For well over a year, Blue Dragon has wanted to build a house for a particular family in Hue. They've been living in this bamboo hut on stilts above a swamp:
... and in case you're thinking "well, that looks quite sturdy", here's a shot of the floor inside:
The fact that there were 5 children living in a house that was on the verge of collapsing was not the only reason we wanted to help. Their eldest son, Ky, was one of the first children we rescued from child traffickers and reunited with his parents. At the time we took him home, we promised him that his life would be better now; we needed to make good on that promise.
So we appealed for donations and had some promises of support. The Hanoi International Women's Club came good with $1000; Marc Gold from 100 Friends offered another $1000; and three individuals - Eva Bengtsson, Amy Ha and Quyen Trang, donated a few hundred more.
Enough to build the house!
But... there was quite a long delay in securing land for the family. The local government was committed to granting a block of land on which to build the house, but no land was available until early this year.
However - it's done! Finished! Het roi, as they say in Vietnam.
The Red Cross, who helped us with the building, organised an Opening Ceremony for the house... although they wanted to delay it until I could get there, or one of the Blue Dragon staff from Hanoi could attend. Our answer: No more delays! Have the ceremony and let the family move in!
I can't wait to see it for myself. The parents so happy to have a house that won't blow down in a storm... And I'm glad to say that we could finally prove to little Ky that things really are getting better for him and his family.
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1 comment:
oh YAY!!! I'm so happy for Ky & his family. Thanks so much BlueDragon. *sniffles*
Oh, and the donation wasn't just from me, but from a group of great friends. I'm going to send this link to them.
here's to more house like this to the other 2 families, and many more... :(
hugs & kisses,
amy
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