The Annual "Tet Store" for 2019 is now past. Today's writing is by our extraordinaire SE Asia director Tam! This year our team arranged to have families from Que Son bused in. Que Son is where Dorothea's Project Legacy is located. Please if you feel led email me a word of encouragement for Tam and I will forward to her. She's now been with GIBTK for 13 years!!!
Also if you feel led to donate it's not too late. We still needs funds to cover the costs. You can donate safely atwww.givingitbacktokids.orgpl
Tet store is a special event that GIBTK does every year when it gets closer to the lunar new year in Viet Nam. This program aims at building up self-esteem in fathers and mothers and bringing up value to their families. Giving free gifts is nice but this type of program brings huge value to each father or mother who comes to this Tet store. In any brief talk I had with each father, I could feel their happiness through their big smiles or eyes.
It rained hard this morning but our team members were still very enthusiastic in serving 180 families. Rain could not stop our passion for those who need us. I am so proud to be part of this big team. It took us almost an hour to carry stuff over and set up the store at a restaurant few doors away from the office. Then, people showed up at 8 am. We went through some procedures and let them shop. I could not wait to see big smiles on parents' face. This is something I wait to see every year. Not just a big smile, but a big smile with confidence and proud in parents.
Walking round to see how people are doing and how much they enjoy the Tet store, the little boy caught my attention. He held on tightly to a mickey mouse stuff animal. I came close and asked him why he did choose that stuff animal. His answered touched my heart so much. He said that he got a car toy for himself and he got this stuff animal for his sister. He found thing he likes and he did not forget his sister. How nice to see such a caring heart in this little boy.
Then I saw a man with dark sunglasses. He came to buy things for his three children and his wife. He is blind as a result of a disease years ago. Losing his vision, he cannot work anymore so his life depends on his wife. His wife does whatever it takes to take care of three children and him. She collects recycle stuff for sale or collect leaves for sale. One of his three children is a CP kid and the other two are at school age. So, the financial burden is on his wife's shoulders. He sadly shared that in the previous Tet's, he could not buy anything for his children, except few little bags of candies and no new clothes for them.
Today, it rained hardly and he thought that he would not be able to come. But when he imagined how happy the kids would be seeing the bag of candies and cookies, he brings home for Tet so he asked for help from his neighbor to get to our Tet store. Giang, one of staff members at GIBTK took him around and instructed him to choose goods. Although he could not see to choose outfits for his children, he was happy to get good cookies and candies for his children. He said that his children would be extremely excited to see him come home with this bag in hand. He was grateful to GIBTK for allowing him to join this store.
When people got on bus to get back home after shopping, I followed them and asked a father how he felt about this store. He said that he was so happy and so proud of himself that he could provide something to his family. Then I asked another woman: "Will this bag of stuff be enough for her family during Tet time?" Without hesitation and of course big smile, she said this would be way beyond her expectation. He family would never spend this much during Tet because they could not afford. Every year, they might spend on 1/3 of stuff in this bag. Often at the Tet store, we provide things that children from poor families don't have in normal days. So, the gift that these parents bring back to their families mean so much to their children.
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| Giang, gibtk team member helping a blind father make his choices! | ||
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| Special arrangements made to bus in families from Dorothea's Project Legacy 2 | ||
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