Thursday, September 9, 2010

Tre Em Viet Nam

In February 2010, I ran my first marathon and raised over $2600 for ASHA. Many of my friends and family helped me raise this money for educational programs in India, encouraging me from my training to crossing the finish line.

I am now training for TWO MARATHONS. In December, I will run the Dallas White Rock Marathon. In February, I will run the Austin Marathon for the 2nd time.

Training for a marathon is VERY hard. It's a day-to-day struggle that entends for months on end. And it is nothing compared to actually running the race. When I crossed the finish line in February, I broke down in tears because I was so happy the hardest thing I had ever done was over. Now I've got TWO more difficult times on my horizon, and I can think of no better way to honor these times than raising money to help the Children of Vietnam. And this is why:

My fiance's mom escaped from Vietnam after the war. Her 8 year journey found her in prison several times, in a refugee camp in Thailand, and finally in a scary new home called America where few spoke Vietnamese. My 26.2 mile struggles are nothing compared to her life. And Vietnam, her beautiful homeland, still has its own struggles. 29% of the Vietnamese population lives below the internaitonal poverty line (compare this to less than 2% in the US). For every 100,000 people, there are only 53 physicians. And there is a 40% school dropout rate for children ages 12-20 who come from poor families.

I can never truly understand the Viet struggle, but I can help change the Viet future for the children that still live there. And so can you! Click here to donate: http://www.firstgiving.com/marathonvietnam

My goal is to raise $5000 for Children of Vietnam by February 20th, 2011, when I run the Austin Marathon. Please donate any amount you can -- I'll be watching the total rise as I train! It is so encouraging!

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