The Loving Work Foundation is offering all of us an exceptional experience in Viet Nam, as well as Ia vibrant opportunity to be together with new and old friends. There is a focus on offering our services to existing, quality, non profit organizations. In addition, the opportunity for practice in the Plum Village Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh creates a solid base of support for all of us.
We might find ourselves, weeding, planting, picking produce, helping a member of the community with a particular task, observing and/or playing with students in schools, all of which is so wonderful! We have experiences you wouldn't dream of, if you merely visit Viet Nam as a tourist. For example, we visited Action for the City in Hoi An on the Loving Work Retreat. They had harvested two huge bunches of bananas from trees we planted the previous year!
We also donate funds and school supplies we have recieved from friends at home, in sangha, or other groups of support. We have been embraced in all cases by the communities we visit. If you return from one year to the next, you are greeted warmly by Vietnamese friends who haven't seen you in a year! It's a loving, warm, feeling of appreciation and friendship. Trish has done a wonderful job of building relationships within communities the foundation supports. The fruits of our involvement can be seen in our smiles and gratitude for new and already established friendships. We are always warmly greeted when we arrive at an organization, foundation, or school. I must say, I'm partial to play with children, but I'm happy to experience all of it in a grounded practice with the support and love of others.
Danna Zelenka