We have recently carried out charity work at Luong Bich shelter in Quang Tri. The shelter was founded by nun Hien who is 70 years old. There are 30 children living at the shelter, including 5 children under the age of 1, and 25 ranging from 2 to 14 years of age. When we came to visit, we were only able to meet the younger ones, as the older children were at school. Due to religious issues, Luong Bich shelter has not been officially registered, nor has it any type of establishment paperwork to date. All occurring costs of caring for the children are taken from nuns’ funds in Quang Tri. Some children at the shelter have been abandoned by their parents or have been left for nun Hien to look after. There are also children from other ethnic minorities which have been taken in. There is a child under 2 years old who is paralysed due to bone disease. Some other children have down syndrome or similar illnesses. The shelter allows most children to go to school, however, non-government funded. In our opinion, it looks like the children do not have a dedicated play or study area, and lack of clothes (we are able to collect old clothes from other families) The total cost for our recent visit is 5,000,000VND, broken down as follows:
4,694,000VND formula milk (6 tubs)
396,000VND small milk packs, biscuits, sweets
A big thank you to Ms Na’s friend who donated 500,000 VND to the cause. Together there is hope.