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

Devastating flooding in the central region of Vietnam during October and November 2020 prompted Miss Hall’s students from that country to launch a monthlong fundraising effort. Proceeds benefited the Sống Foundation, a Vietnamese nonprofit that helps build weather-resistant housing in areas frequently stricken by natural disasters.

At a Community Meeting in the fall of 2020, five students — Alice Ho ’23, Anna Ho ’22, Truc Hoang ’22, Linda Le ’21, and Phuong Vo ’21 — outlined the initiative. They also shared weekly infographics to update the community. The fundraiser, which was also supported by Hannie Truong ’22, Linh Tran ’21, Phuong Tran ’22, Kathleen Nguyen ’22, and Thi Nguyen ’22, continued 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 the fall of 2020, Vietnam was 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 were affected, with at least 260 people dead or missing and nearly 400,000 homes flooded, damaged, or destroyed.

The students’ fundraising, Linda noted, 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, 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: