Hi folks. Hope you enjoyed your lunar new years celebrations. Now as the country starts back its economic engines, it's a great time to take notice of those left behind...by this I really mean left behind...as in abandoned! We're talking about babies! February is a great time to love babies! So here's your chance.
Details of the run:
Who: Anyone who wants to make a difference.
As of 2/22/2013 - 22h46, the list includes:
Tran Hung Dao, 1, motorbike
N.T.T.N, 2, motorbike, will meet at Big C
Co Van, 1, motorbike, will meet at Big C
Dannytan, 1, bus to Big C, need ride thereafter
theho84, 1, motorbike
What: Charity convoy to bring food (formula) and diapers to babies at an orphanage.
Where: Starting in HCMC, meet at Sài Gòn Bridge (Cầu Sài Gòn) to convoy via motorbike.
When: 7 O'clock Sunday morning, February 23, 2014.
Why: To feed and play with abandoned babies, get Expats out of the City and smell the roses (okay, would you settle for trees?)
Here's the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for more details:
Could you please give a little more information as to the address of the orphanage?
The orphanage we will be going to is called Chùa Diệu Pháp located at Tân Cang hamlet, Phước Tân commune, Long Thành district, Đồng Nai province (ấp Tân Cang, xã Phước Tân, huyện Long Thành, tỉnh Đồng Nai). It is about 10 minutes from the Mango Garden Resort (Du Lịch Sinh Thái Vườn Xoài).
Also is the orphanage in a temple?
It's a compound with a worship area in the front and the back area is where the kids live. About 5-8 Buddhist nuns run the place with a few hired helpers.
How many hour are we expected to be on the road, to and fro?
The last convoy there took about 2-1/2 hours total, with 1.5 hours driving. From HCMC to Big C at the Hà Nội Highway and Vũng Tàu Highway crossing in Biên Hòa City, it took an hour and the driving from Big C to the orphanage was about 30 minutes. We rested, ate fresh bread, and bought formula at Big C for about an hour. Coming back is on your own so you can "pedal to the metal" if you like or mosey at a leisure pace taking in the sights.
How much time are we expected to be spending there?
You're free to leave on your own after you play with the babies. But generally on Sunday's the temple will invite any guests that come to hang around and eat their Bánh xèo (kind of like a Vietnamese Omelette made from batter instead of eggs).
Usually 1/2 a day or you can block out your calendar from 7 AM to 2 PM to include the driving to and fro.
What activities can we do or can't we do?
You can play with babies, pick em up, sniff em. You can take pictures. After you're done, you can wander around the orphanage and check out the bigger kids and adults. It can get overwhelming with all the sadness so I just focus on the babies.
That's pretty much it. The main focus is to bring formulas to feed the babies because they don't have natural milk from their mothers. The last trip in December 22, 2013, we did bring some stuffed animals as well as formula. And I did noticed they need some diapers. You can search "Convoy For Babies" in expat-blog or read up on a few threads of our past activity.
December '13 CFB Run
November '13 CFB Run
September '13 CFB Run
hopefully ill make the next one
