On May 17th, 2009, Loving House Project visited the Hoa Hung Orphanage, the only one in Tien Giang Province in Vietnam,  and learned about the kids and their needs. They take care of 12 children, ages 3 to 16; 7 girls and 5 boys. The orphanage receives $0.60 USD per kid/day to cover all the costs. The Vietnamese Red Cross also helps them with donations.
The building needs a lot of work but we could see that the kids are happy and well taken care of. The Orphanage has one full time staff, who the children call “Mother”, and it’s easy to see how much they love her! It was overwhelming to sit there and listen to each kid tell us their sad stories.

Loving House Project decided to help this Orphanage as a long term project. We donated $1,000 USD to build one more bathroom and shower room, that was their immediate need. With the rest of the money, we took them shopping for clothes, shoes, school supplies and some toys. We took them for lunch after that and this was a memorable day for everybody, specially for us.

We also committed to sending $100 USD/month to improve their diet and add some protein to their meals.

LHP will need to raise funds to make some serious improvements to their building during our November-09 visit. We are very proud to support the Hoa Hung Orphanage and hope for the continued support of our friends in this new project.

June 20th, 2009 - The new bathroom was started and the Red Cross brought some story books donated by LHP to the children. The children were very happy with the presents. Check out the recent photos!

July 5th, 2009 - Because of the rainny season, it is taking longer than normal to complete the constructions but we are almost there. The money donated was enough to build a new shower room and a restroom and remodel the old ones. Now the girls and boys have separate showers and restrooms. Please check out the pictures to see the new rooms. 

August 12th, 2009 - Hoa Hung Orphanage has now one more girl that needs our love and care. Her name is Giau Phan, she was born in 1995 and is an orphan. The Orphanage has now 13 children and LHP will make sure Giau feels welcomed into our little family.

August 18th, 2009 - Joe and his daughter Heather went to Vietnam to bring presents and school supplies for the children of Hoa Hung. The kids were thrilled with their new backpacks and all the cute stuff that LHP supporters sent them. On Sunday, August 23rd, Joe and Heather spent the day with the children at the Orphanage. Our dear friend Ms. Thuy came and cooked a wonderful meal for everybody and the children received a DVD and CD player, donated by our dear neighbour Betty. LHP also donated 14 chairs and 4 fans to the Orphanage.

Joe saw the immediate need to repair the drainage in the building. The front part of the lot looks like a lake. LHP donated $380 to solve the problem. They will dig two ditches on the sides of the property and set some pipes to drain the water down to a river, 250m away from the Orphanage.

August 24th, 2009 - We are pleased to inform that our program was accepted by the People’s Comittee of Vietnam. LHP will now be able to keep in touch with the children on a daily basis, send birthday cards, have a local representative in My Tho and she will teach English for the kids. We were also allowed to bring volunteers to teach the children. This is a huge accomplishment and LHP is aware of the responsability that comes with it. From today on, LHP will be present in the children’s lives and will help care for their studies, medical needs and nutrition.

There is a lot of work to do but we couldn’t be any happier!

Hoa Hung Orphanage Photos