by Richard Fisher

I was asking around here about an orphanage in the Vietnam central highlands as I wanted to give back in a small way to this wonderful country. I visited several Vietnam Orphanages and they were doing very well. Then for Thanksgiving Dinner I was blessed to help sponsor a Vietnam Countryside Orphanage 2013. It was a wonderful and very well organized place, as much as Vietnam is today. It was a great pleasure to contribute to them, a successful and homegrown real countryside people orphanage. 

 
 
Good news now, I am sending along photos of these beautiful children in clean and well run Vietnam 
countryside orphanage for the Cho Hill tribe people for your holliday season pleasure. 

 
 

Vietnam Orphans of the Cho mountain minority hill people Vietnam.

Thanksgiving Dinner cost all of $100.00 UDS food + $25.00 transportation for about 50 children and perhaps a half dozen staff.
I was thinking about how much my family used to spend for a dozen or so people in years before.

 
 
 

Little orphan girl will likely go on to college in Vietnam! 


Also thank you to my long time friends and wonderful cafe Goc Ha Thanh Restaurant owners,
the Thuy Quang family for making this heartfelt experience possible!

 

Orphanage Thanksgiving 5 Turkeys (really chickens), all the fixins with 100 lbs of rice and lunch time. 
If you know where we can find real  
turkeys for Christmas please let me know!
 

 

Orphanage bath and day rooms Vietnam.

If you would like to contribute to the Vietnam Countryside Orphanage Christmas Dinner please let me know.
Our target is $250.00 for about 100 people.  Please just respond to this email or web site!
 
Vietnam Orphanage bedroom and nap time for the smallest childern.

With best wishes to you and your family on Thanksgiving and Christmas 2013!

 

The Front Gate and garden of the countryside orphanage Vietnam. They earn money from selling some
coffee beans from their orchard but this year the prices are too low.
Like so much in Vietnam in 2013, this orphanage is done good and done right!

As 'Gus'  (Robert Duval) says in Larry McMurtry Lonesome Dove bood and movie.
"I know I'm a little rough in my ways and language" 
but I am sure you will forgive me...
on  this Christmas 2013 please?

 

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas 2013
to you and your family
from
Richard Fisher
And the Vietnam Countryside Orphanage


 
 

I am really in the Christmas spirit this year as I get to
cook Christmas Dinner for the orphans, my human family! And thanks 
to you support and my most excellent Vietnamese family of  friends.

 
 

Cooking communally Christmas dinner Vietnam Orphanage style!
So much fun I can tell you truly.

 
 

Ms. Van playing year
of the Tiger with the kids at the Orphanage!

 
 

Laying out the roast piglet and all the Fixins at the Vietnam 
Countryside Orphanage.
Great idea Ms. Gates! Thank you!!!

 
 

Ms. Sy giving free haircuts
for the orphans on Christmas.

 
 

All the happy orphans and students having max Christmas cheer 2013!

 
 

The Thuy Quang Family was the foundation of our success
At the Vietnam Countryside Orphanage!


 
 

This Vietnam Countryside Orphanage is
well done and done right!  What an inspiration!

 
 

WoW  picture perfect Christmas cheer!
And kid happyness at the 
Vietnam Countryside Orphanage.
We all say Merry Christmas to you and your family.


 
 

A vision of the  lovely future in 
her big beautiful orphan eyes! 
Her eyes are so translucent that I can see my
reflection in the original photo. 




 
 

ByBy until next year Thanksgiving and Christmas 
with God's Blessings! And thank you so much to the staff
of the Orphanage for sharing this wonderful experience
with all of us!!! You have a great place done well and well done!
All of God's Blessings for you and your children at the
Vietnam Countryside Orphanage! 

Thank you to:
The Maria Gates Foundation 
Erin and Len Paul 
Wilderness Expeditions Ltd
Thuy Quang Family
Ms. Bich Van
Ms. Sy
Mr. Tai
Ms. Thanh

and Now for the rest of the story...
I was looking and looking hard for some Christmas turkeys for the orphanage dinner. One of my Expat friends told me
I had a lot to learn as green "grasshopper." Which comes from the Kung Fu TV series of the 1970's where a
Kung Fu monk taught a very young boy how to balance and survive in the American wild west.  I guess 
the innuendo was that I had a lot to learn about living in the wilds of the Vietnamese central highlands. It is
a guy thing I suppose.  My point being I simply had no idea how to order the Turkeys at a fair price  and
my Vietnamese friends had no idea how to prepare a traditional American Christmas dinner.

Then another one of my American expat friends told be the March of Dimes story. 
Only 1 dime in 10 actually goes to the intended Charity.
He said the Vietnam kids "would never see a dime or a bite" of that Christmas Dinner

Then another on told me it was dangerous and to watch out for "trouble."
I gave both of them the Jeremiah Johnson answer,
"Trouble, What Trouble?"

Clearly I was looking in the wrong places for Christmas Cheer!
These guys are so funny, I mean so FUNNY! Perhaps they should just stay back in their
own home country where it is safe (?)  and 1 dime in 10 get's to the intended Charity?

So I turned 100% to my circle of Vietnamese "family" and friends.
We had max Christmas cheer I can tell you!
100%  of all the kids as well as volunteers were stuffed to the max and there were lot's of left over bites,
as there should be for Christmas dinner.


Anyway I never found any Christmas turkeys or cheer from the Americans living round about here 
but the sensational Ms. Gates suggested 
roast piglet, which I have never eaten before in my life, but such a great idea! And it was very tasty
and done well in Vietnam. Ms. Thuy ordered in turkey stuffing and Cranberry sause from 
Ho Chi Minh City and I picked up some marshmellows, New Zealand butter and brown sugar
from the brand new Mall & supermarket. 
We had roast piglet, sweet potatoes with brown sugar sauce and melted marshmallows,  white potatoes 
with rich creamy butter and gravy, turkey stuffing with cranberry sauce and steamed 
cabbage. No rice needed.
  To say in brief we had the best Christmas
dinner ever!

Much later in the day when I walking back to my spartan garret a very young girl gave me a Christmas greeting.
"Merry Photo" she said!
People here in Asia often wonder what I am doing.  Apparently even the lithe kids
round about my neighborhood know I am a photographer by now.

So take a lot of photo's this Christmas stick with the local natives and have happy memories for this
Christmas 2013!

So as the new 61 year old green "Grasshopper" I am in the mood to Learn now. Bring it on!!! 

BIG LOVE!
RICHARD