Au Lac

The Boundless Ocean of Love
Supreme Master Ching Hai’s Contributions
to Charitable Organizations

As a spiritual teacher and humanitarian, Supreme Master Ching Hai always applies what She teaches through Her actions.

We have to do good things in this world, not because we will have a good result or good karma. That is only for children, for the beginning, for the beginner of practice. Then they still need awards, merit, punishment, all these praises and blame. But as we go along in a higher dimension, in a higher level of consciousness, we forget all this. We do whatever will benefit other people and whatever is righteous according to our conscience, not to expect anything at all in return …

You keep the Precepts and you do good things because it is the only way to be a human, if you want to be a worthy human being, and moreover, if you want to step beyond human life to become a saintly being, beneficial to the whole universe. That is the meaning of being a righteous person. That’s the purpose -- the only purpose.

Thus, seeing the desperate and heartbreaking needs of the impoverished adults and disadvantaged children in Au Lac, Supreme Master Ching Hai lovingly contributed US$65,000 in financial assistance to six non-profit organizations whose aims are to improve and enhance the lives of these individuals. These non-profit organizations are the Blind Vietnamese Children’s Foundation, Giving It Back to Kids, Humanitarian Services for Children of Vietnam, Prosthetics Outreach Foundation, Viet Nam Children’s Assistance Program and Vietnam Relief Effort.

Letters of appreciation to Supreme Master Ching Hai from Blind Vietnamese Children’s Foundation, Giving It Back to Kids, Humanitarian Services for Children of Vietnam, Prosthetics Outreach Foundation, Viet Nam Children’s Assistance Program and Vietnam Relief Effort.

Established in 2000, the Blind Vietnamese Children’s Foundation assists and funds many facilities dedicated to the health and welfare of visually impaired children. The Foundation provides funding for food, medicine, educational materials, equipment, facility improvements and staff salaries. Many of the facilities have become homes for children who have been orphaned or abandoned, and the Foundation also provides funding to keep them going.

From Right to Left: Our Association member interviews Father Thuan Hoang (President of the Blind Vietnamese Children Foundation), Mr. Joseph Murphy (Advisor of BVCF), and Ms. Desta White, (Advisor of BVCF).

Father Thuan Hoang, priest at the Visitation Church in San Francisco as well as President of the Blind Vietnamese Children’s Foundation expressed his gratitude towards Supreme Master Ching Hai: “First, I’d like to thank You very much for the work of the Master, Supreme Master Ching Hai. Please send my love to Her, and I will keep Her in my prayers for all the work She’s done. And I wish the best for all the people on Your mission to help people in this world…Master, I thank You very, very much for the check of US$10,000 here to help the foundation in service of the blind children in Au Lac. May God keep You in good health, peace, and joy.”

Ms. Desta White, Advisor of Blind Vietnamese Children’s Foundation, also shared her appreciation for the contribution: “Supreme Master Ching Hai, we are very gratified that You have turned Your focus to our foundation, which is at this point in time small but is expanding. We hope to follow in Your charitable footsteps, to look out for those who are less fortunate than us and to give them the things that will help in their needs. And so we thank You as an example. And we also thank You as someone who has come to our help and aid in our foundation. Thank You very much.”

Mr. Joseph Murphy, Advisor of the Blind Vietnamese Children’s Foundation shared, “Thank You for the good work that You do, and I congratulate You on some wonderful artistic and humanitarian work that You’ve produced. For the first time today, I saw the artwork and jewelry and the fashions that You have designed. I appreciate the fact that You do in some way respect and promote the idea of meditation, which I think is something very essential to the human spirit; and we will continue to pray for Your work and we are very grateful for all the support that You are giving us.”

Our Association member presenting Supreme Master Ching Hai’s contribution of US$10,000 to Robert Kalatschan (middle), President & Founder of Giving It Back To Kids, with his wife (right), Dorothea and adopted children.

The second foundation, Giving it Back to Kids, founded by Robert and Dorothea Kalatschan in 2002, has helped built homes for impoverished families in Au Lac. It also provides badly needed medical-related items, such as crutches, wheelchairs and heart surgeries, and at the same time builds kindergartens in remote areas and provides bicycles for children who live far away from schools. Giving It Back to Kids also provides access to nutrition, vitamins, and supplements for undernourished children in Au Lac.

During an interview with the television program A Journey Through Aesthetic Realms, Robert Kalatschan, President of Giving It Back to Kids shared, “I’ve been learning quickly that Supreme Master Ching Hai’s got quite a heart, quite a heart. She’s not really there to proselytize, and neither is our organization even though we have some strong Christian beliefs. She’s not looking to make people into Christians or Buddhists, or whatever. She’s there to help people and get to them to live their fullest in God, from what I understand.

“I want to thank Supreme Master, thank You for what You’ve done to help us to help the children in Au Lac. It can influence and impact children’s lives for generations, not just once, but for generations. I want to encourage Her to continue doing what She’s doing, and how impressed I am that She’s doing it out of Her own pocketbook. Thank You very much, on behalf of Giving it Back to Kids, and especially the children and the families from Au Lac.”

Dorothea Kalatschan also expressed her heartfelt gratitude toward Supreme Master Ching Hai’s generosity: “Supreme Master, I just want to thank You for the incredible opportunity that You’re providing for us to help these children. And I’m touched by Your generosity and certainly Your action. Robert came to me and asked me to send a packet off and when he told me that we would be receiving a grant for US$10,000, I thought, ‘We didn’t enter the Publisher Clearing House Sweepstakes!’ It was a kind of a surprise; it was a wonderful and unexpected gift and also a sign to us. I guess I’m always looking for a ‘sign,’ so thank You for providing yet another sign that we’re on the road that we should be on, in accordance with God’s plans. Thank You for the opportunity.”

From the left, “A Journey through Aesthetic Realms” hostess interviewing Mr. Chuck De Vet, the president and founder of Humanitarian Services for Children of Vietnam.

The third foundation that Supreme Master Ching Hai contributed to financially is Humanitarian Services for Children of Vietnam (HSCV).  Incorporated in September 2001, HSCV focuses mainly on serving orphans, homeless children and other children in need in Au Lac.  It provides children with food, shelter, clothing, health and education.  Usually the services are provided directly, or through local Aulacese children-based organizations addressing the same needs.

Chuck De Vet, the president and founder of HSCV, was moved by the contribution made by Supreme Master Ching Hai. “On behalf of our organization, and on behalf of the children in Au Lac, and all of our people who assist our organization, I’d like to thank Supreme Master for this US$10,000 donation. It’s hard to express how much good this money will do. It will save children’s lives; it will change people’s lives. It will change family’s lives. Money can go a long way in Au Lac. We will spend it very carefully and on the most dire needs of the children there.  It’s greatly appreciated.”

Mr. Winifred Danke (right), Executive Director of Prosthetics Outreach Foundation receives Supreme Master Ching Hai’s contribution of US$10,000, presented by our Association member.

Over the last 15 years, Prosthetics Outreach Foundation (POF), the fourth charity that Supreme Master Ching Hai recently assisted financially, has given mobility and independence to more than 13,000 children and adults. Its mission is to help amputees and other disadvantaged persons suffering from orthopedic disabilities. Currently, POF focuses its work mainly in developing countries such as Au Lac, Bangladesh and Sierra Leone.

Mr. Winifred Danke, Executive Director of Prosthetics Outreach Foundation, expressed, “First of all, I really want to thank Supreme Master for Her gift, and I understand it’s coming from Her personally which is even more astounding. We were very surprised when the call came and we heard that, ‘You are going to be receiving ten thousand dollars.’ It was really a delight, of course, to get that phone call. What we are going to do is we will use these funds to help men, women and children in Au Lac get the artificial limbs that they deserve. So we will use the program that we have developed, the outreach method, and we will bring care to over 30 individuals as the result of this gift. Thirty individuals will have chance to restart their lives because of this generosity.”

Similarly, Viet Nam Children Assistance Program (VNCAP) is a non-profit public charity whose aim is to help handicapped, homeless, orphaned and HIV/aids children and other special needs individuals lead successful lives as independent, self-supportive and productive citizens. To achieve this goal, VNCAP works to provide a safe environment for these children and individuals to acquire an education, vocational skills and medical treatments. It is also the recipient of Supreme Master Ching Hai’s generosity.

Founder Francis Betz (right) of Viet Nam Children Assistance Program gratefully receiving Supreme Master Ching Hai’s contribution of US$5,000, presented by our Association member.

Founder Francis Betz of VNCAP was deeply moved by Master Ching Hai’s humanitarian work and shared, “I have seen Her on television but I didn’t really realize who She was, and when I found out that Her organization was going to donate US$5,000 to the work that I’m doing, I said, ‘Well, I should know something more about this organization.’ So I did a Google search and also found out about what She does and was really moved by the charitable works that Supreme Master Ching Hai does, specifically, what She did during 9/11. But the thing is, when someone does good, people always wonder why they’re doing good, or what’s their ulterior motive behind it. I don’t really look at that. When someone wants to help, like in this particular case, I always say, ‘What more good can I do from that?’

“I know that Supreme Master Ching Hai has always been recognized by President Clinton, by President Bush, and by President Reagan, and governors around the country have recognized Her as well. So, this is a person doing good, and She hasn’t expected good, or recognition; that’s not Her purpose. Her purpose is to get more people to help, and She’s done wonderful work in that regard. And I’m very appreciative of the donation that our foundation is receiving.

“Supreme Master Ching Hai, I’m very appreciative of what You do for humanity, in particular, the US$5,000 donation that You’ve given to Vietnam Children’s Assistance Program (VNCAP).  I promise You that the money will be used wisely and in a very spiritual, positive way. I thank You very much for Your efforts to help other people as well, and I hope through Your auspiciousness, You can encourage other people that might want to help VNCAP as I go down this road.  Thank You.”

From the right, Ms. Duyen Tran, one of the Board Members of Vietnam Relief Effort being interviewed by “A Journey through Aesthetic Realms” hostess.

Finally, the sixth charity to which Supreme Master Ching Hai contributed financially, Vietnam Relief Effort (VRE), is a non-profit organization that brings assistance to the impoverished regions of Au Lac in the form of education, medical and relief.  Its aim is to make a long-term impact by providing the people of Au Lac with the knowledge and tools they need to improve their lives.  Currently, VRE is working on building and expanding schools in Au Lac so children can have access to better education, and thus, a better life.

Ms. Duyen Tran, one of the Board Members of VRE, shared with us during an interview regarding Supreme Master Ching Hai’s generous contribution: “It was a very unexpected surprise, a pleasant surprise, needless to say. We’re very grateful and welcome this donation, and it will go to a lot of wonderful projects.  One of our thought processes at the moment is to really focus on building some of the libraries that I’ve mentioned a while ago, and possibly building more of a long-term medical clinic where not only would we provide some of the services but we could also track and monitor the progress on an ongoing basis. So, we do have a number of projects in mind. What we would do with this gracious donation is either something that we are thinking about, or building another school.”

Touched by Supreme Master Ching Hai’s contribution, Ms. Tran wanted to “express my gratitude to the Supreme Master for Her generous donation of US$20,000 to the Vietnam Relief Effort, and that donation will go and touch many lives. Her generosity will help many, many people in Au Lac.”

In his letter of appreciation to Supreme Master Ching Hai, the president and founder of VRE, Mr. Chinh Chu wrote, “We can’t begin to express our thanks for Your generosity and support toward our organization, the Vietnam Relief Effort. The US$20,000 donation that You’ve given to us will go a long way toward our goal of improving education and medical care for the needy in Au Lac. We are deeply grateful for Your generous support, Master Ching Hai.”

Through Her noble and compassionate spirit, Supreme Master Ching Hai has touched the lives of millions of people worldwide.  As an embodiment of true Love, She inspires and changes the lives of all those who know of Her.  Supreme Master Ching Hai has said:

That’s the irony of the universe because whenever you offer yourself to other people or even to one person, you expand. Your energy or aura expands at least into that person’s area. But every time you think of yourself with “I need this” or “I want all this for myself,” you’re framed in it. The more you serve, the more you expand.

Paying attention to each and every minute detail, Supreme Master Ching Hai perfectly teaches us to walk the way of the Saints. Our planet is truly blessed to have God’s grace protecting and uplifting all of humankind to higher realms in this era of spiritual awakening.

<<	Contents	>>
Refer this page to friends