Vietnam Evangelical Covenant Church – In late 2022 and early 2023, the Community Development Ministry made trips to Trùng Khánh district, Cao Bằng province: giving Cao Bằng Christmas 2022 gifts to 50 households, Tết gifts to 30 households and students in the border area, and launching the “Join Hands to Build a Peace House” program to replace dilapidated homes.
See photos: all the photos of Christmas 2022 in Trùng Khánh on the Community Development Ministry fanpage
The “Join Hands to Build a Peace House” Program
In September 2022, the ministry invited the church to pray and give for the “Join Hands to Build a Peace House” project, helping poor ethnic minority households in Cao Bằng replace temporary and dilapidated homes. Cao Bằng is home to 28 ethnic groups, the largest being Tày, Nùng, Dao and Hmong. According to figures the ministry consulted, the province still has more than 28,000 poor households, of which more than 6,600 policy-beneficiary and poor households live in temporary or dilapidated houses.
The ministry set three levels of support: building a new prefabricated metal house for households unable to contribute (up to 55 million dong), building a new house for households able to contribute (up to 40 million dong) and repairing houses (up to 30 million dong). The project was inspired by God’s Word:
“Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.” (Proverbs 19:17)
Christmas 2022: 50 Gifts for the Elderly and People With Disabilities
On December 13, 2022, although the temperature was only about 7–8°C, the ministry and the Trùng Khánh District Fatherland Front Committee were in Đoài Dương and Đức Hồng communes from early morning. The recipients were elderly, lonely, disabled and unsupported Nùng people in the area.
Each gift included a bag of essentials (cooking oil, fish sauce, seasoning salt, cakes and milk) worth 200,000 dong and 300,000 dong in cash. The ministry’s representatives and the Vice Chair of the district Fatherland Front personally handed gifts to 50 households.
Some elderly people walked slowly, and some needed help climbing to the meeting hall on the second floor of the commune People’s Committee building. Weathered faces, shy at first, gradually broke into smiles. For the team, that joy came not only from the gifts but from the care and sharing both sides felt.
Breaking Ground on the First Peace House
On the same Christmas 2022 trip, the ministry and the Trùng Khánh District Fatherland Front began supporting the construction of a new home to replace a dilapidated house for an especially needy family of three generations in Đức Hồng commune. This was the first step of the Peace House program in Cao Bằng.
Tết 2023: Gifts for the Ngọc Chung Border Area
On New Year’s Day 2023, the ministry made another “Sharing Love” trip to Tày and Nùng people in Trùng Khánh. This time, besides the district Fatherland Front, the ministry partnered with the Border Guard Station and Ngọc Chung Primary School to give 20 gifts to especially needy households in the border commune and 10 gifts to students in special circumstances. Each gift was worth 500,000 dong: 200,000 dong in essentials and 300,000 dong in cash.
Tết is a time for family reunions, but for many poor, sick and vulnerable people, a well-provided Tết is still out of reach. So every year the ministry organizes simple, personal and practical “Sharing Love” programs, hoping no one is left behind.
Thanks and Prayer
The ministry sincerely thanks everyone who has kept, is keeping and will keep this flame of love burning. Please pray with us:
- For the elderly and people with disabilities in Đoài Dương, Đức Hồng and Ngọc Chung to be cared for and at peace.
- For the Peace House program to have enough resources to help more families.
- For the good partnership between the ministry and local authorities and organizations.
The Peace House program later expanded to Quảng Trị. Read more in Community Development and Church News. Contact the church office: 0942 248 688 (Zalo available).
