The Tsunami Victim Relief Effort

On the afternoon of New Year’s Day, January 1, 2005, a large group of El Monte Vietnamese Church youth, un-
der the direction of Pastor Vinh Nguyen, went to the Vien Dong Super Food Warehouse in the San Gabriel Valley, CA area to raise money for the 150,000+ people affected by the Tsunami disaster in South Asia.
The youth brought attention to the Tsunami crisis by group singing, folk dance performances, appeals, and by projecting images of the disaster in the areas around Thailand, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.
The earnest zeal of the young people to help their fellow brothers and sisters, and the images of destruction and desperation of those left behind, emotionally moved the store customers. Although very young in age, the youth group determined to set aside their New Year’s Day afternoon to sing, dance and make appeals to help in the relief effort. Many people felt impressed to donate to this worthy project after seeing the enthusiasm of these Vietnamese young people.
It was wonderful to see the youth volunteer to help those less fortunate than themselves. Their efforts also brought attention and interest to the El Monte Vietnamese Church. Onlookers were impressed at how much the Vietnamese church cared about others in need. All those involved felt blessed to be able to help in some way. Various people recalled how the Vietnamese church hosts the Annnual Health Fair, Health Seminars, and other activities to benefit the community. Store owners and customers alike donated and supported the young people.
In one short Saturday afternoon, the youth raised $1,029 to donate to the Tsunami Crisis Fund. Combined with donations given at church, the total funds raised by the El Monte Vietnamese Church for the Tsunami Crisis was over $3,000. The Vietnamese church as a whole is thankful to be able to help those devasted by the Tsunami crisis and look forward to more opportunities in the future to help those in need.
Cynthia Ly Lan Nguyen