Half a world away, MHS students keep contributing to the common good.

Devastating flooding in the central region of Vietnam has prompted Miss Hall’s students from that country to launch a monthlong fundraising effort. Proceeds will benefit the Sống Foundation, a Vietnamese nonprofit that helps build weather-resistant housing in areas frequently stricken by natural disasters.

At a recent Community Meeting, five students — Alice Ho ’23, Anna Ho ’22, Truc Hoang ’22, Linda Le ’21, and Phuong Vo ’21 — outlined the initiative, and students have been updating the community weekly with infographics. The fundraiser, which is also supported by Hannie Truong ’22, Linh Tran ’21, Phuong Tran ’22, Kathleen Nguyen ’22, and Thi Nguyen ’22, continues through December 14.

“There are many things happening around the world this year,” Alice said, “and while we are moving on with daily life and witnessing what’s happening to our local communities, we do not want to ignore what’s happening in the world.”

Truc explained that in recent months, Vietnam has been hit with five major storms, including two of the biggest to hit the peninsula in the past twenty years. In all, more than 7.7 million people have been affected, with at least 260 people dead or missing and nearly 400,000 homes flooded, damaged, or destroyed.

The students’ fundraising, Linda noted, is focused on the foundation’s Nha Chong Lu project, which is implementing geographically specific and engineered designs that have proven effective.

“Most of us do not live in affected areas,” Phuong added. “However, my home was flooded two weeks ago, and there was a power outage in Thi ’22’s city….and we’re some of the more fortunate ones.”

Thi share's her story: