Homes lacking three essential elements (no food, no shelter, no water, no water, no salt, no water ...

A typical day for Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong, Director of the Hoa Hao Social Assistance Center (in Nhon Trach commune), along with her husband and other workers, begins at 4:00 AM. They start their day by checking the health status and assisting the elderly with personal hygiene... Meanwhile, another group prepares breakfast for the 80 elderly people being cared for there; the remaining group cleans the facility grounds.

Children are cared for at the Xuan Tam Orphanage Social Welfare Facility (Xuan Loc commune), under the Xuan Loc Diocese. Photo: Van Truyen.

Thanks to the efforts of unpaid workers at social welfare facilities like Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong, many orphans, the elderly, and disabled people who are homeless and without support have recently found the warmth of a family and received care both materially and spiritually.

"Three no's" but always full of love.

Dong Nai province currently has 21 social welfare facilities caring for 1,400 individuals. Of these, 2 are public facilities, 1 operates on a fee-based model, and the rest are mostly private facilities licensed by the State and run by religious organizations. These social welfare facilities adhere to the "three no's" principle: providing a common home for those without a source of support in the community; workers do not receive wages; and those receiving care do not have to pay any fees.

But it is these "three no's" shelters that have provided homes for orphans and given them opportunities to study and seek a future; while the elderly and disabled are cared for, provided with food and shelter, given medical treatment when ill, and given a proper burial when they pass away.

Depending on their facilities and operating budget, each of these non-governmental social welfare centers is caring for between 7 and over 200 homeless individuals, such as: Minh Tran Shelter Social Welfare Center (Minh Tran Pagoda, Minh Hung Ward) is caring for 47 orphaned children and elderly people with illnesses who have no one to rely on; An Vu Shelter Social Assistance Center (Dong Tam Commune) is caring for and raising 50 orphaned children; Hoa Sen Trang Private Social Welfare Center (Buu Son Pagoda, Dinh Quan Commune) is caring for and raising 40 children and 28 elderly people with disabilities; Thien Binh Orphanage Social Welfare Center (belonging to Xuan Loc Bishopric, Tam Phuoc Ward) is caring for 176 orphaned children; Lang Tre Humanitarian Center (Xuan Que Commune) is caring for 230 children, elderly people, and people with disabilities…

According to Sister Tran Thi Kim Huong, Director of the Suoi Tien Charitable Elderly Care Center (Bau Ham commune), eight nuns are currently caring for 120 elderly women there. This social welfare center does not discriminate based on religion when accepting poor people or those without husbands or children for care.

TTT, a child being cared for at the Hoa Sen Trang (White Lotus) private social welfare facility, said: "Here, I am cared for and provided with food and education (I am in 9th grade). I and the other children at the facility follow the advice of the nuns and monks at the temple, trying our best to go to school. After school, we take care of each other, and depending on our abilities, we help look after the younger children and assist the adults with cleaning the living space..."

From 2022 to the present, through the coordination of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Dong Nai province, the Management Board of That Phu Ancient Temple in Bien Hoa, and the Bien Hoa Chinese Liaison Committee have maintained a collaborative program to implement social welfare work in Dong Nai province. Through this program, each quarter, the parties provide support to three social welfare facilities, with each facility receiving between 10-20 million VND, 300-600 kg of rice, and some instant noodles, fresh milk, and fresh fruit.

Sharing with community homes

Currently, the care of orphaned children, elderly people, and disabled individuals without a place to live continues to be provided by non-governmental welfare facilities licensed by the State, in accordance with regulations. The common aspiration of these facilities is to contribute to charitable and humanitarian work within society. The increasing number of people cared for means a greater workload for the staff at these facilities, and consequently, higher daily living expenses.

To date, the An Vu Shelter (Dong Tam commune), a non-governmental social assistance facility, is caring for and raising 50 children, but only has 3 main staff members who handle a long workload from morning to night.

According to Mr. Van Kiem, Deputy Director of the An Vu Shelter, a non-governmental social assistance facility, although each caregiver has to look after an average of 16 children, the facility cannot refuse those homeless individuals who seek their help.

Father Nguyen Manh Cuong, Dean of Tan Mai Deanery, Parish Priest of Tan Mai Parish, Director of Caritas Xuan Loc Social Welfare, and Director of Thien Binh Orphanage, said: The facility is currently caring for nearly 180 children and is ready to accept more unfortunate cases. During this process, the local authorities have provided support in carrying out procedures related to adopting abandoned children and obtaining personal identification documents for them. The facility hopes to continue receiving support and facilitation from the local authorities in carrying out administrative procedures related to social welfare work. Along with that, the community is showing more concern for non-governmental social welfare facilities, not only materially but also spiritually, by organizing recreational activities and life skills education for the children.

According to Pham Thi Mai Huong, Deputy Director of the Dong Nai Provincial Department of Health , the activities of non-governmental social welfare facilities licensed by the State have contributed to fostering compassion in the community, creating homes for the less fortunate, and simultaneously contributing to alleviating the burden on the state budget in implementing social security work. To help these facilities effectively fulfill their roles and functions as prescribed, the province will continue to effectively implement social welfare and child protection work in the 2026-2030 period, focusing on coordinating the full implementation of programs, plans, regulations, and policies on child protection. It will also effectively perform its state management function regarding social welfare and child protection. Furthermore, it will coordinate with relevant departments, agencies, and the People's Committees of communes and wards to guide non-governmental social welfare facilities in effectively receiving, managing, and caring for beneficiaries. Continue to call for investment in building a diverse system of non-public social welfare facilities and nursing homes with good service quality to reduce pressure on the state budget and meet the increasing healthcare needs of the elderly and vulnerable groups in the context of an aging population…

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Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/202601/nhung-mai-am-3-khong-0d1252d/