1968, when I spent some time in Vietnam, I've had a soft spot in my heart for Vietnamese kids. Of course, in 1968 we soldiers were all kids. Over the years, I've become the unofficial historian for the artillery battalion that I served with. Back then we did what we could to help the kids and connected with the orphanages that were near our headquarters area. In 2002, after doing some research at the National Archives in Washington D.C., I was able to find the name and address of one of the orphanages in Hue that we had supported and began a quest to find it. Unfortunately that orphanage had closed many years ago.
In 2006, I still had not found a connection to an orphanage in Vietnam that felt right, and was fortunate to have been found by Dennis Coyne and Friends of VSO. The trip to the orphanage at Kontum in February 2007 sealed my fate. The kids, the caregivers and sisters are absolutely the most wonderful people I have ever met. Just seeing their happiness brought tears of joy and I was hooked for life.