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Dear friends, Oct / Nov / Dec 2022

It has been a special summer. Our desire was to help as many people as we could with our clean cooking stoves. Therefore, it was an adventure to reach the small villages far away in the mountains and also remote areas. The thousands of cookers were well received, and in this letter are some stories and pictures of these activities. Also included are images of the sponsors and their support. We hope you will enjoy our news and be encouraged.

Searching for help.
We usually work with a lot of women, but this time we were directed to find another way. The mobility was more complicated during the rainy season. Floods and landslides could make it nearly impossible to reach people in the mountains. So, we made an agreement with many young people to bring our cookers around. Their courage and mobility are different and fast. They came up with a crucial plan and organized key points to distribute our thousands of clean cookers.

New truck for transport.
We needed to purchase a new truck, capable of transporting 1,000 stoves during each trip. A few months ago, Luan and Tan had already received their driving licenses. The roads in the mountains are often covered with trees and mud due to heavy rainfall, landslides, and storms. We decided to reach the higher parts of the mountains before the rainy season. It was a real task, and on our way, we needed all of our driving skills. It was sometimes dangerous and risky. We came across unexpected objects on the road as well as deep and dangerous valleys. But thankfully, every time we reached the key points safely.

A wonderful gift.
The minorities were really poor! Receiving a clean cooker has become a wonderful gift for them. We worked well with the young people. We had already provided seminars for them, so they were able to demonstrate the cookers to the people too. After dropping the cookers, we visited the markets. Almost everything had the same very low price of $0.20 USD, so we bought lots of goods in order to support them. They were so thankful, and it was good for our staff to see that life in the mountains is often so different than in the city. These people deserve our help, and in the coming months we will continue to do so.

New workers.
We added more workers, not only in the factory but also for our office. Most of them are new workers. All together, we now have around 28 workers and staff. They often rotate their work assignment in order to avoid boring routines every day. It also helps them to be more skillful. Working safety needs to be considered carefully because of sharp materials, which have already caused some minor injuries. We delivered two fully loaded trucks of 1000 stoves each week until now, and we occasionally made other arrangements. We are all excited to help others and it also provides a stable job for our workers.

A very good second-hand machine.
We needed to upgrade our work to a new level. Some of our machines were designed several years ago. They are working well, but the machines have some limits. We got involved with an engineer who was once a student at the Danang Polytechnic. This engineer started his own factory and did not use one of his heavy machines anymore after he finished one of his projects. It was exactly the machine we needed. We made a deal and he transferred it to our factory. With his skilled and professional help, we are now using this machine for heavier work.

Helpful contributions.
Sometimes we receive different donations for our work. For years, several recycling agencies have been helping us with the profits of their shops. Another volunteer organization, gathering and selling waste wood for open fire stoves at homes, donated a part of their income. One member of a workgroup has been picking pears for two weeks, and others of the same workgroup have been selling popular syrup waffles. Also, Vietnamese folding cards, especially with boats, have been a well-received item for donations. We are so blessed with all their contributions.

Changing lives.
The FBT course is doing very well. It takes some effort to help people change their thinking and ways of doing things. But we are very glad when we see some good initiatives, like Mrs. Nhung who belongs to the Thai ethnic group. After graduating from the university of medicine and pharmacy, she married and settled in her husband's hometown, where very precious medicinal herbs grew. She also decided to attend the FBT seminar, and after the first seminar, she started a family business selling herbal tea products collected from her garden, local fields, and mountain areas. After the second seminar, she started marketing on the internet and sold very well. She became a pioneer in her small ethnic village and now has a big dream to grow.

A great model.
Mrs. Kim Duyen is Vietnamese and married a man who belonged to the Ca Dong minority. She had a passion for children and had been involved in all kinds of small projects. Her desire was also to teach the minority children, especially English. When she joined one of our FBT seminars, it changed her way of setting up classes, and after that, she opened her own English center. Her model became very popular, and during the third seminar she got a lot of questions when she had to protect her model. It was well received and she was rewarded for her positive and encouraging model.

Finally.
Please remember us during this rainy season. Delivering our clean cookers can be risky in the mountains, as we told you before. Mr. Bich and Phi have to travel a lot too in order to fulfill all requests for new FBT courses, often far away and sometimes high in the mountains. But it is a great reward to see all the smiles and developments in receiving the cookers and joining the courses. We are also thankful for all your love, interest, and support.

Greetings,

Green Impact team

Called to Serve

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