Saturday 5 April 2014

Arrival in Hanoi and Cat Dang Village


It’s been such a busy week for the H2H team! We all arrived safely in Hanoi, hit up some good bia hoi spots, and started the team bonding!

On April 2nd we set off for Cat Dang village. It’s a rural community supported by TCI which is about two hours outside of Hanoi. Once we arrived, we were greeted by the kindergarten children. I had given the team personalized ribbons so the children could sign them and it would serve as a tangible reminder during those tough days why we’re all cycling in this together! We all felt like celebrities! Each rider had a circle of children surrounding them excited to sign each of the ribbons as well as ask the riders each for their signature. They were such beautiful interactions to witness!



After the kindergarten, we were generously treated with a lunch spread from the faculty and staff of Cat Dang. Of course in true tradition, we were also generously treated with several glasses of rice wine as well! The children then put on a lovely little dance performance all as a means to say thank you to H2H and all of our hard work to continue to support their community.
The most rewarding part of the day was seeing the newly constructed building that was home to the new kitchen and classroom from H2H 2013’s funding. Right there before my eyes was all of last year’s hard work. All the blood, sweat and tears from riding last year built this village a whole new building for the community. Below are before and after pictures of the kitchen from last and what it’s now become.

Cat Dang's kitchen 2013


Cat Dang's kitchen 2014

 



Words by Andrea







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