“PEACE” – that was the name mentioned a lot during the trip on September 21, 2024 of the Hanoi Hash House Harriers group and friends towards La 2 village, Xuan Thuong commune, Bao Yen rural district, Lao Cai. The Tay village had 5 houses completely collapsed, 5 houses more than half collapsed, the rest had their belongings swept away by the flood…, fortunately no one was lost. Among the 5 houses that were completely collapsed, there was a baby that had not been named yet and I called him BINH AN (PEACE). He was only 9 days old when the flood came suddenly, luckily his mother was able to carry him and run away in time. And when we arrived, he was 19 days old, his eyes were as clear as the sky after the flood. I hope that he and everyone in La village will be PEACEFUL because La 2 village still has many difficulties ahead, the mountain range surrounding the village has now appeared very large cracks and at night people have to evacuate to another place to sleep. 18 households were isolated without electricity or water for more than a week and thanks to the generosity of H4 and our close friends, 18 households received 2 generators so that 18 households could pump water from wells. Before that, they had to use stagnant stream water, which was weak due to the flood. Blankets, bowls, chopsticks, clothes and cash were handed out to the people.
The road from Lao Cai – Pho Lu highway to Pho Rang – a town in Bao Yen rural district has been opened, but there are still many landslides. Pho Rang is located on the Chay River, and was heavily flooded with mud and water.
From Pho Rang to the village, 10km away, the damage was extremely severe: Mountains on both sides of the Chay River collapsed into the river, many houses were blown away, only traces of the foundation remained. The road was flooded with mud, some sections were hundreds of meters deep, and the crane had to open a single road for cars to pass.
When entering the village, luckily there was a dry ground, so our group asked the teacher and the village cadres to gather the people – the households that were severely damaged, about 40 houses, to come out and receive some gifts.
The group representing Hanoi Hash and their friends, staff of MIT company, relatives and close friends of the members… people who are very devoted to the victims, have collected more than 70 million and many necessary items. We have been working closely to Ms. Nong Viet Ha who is working at the Department of Education of Bao Yen district – the trusted contact of the Ong Cham group for the past ten years in supporting and helping children in the highlands go to school in order to know what the locals really need right now. Luckily, it didn't rain yesterday afternoon so everything went smoothly, otherwise if it rained, we wouldn’t know how to handle this because we couldn't get into the village and there was no place to display things to distribute to the locals.
The golden hearts of everyone not only bring material warmth but also a great source of spiritual encouragement to the people here. Thanks to the solidarity and humanity, we believe that the wounds caused by the typhoon will gradually be soothed, and the lives of the people will soon stabilize again.
Once again, we would like to express our deep gratitude to all the donors who have contributed to help. Hopefully this love will continue to spread, bringing PEACE to everyone and wishing everyone PEACE.
The whole group returned to Hanoi PEACEFULLY under the pouring rain. Just imagine the families living under a tarpaulin roof, with a 19-day-old baby, a few bowls, a wood stove… and worry. ☹
P/S: We are very grateful for the kindness of expats. When posting the appeal on H4, you participated very enthusiastically, feeling that the victims were your relatives. Just a small example. Uncle A.. directly transported the goods on his unique 3-wheeled vehicle to the place where the goods were gathered. The address in Hanoi, you know, is like a spider web! The streets are busy at rush hour especially after the typhoon. However, when he learned that he was searching for a donation address, a woman carrying a small child spent 20 minutes to escort him there. And among the items he brought, there were things that women really, really need. A sensitive and delicate heart…. When giving that small gift to the group of Tay women, we also told them who this gift was from, a handsome man but not much hair, and they laughed and were very happy. A rare smile in these chaotic days. Really touched by our hearts.
For details on income and expenditure, please see the link below. The group has ordered 30 ceramic water filters to deliver to La village and schools. 30 ceramic water filters have been delivered to 4 schools and La village in which 4 for Tan Duong kindergarten, 10 for Xuan Hoa Boarding high School, 4 for Xuan Hoa 1 kindergarten, 6 for Xuan Hoa primary school and 6 for La village.
Thank you all!!!
By Huyen Tran – Hash Cash