For Christmas, Caritas Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City’s old name) organised
special celebrations for thousands of children in need who live at the
city’s pastoral centre.Based on the theme ‘Come to love’, 453 social workers celebrated the birth of Jesus with some 3,000 children.
"On Christmas Day, we served 125 children with severe disabilities, 485 deaf children, 265 deaf children and more than 2,000 housed by the diocese,” said Sister Anna, who works at the religious centre. “We were helped by social services volunteers, teachers and nuns who have worked with these children for years."
The centre, which has small shops selling products made by children, has become over time an important place where children can exchange work experience and acquire new skills.
"We have set up 33 food stalls, 10 toys stalls and 10 for other items," said Hung, a member of the local Caritas.
The Ho Chi Minh City pastoral centre takes in children from all religious backgrounds and educates children with disabilities. For Christmas celebrations, it received the support from Vietnamese corporate sponsors, such as Ánh Hồng, Long Kim and the Mina Company.
On Christmas Day, some volunteers in the field of environmental protection joined the social workers. One of them is a member of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary.
"We are part of a project for environmental protection,” he told AsiaNews. “We collected, recorded, and classified hundreds of kilos of waste. Through this activity we finance activities for disabled children.”
“In Ho Chi Minh City, there are tens of thousands of unfortunate kids who have nothing to eat. We help them both physically and psychologically."