Help The Poor volunteers in Saigon made a trip April 12-14, 2007 to Kontum to visit selected schoolchildren from poor families and directly handed support money for their schooling need. These lucky kids are only a few among the poor kids in the area. They are from the minority people who have lost their land due to de-forestation or from relocated families from Central Vietnam who earn their living from a piece of land no larger than a house lot. Vegetables are their crops and their harvest depends much on the nature's mercy. They are lucky enough not having to leave their homes and their families for jobs in the big cities but education for their kids is out of their reach.
The kids being visited on these April's days have been supported by Help The Poor for the last three years. The team met them in school living rooms, in church classes and in their homes. Their parents' words of thanks really touched team members' hearts, because they are so true and so sincere. Even a kid's truthful expression of thanks told us how much help our benefactors have given with such a small amount of money.
The team was so surprised when met a third-year college student who spends half a day at school and works half day at a construction site to support her family and pay her tuition. She works half a day to bring home less than a dollar (15.000 dong). The family of 6 lives off a piece of land as large as an average house lot in the U.S.
Help The Poor has granted a total of 811 scholarships last year and hopes with support of more donors to the program more kids will have a chance in education.