It was a charity trip we did in the winter of early 2025, to the impoverished village of Seo Mi Ty, 20 kilometers away from Sapa town. The cold was so intense that I had to wear two layers of pants, three layers of shirts, high boots, gloves, and a thick wool hat, yet I was still shivering. So I was astonished to see little children, just 2–3 years old, dressed in thin, dirty sweaters, without pants, running barefoot with tin cans, old tires, and improvised toys.
I asked one of the children’s fathers, "Don’t they feel cold?"
He replied, "Oh, if they felt cold, all the buffaloes and cows would have died long ago."
Though I knew the children were accustomed to the harsh conditions of the area, I couldn’t help but feel heartbroken when I saw their small, cracked, bleeding feet. I always wished I could do something to help them, even just a small gesture, something meaningful, so I could feel that my life held some purpose. I wanted the children to have warm blankets to get through the freezing winter nights.
To buy as many blankets as possible, our group decided to call on everyone to join hands in support. We had never done this before, and I was a bit anxious, unsure if we could pull it off. But then I remembered a saying I’d heard somewhere: “You may not see the whole staircase, but you need to take the first step.”
So we began:
We contacted the village officials to get a list of the number of children.
We searched for wholesale blanket suppliers and explained that we were buying blankets as gifts for children in a poor village, asking them to offer the lowest possible price. The cheaper the blankets, the more we could buy for the children. I found the most affordable shop with good-quality blankets. The shop owner, a kind-hearted young woman, even donated three additional blankets and thanked us for giving her the chance to contribute to a good cause.
Fortunately, my friends and those around me were very generous. Each person contributed a little, and the amount we raised exceeded my expectations. With the extra funds, I was able to buy each child not only a warm blanket but also a set of winter clothes and boots to protect their little feet from cracking and bleeding.
Of course, I knew our budget wasn’t enough to buy everything for all the children, especially with additional costs like transportation. But thinking about the poor kids having warm clothes gave me the motivation to push forward. After a group discussion, we decided to buy everything needed, even if it meant covering the shortfall ourselves, knowing we might have to tighten our belts the following month.
Once we had purchased all the gifts and summarized our expenses, our team encouraged everyone to contribute one more time. Thankfully, more kind-hearted people sent money to our account, and I didn’t end up going hungry the next month after all.
The result was beyond our expectations. Seeing the villagers eagerly come to collect their warm blankets and the innocent, bright smiles of the children playing in their brand-new clothes brought immense warmth and happiness to our team.
Now, as I sit amid the busyness of life, writing these reflections and thinking about that day and those moments, I feel so warm inside, as if I’m wrapped in one of the blankets we gave to the children.
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