Some of you may have already been following our journey and the story behind this family through our blogs, video blogs, pictures and also previous crowd funding page. For those of you who have not been made aware of this project here is a summary of our ultimate goal...

This single mother (sadly her name is unknown) is deaf and mute and has become a victim of rape multiple times and as an outcome now raises two young daughters by herself. we have recently been informed that this act is something her daughters, Lyly (age 4 ) and Mimi (age 3 ) have also been exposed too, unaware of the abuse. They live on the top of a very steep hill in the North of Vietnam a small tribal village called Ta Van in Sa Pa. Their home is built on a very small piece of land that just about holds itself level on the side of the eroding hill. Made of plastic sheets and bamboo the front door is secured with a flimsy piece of wire and a pocket size padlock, inside is a small platform slightly off the ground with a couple of blankets where the three of them sleep.

As the girls grow older they are becoming more vulnerable to the same dangers and abuse their mother has encountered and with lack of education we are highly concerned for their safety. The girls are luckily able to attend school for free in the local community, they are very smart, understanding and beginning to speak English as well as their native language and signing to communicate with their mother, Lily helps her mother to communicate to others which is inspiring for someone so young herself.

Across from the family's shelter there is a home stay being built and once this is complete they are hoping to sell the property to bring in guests, however the land the family are currently living on is owned by the same people building the homestay and we have been informed that they would like to use the land to build a motorbike shelter for the guests. This has a potential threat to the family as they could become homeless if they can not put their shelter up anywhere else. We have recently looked into other bamboo houses and enquired about the prices to buy a piece of land with a house already built on but unfortunately we didn't have many options... only one house was available and not being used by the owners however the owners are trying to charge an awful lot considering the perimeter of the land. After discussing our options with one of the local woman who lives and works in Sa Pa and also speaks very good English, we decided the best option is to try and buy the piece of land they already live on from the owner to secure it from becoming a motorbike shelter. We could then level out the land and build a two story (because the land is small they would need two floors) with running water and electricity. The house would have a secure lock and we would fit cameras to identify anyone who trespassed on their property.

We will be taking trips ourselves to spend time educating the girls further on their safety and also keeping a close eye on the progress.

Here are some links to follow from my personal blog page which explains the emotional connection we felt when we first found this family and the journey we took into first helping them...

https://internationalsmile.blog/2017/05/15/reaching-out/

And here is also Dahlia's video blog from the first trip taken to gather information about how we could help...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbfvAS59-ms&feature=youtu.be

So now we need your help, on our previous funding page we were very lucky to receive a total of £800 which has enabled us to grab the attention of the family that own the land that we would potentially like to buy. However unless we can raise the total amount to buy the land and build the house the family are not so willing to negotiate until they know the land is being sold for good purpose. We need to raise another £1,200 to be able to start building. Hien, our contact who is helping us through this process has built her own house in Sa Pa and therefore knows the going rates for the land and construction work, so we are aware of where the money is going and where we might be being charged too much. With all the funding ready the process of the house going up is going to happen a lot quicker once monsoon period is over in September (this gives us time to start funding again) If you are willing to help us a small donation goes a long way and there will be many photo updates and video blogs to keep you all updated on the progress!

Many thanks for taking your time to read this story!