Against The Grain’s latest orphanage expedition at the end of 2014 took our team, led by Against The Grain co-founder Aileen Nguyen, to Quan Chau, which provides a home for about 120 orphans, many of whom are babies aged two to six months.

As part of the Program “Giúp Em Đến Trường” (Help You Get to School) ATG also provided 90 brand new bicycles to student orphans from disadvantaged families in Da Nang and its surburbs and Hue (Huong Thuy and Phu Vang Districts). Though living under extremely difficult living conditions, these students have worked hard to earn exemplary academic status. Without bicycles, the students had to walk hours to and from school and sometimes to the market to help earn a living. Some students had to spend almost two hours to walk from their home near the mountains to their school under the bitter cold or burning hot weather of Hue City.

ATG also distributed gifts, including think winter jackets and a month’s supply of milk for each child, to help about 250 orphans from extremely disadvantaged families battle the bitter cold weather of Hue.  Our team worked with the local Red Cross, the Association of Study Encouragement (Há»™i Khuyến Hoc) and the local Hue School Board to identify these children.

We are so proud of these children and are excited to have been able to provide them not only the things they need to live, work and study but also the encouragement to strive for success. Many thanks to all of our wonderful ATG supporters for helping to make this happen!