Greetings! By the time your reading this I will be in Danang for the annual teen trip. I decided to come a few days before the rest of the team to get "my feet on the ground."
I'm especially excited to see the eyes of 2 of our teens who have never left the country as they see the chaos of Vietnam traffic and to be loved on by the kids in our programs. Equally excited to see Katie and my kids return and to be greeted by those they made friends with on past trips.
Today I am forwarding a letter from Suong. She serves as a full time teacher in "Dorothea's Project Legacy" Some may say a simple story, but to kids that in our programs it is huge. "Project Legacy" is working! It's giving Hope to so many. I'm confident the ripples of love, value and education will go on forward for generations to come.
Here is Suong's note: (PS as always please feel free to write words of encouragement to Suong, I will be sure to get them to her)
"For all the years I have lived, this is the first place where I can find so much love."
This is the saying of the mother of Linh, who was in grade five, when she came to pick her up after school. This leaves an impression on me and inspire me to greater efforts.
Every child coming to my class has their own stories, circumstances and, more especially, their feelings about themselves.
When I first met Linh, I saw that she was a girl with sad eyes. She did not talk much and often sat in her quiet corner of the class. She studied pretty well. At first she was not very quick at Math or Literature and how to make sentences. She did not join with her classmates at break time and joined the games I made up grudgingly. She did not talk to her friends in class. In the first week I thought she was a nice and quiet girl.
Later I thought about the methods to help my students become confident and support her in showing her talents and potential. One afternoon I gave my students a chance to do an updated essay about the hottest social issues with their own viewpoints, thoughts and useful solutions. The students debated excitedly and Linh's participation has changed since then. She asked questions of her friends, felt confident to express her point of view and spoke in front of people for presentations. Thanks to those presentations, she knew she could do better. She did more things than she had thought about herself doing such as public speaking, using an inspiring voice, writing skillsand problem-solving skills. As time passed, she has changed and improved a lot.
I often spend time to talk with each student in class to have a better understand about them. Linh was open to share with me about her family. She is the daughter of her father's second wife and he died many years before, so their life has become more and more difficult from then on. Linh's mother is a little old, but her daily work is to sell scrap for money and clean up as a house cleaner. The work is hard, but she does not earn enough to raise Linh and her sister. Before she did not talk about this because she thought people would laugh and look down at her. However, she changed her mind after the classes.
She understands her own and her mother's self-value. Linh cried when talking about the hard days of her mother. I know she has grown up a little when expressing herself to her mother and me by her study results. Linh is learning better. She has grown from an unknown student, to the one chosen to speak in front of the whole school in the end-semester day. I am so proud of her, how she has tried, and what she has gained.
After the parents' meeting day, Linh's mother called me happily and all I heard was just her thanks and smiles. This also made me truly happy too.
For me, what I have told you are the thingsinspiring me to work. Those are the responses that tell me that this work is so meaningful for everyone I work with, especially the children.
The most important thing I see is the positive changes from the children. They are optimistic, enjoy life and always try their best to do things. The true happiness is seeing the smile on their parents' face, knowing their children are trying so hard and succeeding.
Sincerely; Suong
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