What we owe our children: a post event perspective
At this posting, contributions for the Village School Foundation’s benefit event have surpassed $9,000. It is an extraordinary example of the concern and support of the guests, sponsors and other friends who have helped with this event. Heartwarming to me were all the people involved as volunteers, cooks, supporters, sponsors and participants. All of us at Village School Foundation are very grateful.
The sold out crowd at P.C.C. Rock Creek auditorium enjoyed Vietnamese music, dance and cuisine and viewed a special short documentary film about the foundations efforts and about the plight of young, impoverished children in Viet Nam.
In many rural areas of Viet Nam, there are no schools and so children often do not have an opportunity to go to school even if they want to. $8,000 can build a brand new grade school, and give dozens of children a chance to do something we take for granted in this country. Come fall, the foundation will have built five schools since 2002, giving hundreds of children a chance to escape hunger, illiteracy and homelessness and enter onto a path of hope and learning.
People always ask questions - questions about why we are doing this; why kids in Viet Nam; why education and not something else – or somewhere else; and why I, an American with a Finnish/Norwegian background, who grew up here in suburban Washington County, care so much for children in Viet Nam.
From my own Buddhist perspective, answering questions like these involves making distinctions – distinctions I do not make. There are no children in Viet Nam, there are just children. For every question why, the smiles on these children’s faces are answer enough. Can the answer I give to your question add any more? Look deeply at the children in the photo to the left. How much is a smile worth? Can you put a price on it? Can you create some logical argument about why it is good?
As far as education, it is a simple matter that all children want to learn. Whether their goal is to support there families or simply learn more about themselves and the world, education gives them a chance to create something out of their life.
All of this is not complex. It is not political. It is very simple. We give of ourselves for the children and families who have a need, families that must endure suffering and dashed hopes every day. As long as this suffering exists, as long as a child works the streets until two in the morning, as long as a child yearns for the simple opportunity to learn, we have to take it upon ourselves to live with compassion, humanity and humility.
We can not solve all of the problems out there – even in the one province we are working in, there is too much to do. But for each smile we create, each dream we help support, we open up innumerable opportunities for a better world. We owe all of our children this much.
We still need ongoing support. Every thirty dollars we raise means one more child can attend school for a whole year. For a tank of gas, or the price of a dinner, or seven lattes, you can give a child what is the dream of many Vietnamese children, the simple opportunity to learn. Multi-year donations can be made by contacting the foundation at www.vsfoundation.com.
The sold out crowd at P.C.C. Rock Creek auditorium enjoyed Vietnamese music, dance and cuisine and viewed a special short documentary film about the foundations efforts and about the plight of young, impoverished children in Viet Nam.
In many rural areas of Viet Nam, there are no schools and so children often do not have an opportunity to go to school even if they want to. $8,000 can build a brand new grade school, and give dozens of children a chance to do something we take for granted in this country. Come fall, the foundation will have built five schools since 2002, giving hundreds of children a chance to escape hunger, illiteracy and homelessness and enter onto a path of hope and learning.
People always ask questions - questions about why we are doing this; why kids in Viet Nam; why education and not something else – or somewhere else; and why I, an American with a Finnish/Norwegian background, who grew up here in suburban Washington County, care so much for children in Viet Nam.
From my own Buddhist perspective, answering questions like these involves making distinctions – distinctions I do not make. There are no children in Viet Nam, there are just children. For every question why, the smiles on these children’s faces are answer enough. Can the answer I give to your question add any more? Look deeply at the children in the photo to the left. How much is a smile worth? Can you put a price on it? Can you create some logical argument about why it is good?As far as education, it is a simple matter that all children want to learn. Whether their goal is to support there families or simply learn more about themselves and the world, education gives them a chance to create something out of their life.
All of this is not complex. It is not political. It is very simple. We give of ourselves for the children and families who have a need, families that must endure suffering and dashed hopes every day. As long as this suffering exists, as long as a child works the streets until two in the morning, as long as a child yearns for the simple opportunity to learn, we have to take it upon ourselves to live with compassion, humanity and humility.
We can not solve all of the problems out there – even in the one province we are working in, there is too much to do. But for each smile we create, each dream we help support, we open up innumerable opportunities for a better world. We owe all of our children this much.
We still need ongoing support. Every thirty dollars we raise means one more child can attend school for a whole year. For a tank of gas, or the price of a dinner, or seven lattes, you can give a child what is the dream of many Vietnamese children, the simple opportunity to learn. Multi-year donations can be made by contacting the foundation at www.vsfoundation.com.
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