THANH BACH’S STORY
Lunar New Year 2020
Dear Friend,
I want to take the opportunity of this New Year to share with you a wonderful story of Thanh Bach’s recovery.
I first met Thanh Bach in August 2012 when she was about 9 months old during a site visit of Bridging Hope’s elder program in Phan Thiet. She bore a distinguishable lump on her left cheek. Within a short time, the lump had grown immensely from the size of a cop ball to that of a baseball. With an inadequate income and no source of healthcare support, I knew that if the child’s condition would be left untreated she could be put in serious danger. With the help of volunteers and friends, we were able to coordinate a trip for her to see Dr. Williams in Hanoi for a medical examination. Since the tumor was too early for surgery, Dr. Williams recommended to simply wait and to continue her treatments at the Children Hospital in Saigon.
In the spring of 2018, I revisited Thanh Bach. She was now almost 7 years old. When asked about the surgical plan, her mother said that the hospital kept encouraging them to wait. I couldn’t help but wonder whether they were making her wait longer than necessary due to their poverty and inability to pay. At this point the child appeared to be suffering both physically and mentally from the tumor. In addition to physical pain and discomfort, Thanh Bach had quit school because of being tormentedby her peers.
I shared with Fr. Toai, director of MaiTam Program for HIV patients in Saigon, Thanh Bach’s condition. With the help of his staff, we were able to arrange for Thanh Bach to receive surgical treatment at one hospital in Saigon. Miraculously, the surgery was very successful and completed in June 2018.
Thankfully, the work on Thanh Bach’s involved many hearts and hands. All of these efforts came together to form a miracle that brought together people two worlds apart in an effort to change one young girl’s life forever.
Thanh Bach’s story is clearly an example of the power of people working together for a worthy cause. Yes, it takes a village or maybe it takes a world coming together to raise a child!
May your heart be overflowing with New Year blessings! May the New Year bless us with wholeness and peace!
Executive Director
Gratefully,
Sen Nguyen, OSF
CHRISTMAS FOR BREAKFAST
Christmas for Breakfast originated with a group of families who decided to make Christmas gift giving more meaningful to their children.
Instead of extravagant Christmas celebrations and gift exchanges, the families used the money they would have spent on Christmas presents to provide breakfast to children in an elementary school in the rural province of An Giang. The small sacrifices these families made in turn made a big difference in the lives of those children, whose family often can only afford to give them one meal a day.
Since 2007, Christmas for Breakfast have garnered the support of more and more friends and families. Each year at the beginning of November, we gather at our annual benefit luncheon to enjoy the wine, food, and music in great company. Through participating in the silent auctions, live auctions, Angel of Hope donation, and purchasing of unique THREADS items, our guests contribute to the funds needed to provide meals to over 300 disadvantaged children for the following year.
NEWS & EVENTS
Visiting Threads women co-op – Started working with these women since 1991 when sister The was still a director, most of the women suffering from polio. Before April 1975, sister The was a director of the orphanage for disabled children and adults for many year. After 1975, she continued her work of caring for these […]
We arrived in Đà Lạt on the day of the sunshine and warm weather. Sister Tu greeted us at one of the bus stops along with a little 4 wheels vehicle which belong to her nephew – of course, he is the driver. The charitable Thông Xanh Center serves two groups of children: Day Care […]
Visiting Rose Center at Củ Chi. The center has been found and directed by the Dominican Sisters. Most of the children here are orphans — some because the families are poor, can’t take care of the children. Bridging Hope has a privileged collaborating with the Sisters since 2015 — providing nutritions and tuitions. Since it’s […]
After the 2016 flood rescues in Tam Trang, Quảng Bình, Bridging Hope has agreed to help the people in Tam Trang to build the bridge that requested by the former paster, Fr. Nang. The bridge will help the villagers from lower lands to escape to the higher lands when flood comes. Since then, Bridging Hope […]
Have some times on Easter Sunday, I took Ti, a little girl at MaiTam out for lunch. I asked her what she wanted to eat. Her reply: “I want fried chicken!” So we had lunch at KFC. Hadn’t eat there for many years. Ti came to MaiTam when she was only about a month old. […]
Visiting Daily Bread program in Gò Vấp where some of the members are working as seamstresses. Bridging Hope has been working with them for 11 years, and so grateful with the MaiTam staff…. able to find jobs for these women which they said constantly busy. They’re more than happy!!!!
I went to the MaiTam shelter with a friend to join the MaiTam children celebrating the Easter Vigil Mass. The service was outside. It was raining hard when we got there, but miraculously stopped not shortly after. Seeing the children happily in their new outfits was a joy. It felt almost like Tết (New Year). […]
Entry # 1 – Elder Phan Thiet I am in Viet Nam to do some site visits all the programs sponsoring by Bridging Hope. Arrived on Wednesday, so far I have visited the Elder Program in Phan Thiet. Collaboration with local volunteers is one of the Bridging Hope’s approaches. The women volunteers of the elder […]
Dear friend, Colorado Gives Day will start tonight, Monday at 12:01 AM and will go until midnight. Here’s the link for Bridging Hope. Please help us to reach our goal. https://www.coloradogives.org/index.php?section=organizations&action=newDonation&fwID=36171
Oct. 7, 2017 – Scene-02 The event begins with a check-in/registration which professionally perform by VSA (Vietnamese Student Association) mostly from Colorado University of Colorado at Boulder and Colorado University at Denver.
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