|
Tet, The Lunar New Year is quickly approaching. For our western minds it may be difficult to understand the importance. For us it almost like taking 4th of July, Christmas, New Years and our birthdays and celebrate them at one time.
For years I would fly in and give TET baskets to the children of the poor families full of goodies. I remember moms standing in the back of the room while the "Westerner" gave gifts to their children.
After reading Toxic Charity I realized that the wrong person was being the "hero" We tried a new idea. A Tet Shop where the Parents (f the same families we normally invited) can come and pick and choose and buy 10 cents on the dollar. The parents became the hero's.
If they don't have the .10 they can come to the office and work to earn enough to buy for their children. One awesome and strange phenomenon was that we noticed fathers coming for the first time. Many thanking us saying it is the first time that they can buy TET gifts for their children.
Now who's the hero, not gibtk, it's the moms and dads. They go home with the satisfaction of buying something for their families.
In past years many asked that I let you know when it is coming so they can partner with us. If you can please do so. You can donate safely at www.givingitbacktokds.org or mail a check to GIBTK, 10112 Stonybrook Dr. Huntington Beach, Calif. 92646. Help us to give some self respect back to more families!
Please enjoy Tams short note on the upcoming TET!
"Building up family value is one of the things GIBTK has been trying to do in the last couple years. Nothing is greater than finding a way to add value to others. Added value will help others become more confident in life and believe in themselves. Having a desire to do it is great but taking actions to do it intentionally is huge.
GIBTK is about the intentional real action. One of the programs that adds value to families and parents is the Tet shop for the poor. Tet is a very important holiday in Viet Nam. Every family has to spend money on good food, candies, cookies and repairing their house to make it nice for this holiday. To an average family, people spend half of the amount of money could save in a year to take care of these things (based on a article I read two weeks ago).
For poor families, taking care of daily food is still a challenge, how come they can be able to afford good candies, cookies and food for their children on Tet. Parents always feel unhappy because they cant provide for their children as others do. Understanding this situation, GIBTK wants to bring these parents a chance to provide their children with things on Tet with dignity and to be proud of themselves.
This year, our Tet shop for the poor families with children under 18 years old will happen on Jan 31st, 2018. We plan to invite 150 families from different districts to come and choose things for their children and families. We do need help from you all to make this store happen. Thank you for being along side to GIBTK for years. "
Sincerely;
Tam T Tong
|
