On August 9th, my family and I went to visit a orphanage called Thanh Tam House in the outskirts of Hanoi.

We woke up at 6:00am to get ready to leave for the small orphanage at 8:00am. 

We went with a young woman named Yen Pham who has been going to that orphanage for years now.

On the way, we stopped by a market to buy oil, rice, and milk for the children. Just basic things for daily food. 

When we arrived, we met the main caretaker, Dhao, who takes care of the 20 kids at the first part of the orphanage all by herself. Most of them were disabled and left because their parents had died or couldn't be responsible for them. 

The kids were really excited to see us! And they all loved the clothes and food supplies we shared. 

We then went to the second part of the orphanage. While they weren't disabled, all of their parents had died early on leaving them without any family members except their orphanage family. 

We met one bright and cheerful girl named Hien who doesn't have any hands and has handicapped feet but draws stunning portraits of her friends all with her feet. That was really amazing to watch!

That wrapped up our trip to the orphanage, but before we could leave, one girl who was left by her mother in the orphanage escaped, crying and saying that she wanted to see her mother. 

We eventually found her on a road about a mile from the orphanage by a stretch of rice fields. She'd walked all that way in the heat and humidity to find her mother and it broke my heart. 

But, it reminded me that I was born incredibly blessed. Blessed to have a mother and a father and blessed to have the opportunity to help others who aren't so lucky.  

Our trip to the orphanage, Thanh Tam House