"Warm Winter Comes to the Highland Villages in 2019" – A Meaningful Gift for the People of the Northwestern Highlands.

After traveling over 400 kilometers, facing challenges in both terrain and transportation, the charity group from Keo Pagoda in Thai Binh arrived to assist the local people and children in Chieng Bom Commune, Thuan Chau District, Son La Province. This area, located 16 kilometers away from the center of Thuan Chau District, is part of a particularly disadvantaged commune in Region 3, where the majority of the population is from ethnic minority groups. The poverty rate in the commune is 59%, while the near-poverty rate is 24%.

The charity group is preparing to depart from Keo Pagoda in Thai Binh.

The charity trip was attended by Venerable Thich Thanh Quang, the abbot and head of the charity social department of Keo Pagoda in Thai Binh; Venerable Thich Minh Thinh; Mr. Ngo Xuan Thao, Chairman of the Red Cross Association of Vu Thu District; representatives of the Buddhist followers from the charity social department of Keo Pagoda, and volunteers.

On the local government side, the attendees included Mr. Lo Van Xuan, Chairman of the Red Cross Association of Thuan Chau District; Mr. Lo Van Toan, Chairman of the People's Committee of Chieng Bom Commune; representatives from the local departments and organizations of Chieng Bom Commune, along with a large number of local residents and representatives of the 100 households receiving gifts in the charity program.

The locals were eagerly preparing to receive the meaningful gifts.

"Warm Winter for the Villages" is one of the annual charity activities organized by the Social Charity Committee of Keo Pagoda in Thai Binh. Driven by the compassion spirit of Buddhism and the values of "mutual support" and "helping the less fortunate," as well as the desire to bring a fuller and warmer Lunar New Year to the people in the highland villages, the program "Warm Winter for the Villages 2019" delivered 100 meaningful gift packages to 100 underprivileged families in Chieng Bom Commune. The Social Charity Committee of Keo Pagoda gave each of the 100 families a gift worth over 500,000 VND, including: an envelope with 300,000 VND in cash, a warm blanket, and a New Year's gift (cooking oil, monosodium glutamate, sugar, and candies). The Red Cross Society of Vu Thu District also donated 5,000,000 VND to the Red Cross Society of Thuan Chau District and gifted each family with a set of cooking pots.

The gifts for the local people.

After distributing the charity gifts to the households, the members of the delegation encouraged and shared words of motivation with the local people, wishing them a speedy recovery in their lives, the ability to overcome poverty, and a warm and peaceful celebration of the upcoming Lunar New Year of the Pig (2019). On this occasion, the Red Cross Society of Thuan Chau District, local authorities of Chieng Bom Commune, and the local people sent their sincere gratitude to the esteemed monks, benefactors, and volunteers involved in the charitable trip.

Captured images:

Venerable Thich Thanh Quang, along with the Buddhist followers, preparing gifts to send to the local people.

Mr. Ngô Xuân Thảo and the volunteers are preparing the program.

The organizing committee is working diligently to quickly implement the program.

Venerable Thich Thanh Quang presented the gifts to the households.

Representatives of the households received the charitable gifts.

The joy of the locals  as they receive meaningful gifts.

The charity group takes a commemorative photo before leaving.