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How Do You Spell Hope?

Samaritan’s Purse projects make a difference in Vietnam

By Compelling Story

Samaritan’s Purse has been working in Vietnam for well over a decade. The Poor, the disadvantaged, the disable, and the orphaned are discovering hope and joy through our projects there. Despite past pains, God is weaving a new story of redemption in both the country’s Northwest Highlands and in the vibrant capital of Hanoi.

The Gift of Learning

Samaritan’s Purse sponsors several education and livelihoods programs in the northwestern highlands.

Lao Cai and Lai Chau Provinces, remote and rugged, are economically poor but culturally rich. Numerous ethnic minorities, including the Dao and several Hmong groups, benefit from our work. By funding school and dormitory construction, improving student diets, and providing classes that equip and encourage children to stay in school, Samaritan’s Purse is making an investment in the future of Vietnam.

Needed Nutrition

Samaritan’s Purse provides nutrition assistance and agricultural training to students and orphans in the highlands. In addition, cow banks offer families a chance to supplement their diet and earn money. Initial recipients receive important training and will later contribute calves to others in their community.

Caring for Mothers and Children

Samaritan’s Purse staff partner with village health workers to identify children in the highlands with symptoms of malnutrition. Vu Thi Pla (first photo below), a 21-year-old Hmong mother, received nutrition and hygiene training, vegetable seeds for planting, and supplemental food for her now 15-month-old baby boy. The little one went from moderate acute malnutrition to a normal weight over a period of six months. In addition, Samaritan’s Purse supports traditional birth attendant (TBA) programs in Lai Chau. The need here is great as the lives of village women and newborns are at risk; TBAs provide mothers with care, comfort, and encouragement to seek proper medical attention during and after their pregnancies.

What’s More Basic than Water?

Samaritan’s Purse is providing clean water in a number of remote locations in the highlands. At one village, families are now using water from a protected source that‘s close enough so they only need to make one trip rather than six a day.

Sanitation = Dignity

Samaritan’s Purse not only helps impoverished villages achieve access to clean water, we also provide hygiene training and assist with latrine construction. A clean latrine offers people needed modesty and cuts down on disease.

A Helping Hand on the Way to Success

In busy Hanoi, Samaritan’s Purse provides scholarships and extracurricular activities for disabled and ethnic minority students to study at the renowned Hoa Sua vocational school. They can learn sewing skills or receive culinary training. The ministry provides similar assistance to visually impaired students at a school in the capital. Classes include music, English, and computer instruction.

It’s About People

In every Samaritan’s Purse project in Vietnam, our staff seek to bring hope to the people they serve. Please pray for our current work as well as future projects in this vibrant and diverse country.