Tet (lunar new year) begins on Feb 10. As with the last year and years before, my wife and I try to send as much money as we can to buy food and otherwise assist as many poor Vietnamese as we can. We send money to one of my wife's best friends. She puts together food bundles (10 kg bag of rice, ingredients to make broth, oil, fish sauce, meat, etc.) Each bundle is enough to feed a family of two or three for a month.
Last year was frustrating, as the amount of money we sent attracted the attention of the communist party official (mob boss). Lan's friend's house was stacked floor to ceiling with supplies like a warehouse. The politician stole about half of the food we bought. That was the cost of not sending our friend to jail for feeding the hungry. Any excuse to steal will do.
This time around we started sending back money earlier in smaller increments. (Lan's friend and her two daughters work at a grocery store, and they are able to buy food wholesale, stretching our donations further.) And the food distribution was started sooner and is ongoing at a modest pace to try to not attract attention. Dozens of food bundles have already been distributed with the help of other friends who work for the VN version of Uber. So far, this has gone unnoticed by the political thieves. Hundreds of desperately poor families are being helped.
My wife is also working with a restaurant in Saigon on an ongoing basis to provide free meals. It's nothing fancy - basic soup and rice dishes. I'm not sure how long this venture will last; I'm expecting it to fall victim of a shake down any day. But, our friends are in the neighborhood and keep us informed. It seems to be under the radar at the moment. So far, so good.
Last year was frustrating, as the amount of money we sent attracted the attention of the communist party official (mob boss). Lan's friend's house was stacked floor to ceiling with supplies like a warehouse. The politician stole about half of the food we bought. That was the cost of not sending our friend to jail for feeding the hungry. Any excuse to steal will do.
This time around we started sending back money earlier in smaller increments. (Lan's friend and her two daughters work at a grocery store, and they are able to buy food wholesale, stretching our donations further.) And the food distribution was started sooner and is ongoing at a modest pace to try to not attract attention. Dozens of food bundles have already been distributed with the help of other friends who work for the VN version of Uber. So far, this has gone unnoticed by the political thieves. Hundreds of desperately poor families are being helped.
My wife is also working with a restaurant in Saigon on an ongoing basis to provide free meals. It's nothing fancy - basic soup and rice dishes. I'm not sure how long this venture will last; I'm expecting it to fall victim of a shake down any day. But, our friends are in the neighborhood and keep us informed. It seems to be under the radar at the moment. So far, so good.
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