Témoignage et lettre de soutien

Dear friends,

In reflecting on my parents and our family, I am struck by how eventful their lives were, being part of the tormented history of the last century in Vietnam and in the world. They knew tragedy, utter poverty and misery; struggles and defeats, passions, triumphs and great successes--sometimes repeated in successive cycles. However, in their darkest days, when the picture around them was one of selfishness, fear and deceit, they were touched by some act of kindness, sometimes unexpected, and sometimes from total strangers.

Remembering the helping hands that touched my family, I want to be a part of the circle for “nối vòng tay lớn”, the SVP motto.

I support and respect the SVP approach for helping former Yersiniens in need.
The people who need help, or ask for help, all have different difficulties. Sometimes, their troubles may arise from the lifestyle they fell into, which lifestyle we may not consider advisable. Others may have a sincere but exaggerated view of their needs. Therefore, we need to be careful not to overlook others who have greater needs, but are too proud or sensitive to ask for help.

I like the approach followed by SVP, which I understand to include:

1. In the case of a person needing medical care, sending immediately that person to the doctor affiliated with SVP, who can also arrange for hospital care. Also, sending that person medicine obtained as free samples by SVP supporters.

2. In the longer term, investigating the circumstances of the person and family to determine the extent and nature of assistance to be given by SVP. The assistance may be in the form of money for school tuition for the children of that person.

All this is done by SVP while respecting the privacy of the person being helped, because the facts of the case are known only to SVP operators. SVP can act quickly thanks to the presence of SVP people in Vietnam. And SVP aims to give sustained help, which is more effective than a one-time gift.

I have a lot of respect for the handful of people who run the SVP operations. I choose to contribute to SVP because I want my donation to be well spent, on the people who deserve most to be helped, and in a manner that builds up their prospects for the future.
If you would like to extend a helping hand to former Yersiniens in Vietnam, I encourage you to contribute to SVP.
See the SVP blog at http://svpetmerci.blogspot.com/

With warm regards,

Tran Le-Nhung McLeland (Yersin promotion 66-67)