Last December, another season of Sky Lantern was finally launched under the name: KITES FLY HIGH. Thanks to all the encouraging and supports from the loving hearts, the project was successfully run from December 2018 and finished on March 2019.
Sky Lantern project since the first launching in 2007 has carried the mission of a Saigon Hotpot annual charity program in order to bring love and support to underprivileged children.
On this eleventh season, taking inspiration from those kites flying up to the blue sky as precious dreams of children, we chose to be a wind and aimed to bring hopes and belief to over 200 kids in Village Chance.
Village Chance is a primary school which belongs to Maison Chance Organization (NGO) in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh city. There are 5 grades with over 200 students whose family is unable to afford their study, or being orphans and street children. There are also disability kids who all join classes together with the others.
At Maison Chance, the saying “Give A Man A Fish, Feed Him for A Day. Teach A Man to Fish, Feed Him for A Lifetime” is practiced every day. That is the reason why our project was to join hands and inspire the children’s dream of flying higher and higher.
Aside from calling for donation throughout the year, there were 2 main stages of this year project:
1/ “Auction day” – Big event on 16th March 2019, for raise-funding. It was extremely a lovely evening thanks to all kind souls who donated their gifts and the loving people who attended the night.
2/ And finally, we got Big day for the most adorable children on 23rd March 2019. Using the fund, we threw a play day for the kids as an outdoor activity, performed a “Tấm Cám” new version play, and proved ‘Magic is real’ through the performance from our miracle magician.
At the end of the day, we gave each of the kids a bag of supplying presents and a small last wish before leaving:
[A piggy bank] with [an initiative foreign coin] from our tourists and our members, for hoping it will blow a wind to their kite: may their dream grow bigger by non-stop saving hopes and courage and finally break through, touch the outside world and make the dream come true.
Some are mischievous, some are even timid, and after seeing their sweetest smiles, their most excited laughs, we all glad that we got an opportunity to take action here.
Children are the most innocent, the purest. That is why we always have to protect that and nurture their best inner selves. Giving them the right “wind” direction, and they will definitely “fly” highest, within their color and structure.
Final words, we want to give our deepest gratitude to all our friends, our tourists, our 2 biggest sponsors (One Trip and Ielts centre KTDC), and all the kindest people that had accompanied us in helping these adorable angels from Village Chance.
This was our Sky Lantern journey this year.
See you in the next journey of Saigon Hotpot.
Nhung Nguyen.
