Khe Muong village locates at the high point of O Lau River. The river flows gently dividing the village into two areas. During the dry season, the river is symbolized of the freshness of the dry and destitute region. In the wet season, diluvial rains in the mountain provoke floods in the whole area. The river becomes the threat creating many difficulties for people in the village.

O LAU RIVER. A SMALL BRIDGE LEADING TO VILLAGE, AND THE LAND HAS BEEN CHOSEN TO BUILD KHE MUONG SCHOOL

IN FRONT OF NEW KHE MUONG SHCOOL, STUDENTS ARE RECEIVING SCHOOL SUPPLIES

IN FRONT OF SCHOOL, A STONE WITH NAMES OF DONORS FOR APPRECIATION

Through Tue Quang group, Eyes of Compassion asked Dieu Van Le, the leader of Quang Tri Charity to find out more about Khe Muong village. From him, we leaned that the village people wished to have a kindergarten school for the kids to attend so that parents can work on the farm. After learning about the difficult life here, we decided to build a Khe Muong kindergarten school, distributed gifts, provided stationer cholarships to students, and dug well-waters for the poor families.

August 30^th, 2006, we opened Mam Non Khe Muong kindergarten school to the public for the first time. We distributed gifts to defected patients, provided blankets and mosquito nets to solitary elderly people, distributed rice to deprived families, provided fabrics to make uniform clothes, and provided stationeries and scholarships to elementary and high school students. Board of Education of Quang Tri Buddhist Society Charity was present on behalf of Khe Muong village with the attendance of village people, and kindergarten, elementary and high school students.  People were glad and happy when they saw the new and spacious school with all the necessities including electricity, water, desks, chairs and toys. The school also has public toilets. Every person in the village received a gift. Many families received many gifts due to the numbers of people in the house.  Everyone was happy receiving gifts and wished to thank all the far and near benefactors who had helped them over the past year. We would like to send many thanks to Thuan Kim Nguyen, Dieu Van Le, all people in Tue Quang group, Quang Tri Charity, and to those who had contributed their helps to complete Khe Muong program

In the future, when we have enough resources, we will repair dilapidated houses, provide seeds for farming to needy families, and dig more well-waters for unprivileged families who are taking water from the river for daily use.

We would like to thank you all benefactors.

Regards,

Dieu Lien

Khe Muong, August 31^st, 2006

THANK YOU LETTER

Dear Ms. Ton Nu Dieu and donors,

My name is Tan Thi Giang, a kindergarten teacher in Khe Muong this school year.

First, I wish Ms Dieu, all the donators and their families health and happiness.

Dear Ms. Dieu,

I was very happy when receiving gifts for our kindergarten class in Khe Muong from you and all the donators.  Hai Son, our home land, is in a poor rural area.  The weather is either too hot or too rainy.  When it’s hot, it is scorching, burning tress, and causing cracks on the farm land.  When it rains, it does really hard.  It’s flooding all over the place.  The streets are muddy everywhere.  Sometimes, it may develop into hurricanes which will cause hundreds and thousands of homeless people.  The whole village is in water.

Despite the harsh conditions and since our residents value education so much that they all overcome the hardship to send their children to school.  Words can never express how much we are touched and happy when receiving your donations to build our school.  We had longed for a school, a well, with trees surrounding.  You and others have made our dream come true.  The school looks so beautiful, with spacious classrooms, a well with clean, clear drinking water, and a school yard.  It gives us great hope and happiness.  You and other donators have given us with the new school, new books, school supplies, new clothes, shoes, and toys.  All of those gifts are great motivation and support for our villagers, me and my students. 

A few years ago, we had borrowed a public place that was used for festival and gathering to call “school” for the kids.  It did not have anything to equip for a classroom.  I came there every morning to meet the kids age’s three to five being dropped off by their parents coming from remote small towns.  They live in the wood or mountain.  Their cottages are surrounded by water.  The fathers in household would go to the jungles looking for certain wood to cut and bring to the market for sale.  The mothers stay home but would have to gather fuel wood from surrounding the house to sell for extra money to raise their kids.  The school is far away.  Transportation is difficult.  The parents bring their children to school by paddling small boats on the river.  They send their kids to school with the simple hope that they (the kids) know how to read and write to prepare for their lives, unlike them, the parents, who are illiterate.  Because of the hope for a change, the parents don’t mind the difficulties and hardship.

I am very happy now!  You can’t imagine how happy my students and I are.  The 3-4 year-old kids keep bragging with other friends about their new school which now has spacious classrooms, toilets, a well, and toys.  They keep telling their parents that they are eager to go to school.  Moreover, during the new school opening celebration, they were so happy to receive the school supplies, handbags, books, notebooks, clothes, and so on.  They were staring at all the gifts with their naïve and excited eyes, which expressed their gratitude to you and all the other supporters.  The gifts may not mean so much for you, but they are such huge to us.  Since we are so poor, those gifts mean humongous spiritually and materialistically.  They express your love, your humanity to other human being like us.  Without your help, this new school and all the supplies would be just in our dream only.

I sincerely hope that you would continue to support us in the future.  I have one more concern for the children: their lunch quality.  They come to school and stay here with me for the whole day.  They would have to carry with them cooked rice with foods in small containers prepared by their parents early in the morning.  The food would become very cold and hard to swallow for the kids.  I could not do much.  I wish that we could have a small kitchen with some appliances to prepare hot lunch for them.  My salary is very low as you can imagine.  Plus, I am a resident from a different town/village.  There is no kindergarten teacher in this small town; therefore, I would need to come to this town to help teach the kids.  My house is 3 km away from this school and I bike everyday here. I can only help support them spiritually not materialistically. 

Our school is closed for one to two months during the winter because of the flood.  The children come to school with wet clothes and are silvering.  However, we all try our hardest to make sure that the kids learn to know how to read and write and become better citizens to make your contributions worth while.  I do hope that you would continue to support us so that the little children, the future of our nation, continue to have the opportunities to live, learn and be happier.  I am very grateful and do appreciate all who have donated and supported us.  I wish you all well.

Best Regards,

Signed

Tran Thi Giang

PROVIDING RICE FOR POOR FAMILIES

DISTRIBUTING MATERIAL, SCHOOL SUPPLIES, AND MONEY FOR STUDENT SPONSORSHIP

DONATING GIFTS, SCHOOL SUPPLIES, AND TOYS FOR CHILDREN

Mrs. Le Thi En, disability

SUMMARY OF THE KHE MUONG VILLAGE PROJECTS
DONATED BY THE EOCVN BD.FOUNDATION, THE BENEFACTORS, IN MARCH OF 2006 VIA MRS TON NU DIEU LIEN

1.  Building classroom and restroom for kindergarteners                                         45,000,000
     -Classroom 8 x 5 = 40m2
     -Roof: 8 x 2 = 16m2
2.  3 wells dug                                                                                                                  7,850,000
3.  Aid to handicapped, patients and 26 elders                                                           8,260,000
4.  Rice to the poor for 50 recipients                                                                             5,000,000
5.  Cloth for elementary school uniforms for 110 students                                          5,500,000
6.  Clothes, school materials for 22 kindergarteners                                                   1,760,000
7.  Blankets, mosquito nets for 34 elders                                                                      3,400,000
8.  Sewing working clothes, printed plastic hats, 8 sets                                                  960,000
9.  Gasoline for travel to check on the classroom building,
     photography and donation                                                                                         1,100,000
10.  Drapes and engraving                                                                                                  44,000
11.  Contributions to students who built roads                                                                 200,000
12.  Car rental to transport aide materials                                                                       700,000

Total                                                                                                                                79,774,000 VN

The Buddhist Charitable Society of Quang Tri Town is grateful for the attention and help of the EOCVN BD Foundation, the donors and Miss Ton Nu Dieu Lien who cared and sympathized with the people's difficult and poor conditions in the Khe Muong village, Hai Son district.  You helped the kindergarten children to have a beautiful, well-equipped classroom, school uniforms, books and school materials to start a new school year.  You gave blankets and mosquito nets to the elderly, rice to the poor, money to the sick and the elders to buy medicine to nourish their bodies, and clean water to the students and villagers for their daily activities.

Your precious help provided us, the poor people in a remote area with so many hardships, with great comfort and happiness.

We gratefully thank you and wish you peace and happiness.

Le Van Dieu

Leader of the Quang Tri Buddhist Charitable Society