Pieces to Peace is an organization that works with the desire to help people with financial burdens have better opportunities in health and education. The organization annually organizes 3-4 trips to areas with particularly difficult circumstances to support families in difficult circumstances. In the past year, I had the opportunity to accompany the organization on two trips to: Muong Khuong – Lao Cai and Da Bac – Hoa Binh.

These are the pictures I took during my trip to Muong Khuong, Lao Cai province at the end of December last year. The trip allowed me to experience army life. I learned how to fold blankets and lived according to the soldiers’ schedule. It was a very new experience for me. Even though I only live one day according to the schedule, I still partly understand the lives of the soldiers. The next day, I had an activity to exchange and give gifts to students in difficult circumstances at Lo Su Thang primary and secondary school. Having a cultural exchange as well as being the program coordinator gave me many memorable emotions and meaningful moments. In the afternoon, we went to give support gifts to families in particularly difficult circumstances in Muong Khuong district. The road to reach households is very difficult due to divided terrain and limited traffic. We walked and went through the hills so we could visit and give gifts to the households. Indeed, the trip to Muong Khuong – Lao Cai became a truly meaningful and memorable trip for me.

In early March, I had the second opportunity to accompany the Pieces to Peace project on the journey to Da Bac District, Hoa Binh province. The trip lasted 2 days with many useful activities. On the first day, when we arrived in Da Bac district, my group and I went right to the school site to support the workers in the process of transporting and repaving the school yard. Although the work is hard and requires good physical strength, I have tried very hard to be able to help in some way during the completion process. After that, we had an exchange session with the students in a corner of the school yard to talk and have fun with them. At the same time, also here, we gave gifts of books and school supplies to the children. The next activity we experienced was learning to make handmade paper, we got to see how to do it and experience how to make the finished product. Perhaps, at that time, I really learned about the paper making process as well as saw the hard work of the craftsmen.

BAN COI, XUAN SON

“Bringing sunshine to Xuan Son forest” is a volunteer event conducted by PTP (Pieces to Peace) to support underprivileged students at Ban Coi Primary School in Xuan Son commune, Tan Son district, Phu Tho province.

We arrived in Ban Coi on a chilly late autumn day. It had been raining continuously for many days before, but on the day of our arrival, the warm sunrays began to shine. We truly gained more confidence as the weather seemed to support our program, bringing sunshine back to Xuân Sơn.

During this trip, we provided 20 encouragement gifts to the underprivileged students at Bản Cỏi Primary School and donated 100 million Vietnamese dong to renovate classrooms at the school, aiming to improve the learning conditions for the students.

Perhaps the journey to spread love is a path without a final destination. PTP hopes that every time our bus passes through an impoverished area, there will be individuals whose lives are uplifted, contributing to making society a better place.