The purpose of our annual mission trips is to reach out our hands to the less fortunate in underprivileged areas. For the summer of 2012, we use the fundraising amount of $11,450 to help people in need in five different places in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Our first destination is the Ung Buou Hospital in Saigon City, Vietnam. This hospital mainly admits people who are diagnosed with tumor or cancer. We hand out envelopes that contain Vietnamese cash, which is equivalent to $25, to patients who are in need of undergoing treatment to save their lives. With a total amount of $1500, we are able to help out 600 patients. While we are there, we notice that this hospital is very overpopulated, so several patients have to share the same bed. Some patients even have to stay under the bed or sleep in the hallway just to receive hospital care. We hope that these patients will continue to endure the situation and continue to fight their sickness.

On the next day, we visit the Blind Association in Bien Hoa City, Vietnam. These 81 unfortunate individuals come together to support each other and to receive minimal help from the government. Not only are they blind, some of them are handicapped and have no hands. After the greeting, we give out pre-packed gift bags. Each bag consists of the essential of everyday use, such as rice, sugar, cooking oil, blanket and mosquito net. We hope that these gifts can bring some joy in the dark lives of these individuals.

Our next destination is Blind Association in Vung Tau City, Vietnam. There are 120 blind people in the organization, and they gather at Hung Hoa Temple to pray together. We come to the temple to meet them and also hand out 120 pre-packed gift bags similar to before.

Before we are done for the day, our group is introduced to an orphanage at Tu An Temple in Vung Tau City. There are 160 kids who have no parents and are currently under the care of the generous nun who run this temple. We are very glad to find this place and plan to come back on future mission trip to provide more support for these unfortunate children.

After 4 days in Vietnam, we leave for Cambodia. We first visit Ta Chi Village in Koompong Snag City. The 160 families in this village suffer from natural disaster every year. During the raining season, their houses are flooded, and they have to live on the roof and wait for the water to leave. They use the dirty local river water for drinking, cooking and bathing. After learning about their difficult living situation, we prepare gift bags like before and donate $800 to build 2 drinking wells for their village.

Our last destination for this mission trip is the New Hope for Cambodian Children in Kompong Speu Province, Cambodia. The NHCC provides education, shelter, meals and health care for children with HIV/AIDS. During the drive to their place, our group buys candies, crackers, chips, and milks for the 260 children at the NHCC. We also donate $1000 to help provide for their living expenses.

We hope that these donations on these mission trips will alleviate some of the unimaginable hardships that these unfortunate people have to go through to survive. More importantly, we hope that our action and thought will encourage them to persevere and continue to overcome their obstacles in everyday life.