Mid-Autumn Festival at the Beach!

The Mid-Autumn Festival is traditionally a special festival for children in Viet Nam. It is held annually on the 15^th day of the eight month of the Lunar calendar. During the week of the Mid Autumn festival, Vietnamese children are very excited for the event and enjoy the dancing of the colourful lion and the sound of fast drumming. According to Vietnamese culture, most houses and shops ask the dancing lion to come in to bring good luck and fortune to their family. However, poor families seldom have the opportunity to experience the lion dancing in their home, especially children living with HIV, many of whom are without a mother or father. VNHIP organized a Mid Autumn Festival event in Hoi An for children living with HIV who have not had the opportunity to join in this cultural event. It is a great occasion for the families who have the same circumstances to catch-up and share their experiences in taking care of children living with HIV.  This is the first time that I have celebrated a Mid Autumn with children living with HIV. I was very emotional when I heard their stories: A little girl often asks her grandmother why she has no parents. One night her grandmother woke up and felt discomfort when she saw Quynh kowtowing (praying) in the dark. She asked Quynh why she was doing this. Quynh said that she wanted her parents to resurrect, and hoped that if she kowtowed many times this would happen. She wishes she could have parent and be the same as her friends. Some of children said that it was the first time they swam at the beach. Although it was hot children still played with each other happily.

 Children felt excited to watch the traditional performance dance of the lion which VNHIP provided. At the end of the event, we presented every child a gift bag which contained milk, notebooks, a mosquito net, lanterns and dominos. When we said good bye the children wished that the party could last forever. The bright faces of the children showed us that the party was special and meaningful.