Ngo Thi Ha Linh

  Trip to SIMACAI Referring to Lao Cai, people are all very familiar with Sapa - the beautiful misty land. But few people know that, in the eastern mountainous side of Lao Cai province, there is an area named Simacai - Bac Ha, bringing in its pristine beauty with the typical culture of the Northwest. But no one thought that this poetic land would be so rough and so poor! Life here was still destitute either way with up to nearly 80% of the poverty rate ,... Because of living in such circumstances, students in Simacai were not eligible to study, live or enjoy life like their peers. They had to help their parents earn money during the best time of their school years. This winter was colder than ever. Despite the bitter cold weather, many children only had a few thin shirts on. Witnessing the impecuniosity of Simacai children, each of Simalody members could not contain our emotions when the children here had to endure the cold of winter, no warm blankets, no food to eat or the childre...

A charity trip I believe this is probably the longest time I have ever spent alone away from home. It was a long 3-day and 2-night trip with many fond memories with my friends in the Crochetville Project. D-1 We talked and bonded excitedly in a little car from 7 AM until the rest stopped at the Chiềng On border checkpoint. Here, we learned not only about the daily food of border guards but also about the decorative border between Vietnam and Laos. D-2 A long day in the car has passed. On day 2, we joined forces to donate a portion of the funds raised through the project to Co Tom Primary School, to assist the children in improving their facilities and constructing a library with the purpose of providing the children with an ideal learning environment. We also cooperated with Military Medical to organize health check-ups for people in Chieng On and consultations for households with pregnant or disadvantaged women. We then organized a fair properly to give clothes to people. Prepari...

A journey to Hà Nam Like many other journeys, we planned to leave at 7 a.m. in a tiny van for Ha Nam, a region in Vietnam's Red River Delta. On the way, we visited the writer Nam Cao's temple and heard about his genealogy as well as his life as a warrior, martyr, and journalist who devoted themselves to the August Revolution in Vietnam. Incensed at Nam Cao temple Learnt about genealogy and writer's life Nam Cao Temple One of Nam Cao's signature works is Chi Pheo, a renowned short tale about the tragedy of a poor farmer, partly re-enacting the period's unjust society. Nam Cao has affirmed his position via his work through his gifted writing and sophistication through a talented pen. I was especially impressed by the dialogue between the characters Chi Pheo and Ba Kien. Hence, after visiting Nam Cao temple, we were able to follow (the man in the image, whose name I don't know) to Ba Kien's house, where the famous short story by the writer took place. After a...