Thursday, January 28, 2010

A wedding, and a coat of paint

There's been some excitement at Blue Dragon this week - one of the very first kids we met and helped, over 7 years ago, has just married!

Minh, from Ha Nam province, was working on the streets of Hanoi shining shoes back in 2002. He and many young people from his village had come to the city to earn money to support their families. At that time, Blue Dragon was still just an idea, but when we opened a residential home in mid 2003, Minh was one of the first kids to move in. Shortly after, we helped him apply for a job in a fine restaurant, and he's been working in hospitality ever since.

The picture below is Minh with his beautiful wife, Luan:


... and here's Minh back in 2003, studying English!


While we've been celebrating in Hanoi, the kids and staff at the Hoi An Children's Home have been rolling up their sleeves and PAINTING!

Some old friends from Australia, Peter and Robin, have volunteered at the Home in the past, and just before Christmas they turned up to help out with gardening and maintenance around the kids' home. Thanks to a whole lot of paint, and even more elbow grease, the place looks absolutely transformed - in the bottom photo you can see the difference between 'old' and 'new'.





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2 comments:

Kerstin Brittsjö said...

Congratulations Minh. Remember making paper and jewellry in the 'Big room' with you and your mates. Still got that bracelet you made for me. Wish you all the best for you and your future

kerstin Brittsjö said...

Congratulations Minh. Remember making paper and jewellry in the 'Big room' with you and your mates. Still got that bracelet you made for me. Wish you all the best for you and your future