After my cousin, who is afflicted with cerebral palsy, returned to the Bay Area from a trip to Vietnam, I was moved by photos and stories of his visit to the Nguyet Bieu Hope Shelter orphanage (Mái Ấm Hy Vọng Nguyệt Biều - Khai Giảng Năm Học Mới 2024 - 2025 - Hội Dòng Mến Thánh Giá Huế) in Vietnam.

According to Orphans into loving families in Vietnam - GlobalGiving, “22,000 children, over half with disabilities, live in government orphanages, lacking the love and freedom crucial for their development.”

Now that I am a rising junior in high school, who has grown up with sound health and mind, I learned that it is actually a family rite of passage to visit the Nguyet Bieu Hope Shelter.

With this cause in my heart, I will visit the Nguyet Bieu Hope Shelter orphanage in Vietnam personally for the first time this summer of 2025. I will arrive at the orphanage in late July 2025. In addition to spending time with the orphans, I am asking my caring community to raise $3000 USD to support the orphans at the center. 100% of the funds raised will be donated to support the center’s operations.