Over 1 year of official operation, OneLife Vietnam spent nearly 5 billion vnđ on activities of charitable voluntariness. In addition, the Board of Volunteers also received the contributions and supports from OneLife members in Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and the United Kingdom. This is an activity towards values of the human culture, contributing to accelerate local economic development, enriching the country.
Project of 1000 bridges on all-over country
OneLife Club in Vietnam currently has more than 100,000 members. Remembering in the past, independent members organized some social activities, benefiting the community, but in a latest year, since the establishment of Volunteer Board, the programs have been implemented regularly with daily bigger scale and more methodically professional.
In 2018, OneLife deployed the project “1000 bridges on all-over country”, estimated to endure until 2020. Up to now, the project carried-out the 16th bridge, spread all over provinces like Ben Tre, Phu Yen, Dong Thap, Kien Giang, Thanh Hoa, … Each bridge ranged between 100 and 350 million vnđ, in which the 3rd bridge in An Dinh commune, Tuy An district, Tuy Hoa city, Phu Yen worth VNĐ 350 million.
OneLife members are present throughout the country, so they just are the long-reached arms to look for, to understand the real condition of each locality, who also connect to propose a bridge site to Volunteer Board. When receiving the information, 10 key members of Volunteer Board immediately updated the necessary information, surveyed and discussed with local authorities on the construction time and prices toward execution as soon as possible.
Ms Tran Thi Thu Huong – Head of Volunteer Board said : There are many voluntary activities that need to be implemented and spread but we always prioritize the bridge construction project. Main reason is to make easier the popular circulation, farmers’ convenient cultivation, especially to help rural students who don’t have to cross the river or canal by trembled, creaked “monkey bridges” or by unsafe sampan every day, … It is very dangerous for them to the class whenever. The places where existed the “1000 bridge project” are the motivation for volunteers to continue their angelic missions.
Mr. Do Van Khuyen, living near the 5th bridge on hamlet An Ninh A, Thuan An, Thanh Phu, Ben Tre, was happy like a child on the first day of school, in trousers, white shirt, sincerely say : “I don’t know what to say, I wish OneLife Club to live a hundred years old, … This Club makes for our commune two bridges and a 500m long road, hereby gives us the big happiness. When no bridge, our kids went extremely difficult to school, they fell down permanently because the slide road and small bridge without balcony … I had to rescue them, sometimes the drunks, so to drag their bikes … now our children pass the bridge, safely and speedly. More happy that the farmers here, in past, very hard to move the shrimps and fruit after cultivation to outside, now they go soaring, no more low pricing by intermediate traders, life is improved too much”…
A bumper year of love
At the Group’s international events, we presented our activity ideas, then received a lot of positive feedback and supports from a large number of international friends. In the name of OneLife member community in Vietnam, I sincerely thank the Worldwide OneLife community… And this is most memorable one of the OneLife VN 1000 bridge stories : When we invited a Singaporian OneLife member Terence and his team to the work inauguration of Tan Loc Bac bridge on Thoi Binh district, Ca Mau, and this is a bridge sponsored by them.
Although many times on Vietnam, but this first time he came to Ca Mau rivers region, also the first time in his life he stood on a sponge tied by four plastic barrels and held a rope connected both riversides across a wide river where the children came every day to school and back home. When he just passed the river, I asked if he was interesting ? His face changed with the emotion impossibly expressed in words… He said : “Never happy, but surprise why could the children laugh and acclaim when standing on this sponge sheet every day across the river to school… I can’t imagine !… because it’s too dangerous, … I don’t know how to say… I only know that i have to thank Mr Simon for offering me the opportunity to contribute to the bridges building, to help children to go to school safer, … OneLife Vietnam friends are really great, You do the meaningful things, just like the occasional value of OneLife for humanity, I really appreciate you”.
Not only the organization of bridge building, the volunteer board also cooperated with local authorities to search and offer many valuable scholarships to poor children who overcame difficulties to study well. Latest time, the delegation of 30 members present in Sa Pa (Lao Cai) gave scholarships to 29 children. Each scholarship valued 6 million VND per year and endured until the children finish class 12 of high school 3rd grade. Previously, the delegation awarded scholarships to 31 children in Binh Duong province.
Parallelly, the volunteer board permanently arranged the gratuitous meals to patients in hospitals, offered the gifts and necessities to the poor. In Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, OneLife Vietnam volunteer board supports 70 children in a charitable shelter, builds 22 pitiful houses in Ca Mau, Yen Bai provinces..etc. for families in disadvantaged circumstances with each house value as 50 million VND.
Asked about difficulties in the implementation way, Ms Huong say : it is very difficult, but we try to turn it into power. The smiles or tears of happiness of the poor receivers are the inner strength for us to determine this work … but still have to say that’s difficult sometimes because of plenty demands from everywhere higher than our contribution, because of so many topics dispatched from everywhere, but anyhow, we have to make priorly the most appropriate and necessary requests when many other overwhelmed nominations are waiting in a queue for … And we’re trying to exhort more supports from the global OneLife community and/or other resources in order to complete soon the 1000 bridges project.
Simon Le Quoc Hung, founder of this volunteer club, is busy with the OneLife serial events in worldwide, we only have a few dozen minutes to talk with him by phone because he is on overseas business trip for OneLife’s work.
Plenty difficulties and obstacles on the way we are going… but our goal of 1000 bridges for people throughout country to be determined to do at any costs and no step back. Each one’s hand, each one’s effort, will help a lot of people in difficult life, contributing to change the country face, to build a civilized and prosperous society. We have tried and now trying to appeal the collaboration of the global OneLife community, to accelerate our OneLife voluntary project … The happiness is our realization journey !
In that journey, the OneLife volunteer board couldn’t count how many places to come, how many unhappy lives were shared and got a gifts. The journeys are not always going well and easy, they thence encounter many difficulties such as bad weather, steep roads, mountain pass, deserted villages..etc. but it seems their charitable hearts push them overcoming all. And right from the emotional eyes, the grateful smiles of the local people and the children, they have the continuous motivation for the sharing love journey.
Witnessing the unfortunate lives but still full of faith, potential energy and strong will, everybody right away appreciate and love more the life. Through the photos and videos recorded by volunteer board after each voluntary trip, OneLife members in particular and all sponsors in general, more and more understand, sympathize and join hands for the further cooperation. The OneLife Club volunteer board has become the angels to light up the humanitarian fire in the hearts of thousands of people all over Vietnam.
Each bridge was built not only to meet the needs of local infrastructure & transportation improvement, to overcome difficulties in circulation between two riversides for everybody, but also to encourage the people and children trying to make their lives better.
Minh Tuyet
